Accessible Holiday - Center Parcs
Center Parcs - Woburn Forest
I’m finally getting around to sharing with you my trip to Center Parcs from May! I want to talk to you guys about the accessibility and my experience of staying there.
So in May we managed to find a last minute trip to Center Parcs which was much cheaper than normal because of the restrictions and the swimming pool being closed. The week away (Monday to Friday) was sooo welcome after what felt like forever in Lockdown 3! I’ve been to Center Parcs quite a lot purely because my family love to go there to celebrate big birthdays etc. and it’s kind of a happy place for us! I’ve been to Elveden too but as Woburn is much closer to home, it’s super convenient for us!
Center Parcs is a bit of a strange place you might think for a wheelchair user to love, as it’s very ‘outdoors-y’, it’s seen as a place that’s for doing lots of different activities, particularly physical ones that I actually wouldn't be able to do! But there’s something about it that draws me back there again and again. I go there for the nature, the quiet, the family time and to just get away from the hustle and bustle of life! Normally when the swimming pool is open, that part is accessible. I’ll definitely have to do an updated version of this with all of that information included too!
But simply, they have a changing places facility at Woburn in the pool area, which features a ceiling hoist, changing bench, shower and of course, is large enough to easily move around in. They have a shower chair on wheels type thing that you can be hoisted into/ transfer into and that then allows you to go into the pool area, including both the main pool and the lazy river via ramps.
Accommodation
We stayed in the Adapted Woodland Lodge which is the most basic of accommodation on offer. If you’re staying in an accessible lodge you can park your car out the front in a disabled space and leave it there the whole time you’re staying, which makes it much easier when unloading and loading your car and not having to worry about moving it afterwards like everybody else has to! The entrance to the lodge is via a brick pathway which is easily wide enough for a wheelchair to fit down and the doorway is flat (there is a small lip that might be more difficult for a manual wheelchair user) but all doorways within the lodge are extra wide. I find Woburn accommodation much roomier than Elveden, I think because they are newer but there is ‘so much room for activity’ (name that film 😂)
The Kitchen is well laid out; the sink has the tap closest to the front of the worktop so it’s easier to reach and on one side, the worktop is lowered with a cut out section, so a wheelchair user can easily access the work surface.
The bedroom is amazing to me as I struggle to sleep on a normal bed because of my disability, so the fact that Center Parcs provides one electric bed per adapted lodge is just ideal. I mean, I’m married so the fact there’s 2 single beds isn’t a perfect situation but we actually just end up moving around the furniture and pushing the beds together! This gives even more room for me to move around too! Also because it’s an electric bed, it means I can fit my manual hoist underneath which is always a worry whenever I stay anywhere.
As far as accessible bathrooms go, I’d say this one was pretty good! The layout worked really well for me with my hoist, there was enough room in there to manoeuvre as well as leave the hoist in there during the day without it being in the way! The shower area was fab, I could be hoisted onto the seat and it was comfortable, actually felt like it was supporting me and that I wouldn’t fall off every second! Any one else just hate most other hotel shower seats?! The only downside for me personally was the sink height, it was extremely low and in one of the photos you can see that my knees were hitting it! I’m not sure if this is because it was designed for someone in a manual wheelchair but I think they would definitely benefit having a sink that could move up and down to suit everybody.
In terms of the access everywhere else, I found it absolutely fine in my chair! It’s very flat and only ramped in certain places where necessary. The paths are wide enough and when we went for a walk around, it was all concreted roads etc. There’s quite a few restaurants to go to, which to me is much more exciting than any outdoor activity 😂 so I’d definitely say it’s worth looking into!
Obviously this isn’t an AD (but if Center Parcs wanted to work with me then HI!!) haha but I want to share more on my blog about places I visit, just to give you guys more info on accessibility!
If there’s anywhere else you’d like me to visit then please give me a shout! And let me know if you’ve ever been to, or are likely to holiday at Center Parcs?
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