Spending a long weekend at Center Parcs Erperheide

We reestablished an old tradition that had gotten lost: combining a weekend with some families together in Center Parcs while going to the Blues Festival in Peer.   Back in 2011 and 2012 we stayed in the "child-free" cottage.  The children of the other families grew up, didn't fit in one room together anymore, lost interest, while on the other hand me and another friend got a baby and were stuck in the cottage in 2014 without the possibility to visit the festival anymore.  Since I am not a vacation park fan as such, just staying full time in the vacation park was not an option for me. So the tradition stopped.  

Last year we discovered Blues Peer for the first time with our children, which marks a new phase of our life again...we can combine festivals and children again.  Due to the success in 2022 of our one-day visit to Blues Peer, we rebooked a cottage in Center Parcs this year with another family.  

And so we could enjoy the nearby facilities for those who wanted to stay late at the festival or didn't want to be designated drivers, while we also offered the children the fun of the tropical pools and other facilities in the morning and early afternoon. Win win, everybody happy with the great variety. 

The cottages:  They seem to be renewed and don't have the old bright green/orange decoration pillows anymore which I dreaded in the past.  The kitchen is area is still very cramped as the lay-out of the cottages obviously didn't change.  For look & feel, I do prefer the cottages of Roompot a lot. Those seemed so much more spacious and modern. 

Services: After getting ourselves spoiled in the Roompot with prebooked groceries in our fridge, we opted for the same here and also had each morning a too big breakfast delivered at the door.  With 5 rolls a person on average, we could easily also have lunch from it and I think we are still finishing off the last bit of lunch meats and cheeses in our fridge at home.  So Center Parcs is following the trend to cater for lazy visitors like us. 

The children really wanted to visit Baluba, the indoor playground which I hate.  It's still as noisy with lack of daylight as always...such a waste of time to sit indoor if it's nice outside.  So I refused to sit inside and took place on the outside terrace, because fortunately I don't need to supervise my children anymore all the time.  But the prices on that terrace were quite outrageous.  Ugh.  The children had fun though, so I guess that counts as a mom. 

Make-over of the 2014 baby picture on the baby slide (but I didn't have to hold him this time)

Given the fact that it was perfect weather, the outdoor attractions were more fun.  The boys wanted to go on a boat. First we rented an electric boat, but that thing went so ridiculously slow that you could hardly see it move and the perimeter of these things were so small that the boys needed some more action afterwards.  So they went for the water pedalo bikes on the condition that Jan didn't need to bike them around; They took up the challenge and Jan had a great time getting a ride so it seems. 

We also hang out on the playgrounds and the cafés.  On Friday evening we had our evening dinner in the central café but the service was horribly slow and there was a loud mini disco blurring all over the place that was driving me crazy.  Geez, you must offer some quiet options too!  Glad we ate the other nights at the food trucks at the festival. 

We also spent 2 of the 3 mornings in the tropical swimming pool. 

Conclusion: the combination of Center Parcs and the festival is great, but I'm not so cut out to spend too much time in a vacation parc, however.  I prefer peace and quiet of nature, away of the rush.