The top tips for general pool use will apply to the swimming pools at all UK Center Parcs locations, but the pool description is about Elveden Forest. You can see maps for Elveden Forest's Subtropical Swimming Paradise as well as Whinfell Forest, Sherwood Forest, Longleat Forest and Woburn Forest at the bottom of this page.
What To Expect When Visiting Center Parcs Subtropical Swimming Paradise
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| Families can happily spend hours at the Center Parcs swimming pools |
Changing Rooms
The swimming pool is inside the Sports Plaza building in the Village area (the entrance is opposite Starbucks). When you go through the doors you are in the dry side of the changing rooms. We found the changing room confusing on our first visit. The individual changing cubicles have two doors: one gives you entrance from the dry side, the other from the pool side. So you go in one side dressed and come out the other side ready to go in the pool. The lockers are on the wet side of the cubicles so you wont see any when you enter the changing room. The changing room had just enough space for 5 of us to get changed.Just before you get into the pool area are a number of open showers so you can shower before and after swimming.
Between the showers and the locker area there is a full body dryer. This costs £2 (contactless payment) and are like the ones you get at theme parks to dry off after the water rides. We just about managed to squeeze 4 of us in and while it didn't fully dry our swimwear it definitely meant we were much less wet when we went to the changing room. My children loved using it.
Lockers
The lockers are controlled with the wristbands that unlock your lodge front door so you don’t need to bring any coins with you. Just put your stuff in, push the nob in, wave your wrist next to it and it should be locked. Don’t worry if you forget which locker you used, they have units around the changing room where you can wave your wristband and it will tell you the locker number.
If you have multiple wristbands for your lodge they can not be used interchangeably on the lockers eg if you lock a locker with your wristband someone else staying in your lodge won’t be able to open your locker with their wristband.
The Subtropical Swimming Paradise is more like a water park than a swimming pool. It is designed so you can easily spend half a day there if your children like water. Most of it is inside with a big glass dome over the top so it feels big and spacious.
There is plenty of seating where you can have a rest or eat. It’s warm enough that you can comfortably sit around in your swimming costume all year round. Lots of people bring a bag in and set up camp for a while. This works well because you have a meeting place incase your group gets separated. We brought a bag in with a towel, some drinking water, inflatable toys, shampoo and a card to pay for food. I just left it in a quiet area and it was untouched, but obviously you leave any valuables at your own risk.
What’s In The Subtropical Swimming Paradise at Elveden Forest
The Facilities
In the Elveden Forest swimming pool area there is a café serving drinks, ice cream, snacks, meals and even alcohol. The tapas dishes sounded interesting, but we mostly had chips when my children were hungry as they seemed best value. There is also a Starbucks selling the normal drinks range and some snacks on the otherside of the dome.
The toilets are at the entrance of the shower area (as you enter from the pool) and in the entrance to the children’s pool area.
You can hire Cabana’s which give you a semi private place to leave your items, soft drinks, towels and a TV. These cost about £85 for 3 hours when we visited. They could be useful if you have a baby who needs a nap, but most of the ones I saw were empty as those hiring them didn’t stay in them for long. It's worth noting these areas aren't secure and you can see into them.
On the left side of the pool there is the lazy river which is a narrow section of pool with a current. The water in the lazy river is between 1 and 1.2 meters so there were sections where my 8 year old needed to swim as she couldn't stand up with her head above water.
There is a wide drop slide (they call it Water Piste on the map) which normally has a short queue. It has with two sides so you can go down at the same time as someone else. It’s basically a wide steep slide, but you get some speed so I recommend holding your nose before you hit the water if you don’t want to clean your nose right out. There are two exits from this area: one up some steps and the other goes under a bridge and into the wave pool area.
Tropical Cyclone. There is only one BIG slide and that’s the Tropical Cyclone. It always has a queue on the steps, but most of the time it wasn’t too long a wait and in my view it is worth the wait. You go down in a float which has space for 4 people. I think you can go down on your own, but you can definitely go down as a two, three or four. Every time I went on it I screamed, and depending on where you sit you get a different view. The one where you can see the massive drop is particularly scary (but fun). It doesn’t take long, but you go fast, get whirled round and there is a drop section. Lots of fun if you like that sort of thing, but this is for older children and adults. There is a minimum height (1.22m) and maximum weight (112kg).
As you go in there is a shallow area to your left with some fountains for water play as well as a really small slide and a bigger open slide. There is another section with a play frame that has water pouring off it, some spray guns you can control and other interactive sections. This area has an open slide and three closed tunnel slides. These are a great way to get young children used to the idea of flumes. The three mini flumes are different steepnesses so they can start at the lowest one and work up. Each one has different coloured lights in the tunnel and it was the appeal of the coloured light tunnel which first got my son to go on them (and then he quickly got brave enough to try the bigger flumes in the main area).
There is seating in the kid’s area and toilets just outside. They also had a rack of floatation jackets (as well as another at the entrance to the whole pool area). We brought our own as my youngest is using the one his sister originally got from Konfidence (which is brilliant) so we didn’t use theirs. You don’t need one in the kids area as none of the water is deeper than about 30cm, but I encouraged by son to keep his on at all times to ensure he was safe in all areas.
