Whinfell Forest news
Whinfell Forest important updates and latest news.
Temporary closure of our villages - updated 5th June 2020 | 09:00
We have made the decision to extend the closure period of all UK villages until 5th July and Longford Forest until 19th July. This decision continues to support government advice and our priority to keep our staff and guests as safe as possible.
Whilst we do not have a confirmed date for re-opening yet, we’re busy exploring the changes we need to make to ensure that when we do, we can safely welcome our guests. We recognise the importance of treading cautiously away from lockdown in order to control the pandemic. Our planning is well underway to consider the future Center Parcs experience and ensure that we can open with appropriate social distancing and additional cleaning in place. We know we will have to make changes but we are confident that we can adapt and still offer a great experience.
For guests impacted by the current closure period the information below should help answer some questions:
Is your break due to commence before 5th July for UK villages or 19th July for Longford Forest?
We’re offering the option to either reschedule your break to a future date or receive a full refund.
I want to select a new date in the future:
Breaks are on sale for arrivals up to December 2021. You can rebook for a new date in the future with no amendment fee and we’ll also offer you a £100/€100 discount from your new break.
Please note that if you select a lower-priced break we will still offer you the £100/€100 discount and refund the difference. If the break you select is higher-priced, we will, again, apply the £100/€100 discount but you would need to pay any outstanding difference. Please note that the discount is only applicable once, in the event of a further date move the discount will not apply again.
I want a full refund:
We hope you’ll rearrange your break but we understand that this won’t be possible for everyone. If you prefer a refund you may, of course, take this option. Please note that our refund process is unfortunately a little slower than usual right now.
What do I need to do?
Firstly, identify which category below your booking falls into:
1. Lodge booking only with NO activity, restaurant or spa bookings
If you have already completed a form to tell us you wish to move the date of your break or receive a full refund, we are working through these as quickly as we can. There is no need to do anything else.
If your booking falls into this category and you haven’t completed a form please do so here. Please do not complete a second form.
2. Lodge booking WITH activity, restaurant or spa bookings made via our website for future arrival dates only:
You should have already received an email from us with instructions on how to cancel your activities, restaurants and spa bookings online and with a link to a form to let us know if you would like to book a future date or receive a refund for your lodge booking. Please carefully follow the instructions within the email.
This process unfortunately won't work if your arrival date has passed, you initially booked your activities, restaurants or spa reservations via our Contact Centre or you have booked a spa day or package via our Aqua Sana website.
3. Lodge booking WITH activity, restaurant or spa bookings made via our Contact Centre or all lodge bookings with activity, restaurant or spa bookings that are now in the past.
If you have already completed a form to tell us you wish to move the date of your break or receive a full refund, we are working through these as quickly as we can. There is no need to do anything else.
If your booking falls into this category and you haven’t completed a form please do so here. Please do not complete a second form.
The team will contact you via email to confirm your lodge refund or date move once this is actioned.
We have a new online refund solution for activity, restaurant and spa reservations. We’re currently working to refund guests with activities up to 25th May. If you have activity, restaurant and spa reservations on or before 25th May and you’re waiting for a refund you will receive an email in the coming weeks. Please keep an eye on your inbox and follow the instructions to receive your refund.
The new online refund process will work for most guests but if you don’t receive an email our team will contact you soon to process your refund.
I am waiting for a refund for activities, restaurant reservations and/or Aqua Sana bookings:
We have a new online refund solution for activity, restaurant and spa reservations. We’re currently working to refund guests with activities up to 25th May. If you have activity, restaurant and spa reservations on or before 25th May and you’re waiting for a refund you will receive an email in the coming weeks. Please keep an eye on your inbox and follow the instructions to receive your refund.
The new online refund process will work for most guests but if you don’t receive an email our team will contact you soon to process your refund.
When will I hear from you?
We are working through forms in the order these are received and we will confirm your change of date or refund via email as soon as this is actioned. Please allow a few weeks once you have submitted your form as we have thousands of guests to help.
If you have activity, restaurant and spa reservations on or before 25th May and you’re waiting for a refund you will receive an email in the coming weeks. Please keep an eye on your inbox and follow the instructions to receive your refund.
The new online refund process will work for most guests but if you don’t receive an email our team will contact you soon to process your refund.
If you have activity, restaurant or spa bookings after 25th May we will contact you once this current batch of refunds is complete.
Our response time and refund process is delayed:
Once we’re aware of your choice to change the date of your lodge booking or receive a full refund we’ll action this as soon as we can. However, we have a very small team working from home so this may take us a number of weeks due to the volume of guests impacted by this situation.
