I’ve seen the claim a few times now in the media that Forest Holidays are better than Center Parcs and to be honest I think it’s a nonsense. Last year I stayed at the Forest of Dean Forest Holiday site and Elveden Center Parcs. I had two lovely holidays, but they are very different.

At both Forest Holidays and Center Parcs you generally stay in a lodge (although there are a few other accommodation options) surrounded by woodland, but that is pretty much where the similarity ends. 

A Center Parcs break for most of their guests is spent entirely on site. There are countless activities (and these can be expensive), restaurants and swimming facilities. Forest Holidays have some activities on site, but they are more about providing a comfortable base to explore the surrounding area. 

A lodge holiday makes for a break from the every day

What are the differences between Center Parcs and Forest Holidays Resorts?

Size

Although the sites vary in size I am confident that all the Center Parcs sites are considerably bigger than those at Forest Holidays. 

At Center Parcs it can take some time to travel from your lodge to the facilities and while the walk surrounded by trees is beautiful many people choose to get bikes to make it easy to get around.

The smaller Forest Holiday sites are easy to get around on foot. While they also have bike hire facilities these are more with the expectation of exploring the surrounding area.

While the Forest Holiday sites are smaller they have 13 sites (and probably more in future) spread from Scotland to Cornwall so for most British people they will be closer to a Forest Holidays location than a Center Parcs.  

Center Parcs has only 5 sites in the UK, but to be honest the location of them only matters as far as ease of convenience to get to as most people stay on site for the whole break, with the possible exception of Longleat Forest which is next door to Longleat safari park so many people will visit the attraction.

In the UK there are 5 large Center Parcs locations

There are now 13 Forest Holiday sites across the UK (the latest is Glentress in the Scottish Borders)

Cars

At Center Parcs you can only take your car to your lodge when loading and unloading at the beginning and end of your holiday.  The rest of the time cars are left in a large car park at the entrance, often some distance away from your lodge. While you are welcome to come and go from the site, the majority of visitors stay on site for the duration of the holiday. For many it would take so long time to get off site, to a restaurant for instance, it wouldn't be worth it. 

At Forest Holidays your parking is next to your lodge. You can drive on and off site easily.

One of the nice things about Center Parcs is with no cars on site most days (with the exception of service vehicles) cycling feels safe. The smaller numbers of visitors at Forest Holidays mean you don’t get a lots of traffic anyway so I still felt comfortable cycling around, but you do need to navigate the occasional car.

Center Parcs sites are easy to get around by bike

The smaller Forest Holidays sites are easy to get around on foot, but have bike hire for exploring further

The Lodges

Our lodges at both Center Parcs and Forest Holidays were comfortable and clean and I would expect this to experienced by all visitors regardless of the type of lodge they stay in.  Forest Holidays lodges have a hot tub as standard which is fun, but we actually got bored of it pretty quick. At Center Parcs some of the larger lodges have hot tubs and saunas. 

Beyond that the experience is a matter of lack about where your lodge is. From the main window (and outside area) of our Forest Holiday lodge we could see several other lodges. There were some trees between us, but thin coverage meant it didn't feel very private.  Our Center Parcs lodge was carefully arranged so that from our main window and outside area we couldn’t see any other lodges, even though there was actually one right next door. I saw lodges at both places where the reverse would be true too. At the Forest Holidays Forest of Dean site for instance the larger lodges with a tree house were on the edge of the site overlooking woodland.

A typical Center Parcs lodge

A Center Parcs lodge bedroom

A Center Parcs lodge living room (New Style 3 bed Woodland Lodge)

Typical Forest Holidays Lodges

Forest Holidays kitchen (1 bed)

Forest Holidays Living Room (1 bed)

A hot tub is standard for most lodges at Forest Holidays

Facilities

The Forest Holidays site we stayed at (Forest of Dean) was much smaller than Center Parcs (Elveden) and had less facilities. There was a restaurant, shop, playground and bike hire. You could get food delivered from the restaurant or from outside companies. 

The Center Parcs have lots of restaurants, cafes, bars, a large food shop, shops for gifts, clothes and swimwear, a large playground, bike hire, a spa plus many activities (including the Subtropical Swimming Paradise). Some of the restaurants do deliveries.