The toilets are at the entrance of the shower area (as you enter from the pool) and in the entrance to the children’s pool area.
You can hire Cabana’s which give you a semi private place to leave your items, soft drinks, towels and a TV. These cost about £85 for 3 hours when we visited. They could be useful if you have a baby who needs a nap, but most of the ones I saw were empty as those hiring them didn’t stay in them for long. It's worth noting these areas aren't secure and you can see into them.
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| Wild Water Rapids are for confident swimmers only |
The Main Pool Area
As you enter the swimming pool area the main pool is in front of you. There is a gentle slope and steps into the water which is nice for little ones as they can find a level they are comfortable with. On the right hand side there is a rope across the pool and after this it starts to get deeper. This side of the pool becomes a wave pool. The waves get going every half an hour for about 5 minutes. You know when it is about to start as there is a Tarzan warning sound.On the left side of the pool there is the lazy river which is a narrow section of pool with a current. The water in the lazy river is between 1 and 1.2 meters so there were sections where my 8 year old needed to swim as she couldn't stand up with her head above water.
The Lagoon Pool
There is a lagoon pool which is quite small, with dimmed lights and warmer water than the other pools. This can be nice and relaxing for adults, but it is also perfect for babies and toddlers who will enjoy the warm water.The Outside Pool
There is a small swimming pool area outside and some sun loungers. This area was very busy when we visited as the weather was hot, I imagine it's less popular in winter. On one side the outdoor pool descends into the rapids which are only suitable for swimmers. If you keep to the other side of the pool (away from the current) it is suitable for all ages. There is also lounging area and a plunge pool. |
| The Wild Water Rapids take you on a fun journey outside |
Wild Water Rapids
The rapids are only for confident swimmers and no floatation devices or swim aids are allowed. They start outside and end inside so they can be closed in extreme weather conditions (eg thunder storms). A strong current takes you down a winding slope. In some areas you need to move yourself along and in others the current will move you. None of this area is particularly deep, but the water is fast flowing in places so you can get pulled around and (especially at the end) can end up going under water briefly. Unlike on the flumes there is no control on the number of people going on the rapids at one time so sometimes other people would crash into us. My children found the rapids lots of fun and went on countless times, but I definitely wouldn't take children on if they aren't confident in water.Jacuzzis
There are a number of jacuzzis around the pool area which Center Parcs call hot whirlpools. I think there are 4 in total at Elveden Forest.Slides and Flume
There are two main flumes: one (the blue one) is slower and more open, the other (the green one) is steeper and mostly enclosed. I managed to get up a fair bit of speed on the green slide. Children under 120cm can go down on an adults lap. Both flumes drop into the same end pool, which I think is 1m deep so if going fast and children end up going under the water as they end in the pool they should find their feet quite quickly.There is a wide drop slide (they call it Water Piste on the map) which normally has a short queue. It has with two sides so you can go down at the same time as someone else. It’s basically a wide steep slide, but you get some speed so I recommend holding your nose before you hit the water if you don’t want to clean your nose right out. There are two exits from this area: one up some steps and the other goes under a bridge and into the wave pool area.
Tropical Cyclone. There is only one BIG slide and that’s the Tropical Cyclone. It always has a queue on the steps, but most of the time it wasn’t too long a wait and in my view it is worth the wait. You go down in a float which has space for 4 people. I think you can go down on your own, but you can definitely go down as a two, three or four. Every time I went on it I screamed, and depending on where you sit you get a different view. The one where you can see the massive drop is particularly scary (but fun). It doesn’t take long, but you go fast, get whirled round and there is a drop section. Lots of fun if you like that sort of thing, but this is for older children and adults. There is a minimum height (1.22m) and maximum weight (112kg).
The Kids Area - Venture Cove
If you go round to the left of the main pool and into a separate room you get to the kids area. This is a great area for young children and all the water is shallow. However it has a lower ceiling than the main pool areas and when it is busy the noise in there can be quite overwhelming.As you go in there is a shallow area to your left with some fountains for water play as well as a really small slide and a bigger open slide. There is another section with a play frame that has water pouring off it, some spray guns you can control and other interactive sections. This area has an open slide and three closed tunnel slides. These are a great way to get young children used to the idea of flumes. The three mini flumes are different steepnesses so they can start at the lowest one and work up. Each one has different coloured lights in the tunnel and it was the appeal of the coloured light tunnel which first got my son to go on them (and then he quickly got brave enough to try the bigger flumes in the main area).
There is seating in the kid’s area and toilets just outside. They also had a rack of floatation jackets (as well as another at the entrance to the whole pool area). We brought our own as my youngest is using the one his sister originally got from Konfidence (which is brilliant) so we didn’t use theirs. You don’t need one in the kids area as none of the water is deeper than about 30cm, but I encouraged by son to keep his on at all times to ensure he was safe in all areas.
The Subtropical Swimming Paradise is a lot of fun, my children can't wait to go back.
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