Center Parcs ditches family service at all UK holiday parks

With lodge and apartment accommodation, a big indoor subtropical-style pool and a wide range of paid activities, from cycling and climbing to watersports and spa treatments.

But now, things are set to change.

The company previously offered a crèche service for kids between three months and three years, for up to three hours.

The price was around £30 a session.

However, it has confirmed that this will no longer be offered at any of its five UK resorts by the end of next month.

Customers with upcoming bookings have discovered they can no longer book their kids in if their holiday is after the end of May, and the option has been removed across all of Center Parcs’ UK sites.

For many, it opened up the opportunity for parents to enjoy quality time together, or for grandparents to be let off the childcare hook.

A spokesperson for Center Parcs told Metro: “We’re always looking to review and evolve the guest experience. We have made the decision to remove the crèche activity from our breaks, to reflect guest feedback and limited demand for this particular activity.

“Crèche sessions are one of more than 20 activities available within our Activity Den and our other activities will continue to run as normal.”

What is a crèche service?

A crèche service is short‑term childcare where young children are looked after while their parents or carers do something else nearby (for example, working, studying, using a gym, attending an event or shopping).

It’s usually:

• Occasional and short‑duration – children are typically there for a couple of hours rather than full days, and it’s not necessarily the same children every day.
• Linked to a venue or activity – often attached to leisure centres, colleges, workplaces, conferences, weddings or community events so adults can take part while children are safely supervised.
• Supervised play, not full nursery education – staff provide a safe space, toys and activities, and meet basic care needs (nappies, drinks, comforting), but it’s generally more about short‑term care than structured early‑years education.

Depending on how long children stay, their ages, and whether parents remain on site, crèche services may need to be registered and inspected under local childcare regulations (for example by Ofsted or equivalent bodies).