Elveden Forest Center Parcs boating lake

Playground at Elveden Forest Center Parcs

The reception, restaurant and shop at Forest of Dean Forest Holidays

The playground at Forest of Dean Forest Holidays (2024)

Catering/ Grocery Pack

On both holidays we splashed out and got the starter pack of food delivered to our lodge before our arrival. These aren’t cheap, but they are a handy way of making sure you have some essentials when you arrive and cutting down on how much you need to bring.

The Center Parcs pack is mostly big brand names whereas the Forest Holidays one had a more thoughtful selection of “posh” items including croissants and a freshly baked loaf. The produce was from a combination of local businesses and smaller, more ethical companies. We also got the Dozen Krispy Kremes delivered at Center Parcs, but that didn't stop my children wanting different ones they spotted in the shop so I wouldn't bother next time.

The Center Parcs grocery pack we ordered for our lodge

Ethos

Forest Holidays is a Certified B Corp and they lease their land from Forestry England, Forestry and Land Scotland and Natural Resources Wales. They aim to provide a sustainable holiday and a small environmental footprint. When there it felt like there was a greener focus from the local produce in the shop and encouraging less waste.

Center Parcs have an environmental strategy and sustainability targets, but when there I didn't notice any messaging around sustainability or a particular focus on being green.  

Catering For Children

Both companies make a great destination for a family holiday. We went to Forest Holidays as a couple and Center Parcs as a family of 5 which obviously had an impact on our perspective, but I would say Center Parcs is better for a holiday with young children. There is more to do for children onsite and there were little touches like a step in the bathrooms. My children love swimming so the Center Parcs pool would ultimately mean they would choose CP every time over a quieter holiday at Forest Holidays.

Forest Holidays is very welcoming for children though. I spotted a nature trail, a table in the restaurant set aside for pottery painting and there was a playground. There is plenty of space for little ones to run around, but less activities to appeal to older children. 

A table set aside for pottery painting at Forest Holidays

Catering to Couples

At Center Parcs you can enjoy time as a couple in your lodge as well as enjoying the various activities, but it feels best suited to families and groups. 

Forest Holidays definitely feels more romantic to me. Whether going for a cycle ride or heading out to dinner in a local cozy pub it feels better suited to alone time as a couple than Center Parcs.

Wildlife

One of the lovely things about being surrounded by woodland is the amount of wildlife. On both our holidays we regularly had squirrels come right up to our windows and ask for food. At Center Parcs we also regularly saw muntjac deer and had ducks, geese and other water based birds on our patio as we were near a lake.

At Forest holidays we only saw the squirrels from our lodge however when on the decking or outside there was constant birdsong, to the extent that we joked it must be prerecorded and played through hidden speakers. The birds seemed to be pretty hidden in the trees. We did spot some deer in the distance while on a walk, but on the whole the animals were less tame than at Center Parcs and more scared of people (so more behaving as you would expect from wild animals).

Lots of wildlife came to our patio area at Center Parcs

A cheeky squirrel asking for food at our lodge back door (Forest Holidays)

Cost

The average stay at Center Parcs is more expensive than the average stay at Forest holidays, but neither are exactly budget holidays. Looking at the time of publishing for a 1 week stay, term time, early May 2025, 2 bedrooms (2 adults, 2 children) costs from £1500 currently for Center Parcs and £1300 at Forest Holidays (with the exception of the Hampshire location which is a similar price to Center Parcs).  Looking a couple of weeks earlier in the Easter Holidays the same holiday is coming up as about £500 more for Forest Holidays and £1000 more for Center Parcs. 

At Forest Holidays you get the feeling of being on a woodland break, but with enough onsite facilities that you don't feel completely isolated. It’s an in between holiday with considerably less activities on your doorstep than Center Parcs. If you want a quiet woodland holiday where you look for your own activities  you might be better off finding independent accommodation.

Center Parcs holidays can be action packed or taken at a more leisurely pace, but you definitely pay a premium for the convenience of having so much choice and activities near by, especially in school holidays when they are very popular.

Both companies offer a reliable experience with staff available for any questions or emergencies you might have. I would be happy heading back to both, but they really are different holidays. It feels like those claiming Forest Holidays are better are tapping into Center Parcs being so much better known, and thought of as expensive so the headlines are essentially click bait to get people reading posts which are often incentivised by the company due to a free “gifted” holiday or an affiliate link. To remove any doubt we paid for both holidays and all thoughts in this post are my own. While I would happily add an affiliate link for either place if I ever get one, that won’t change my view.