This isn’t our usual service response time and we’ll come back to you sooner if we can.
My arrival date has passed and I haven’t been contacted:
Please don’t worry, even if we haven’t managed to contact you before your scheduled arrival date, you will still be able to rearrange your break or receive a full refund.
Can I contact you?
Our Contact Centre is currently closed. This means that we cannot accept any inbound calls from our guests and we can only make a small number of outbound calls.
We do have a small team working from home to process cancellations and changes during the closure period but as the team is reduced it is taking us longer than we would like to get back to our guests. The team will also be keeping an eye on social media channels and communicating via email where possible.
Is your break due to commence 6th July for UK villages and 20th July for Longford Forest onwards?
Future breaks:
If you are on a break in the future and currently not impacted by the closure dates, please do not contact us at this time to allow us to deal with guests with imminent breaks.
As it stands, we are closed until 5th July for UK villages or 19th July for Longford Forest. We will continue to closely monitor and follow government guidelines so please keep a close eye on our website for any updates. If anything changes for your break, we will contact you directly.
What will the future Center Parcs experience look like?
We don’t have all the answers just yet but we know we have lots of space, nature and fresh air to share. Center Parcs is all about spending time together and although we know we will have to make some changes, we are confident that we can adapt.
We are reviewing all areas of our operation to keep our staff and guests as safe as possible and ensure we adhere to Government guidelines. We know that we have to amend timings of activities, restrict numbers of people in any one place and also allow extra time for cleaning. We will need to create a new timetable and programme for our activities to meet these requirements.
Guests due to arrive between the 6th July and the 4th September and will have received a request to cancel their future activity, Aqua Sana and restaurant bookings for now. Guests visiting on or after the 6th of July will have the opportunity to rebook things once the new schedule is in place. We know cancelling things is inconvenient but this will allow us to load a new programme.
My balance is due:
As we all continue to adapt and react to the changing circumstances and whilst we await any further guidance from the Government, we’ve decided to reduce the final balance payment date to 2 weeks prior to arrival for all breaks up to 13th August and 5 weeks for all subsequent breaks across all villages until 3rd September. All other break dates for all villages remain at the usual 10 weeks.
Temporary closure of Starbucks in the Village Centre - 10th February 2020
Starbucks located in the Village Centre is having an exciting makeover. In order to complete the work, Starbucks will be closing for refurbishment on Monday 24th February 2020 and reopening to guests on Friday 20th March 2020. You can still head over to our other Starbucks in Sports Plaza for lovely coffee and a mouth-watering treat.
The Pancake House closure - updated 10th February 2020
The Pancake House will be closed from 16th January until early March (weather permitting) to undergo an extension. This means that we will be able to serve yummy pancakes to even more of our guests in the future.
We’re also taking the opportunity to complete some essential maintenance work to the Boardwalk and roof which will continue until March 2020.
Starbucks and Dining In will remain open during these works. For more restaurant recommendations during your break, visit the food and drinks page on our website.
New route for Geocache - 10th February 2020
Geocache at Whinfell Forest has been updated with a new route for even more of a challenge. Put your sense of direction to the test to navigate around the new route whilst solving clues and discovering passwords.
Temporary closure of Starbucks in the Sports Plaza - 20th January 2020
Starbucks located in Sports Plaza is having an exciting makeover. In order to complete the work, Starbucks will be closing for refurbishment on Monday 20th January 2020 and reopening to guests on Friday 14th February 2020. You can still head over to our other Starbucks in the Village Centre for lovely coffee and a mouth-watering treat.
A new Aerial Adventure - 27th November 2019
Experience a new treetop adventure as Aerial Adventure has new elements to conquer and 255-metre dual zip wire over the lake! It’s new to Whinfell Forest so be sure to try it on your next break.
Four new Treehouses available to book at Whinfell Forest - 6th November 2019
Brand new luxurious Treehouses at Whinfell Forest are now available to book for breaks from July 2020. This spectacular new accommodation includes four en-suite bedrooms, detached games den, beautifully styled open-plan living and outdoor hot tub. Guests with limited mobility can also enjoy this luxury accommodation in our adapted Treehouse, perfect for wheelchair access.
Whinfell Forest spectacular evening entertainment - 17th September 2019
Discover our exciting evening entertainment during your stay at Whinfell Forest. Here pantomimes aren’t just for Christmas, enjoy some singing, dancing and slapstick comedy in a family fun pantomime all year round. From 13th October 2019 head over to The Green Room for a showing of Aladdin and cheer on our hero as he falls in love with Princess Jasmine.
Whether you are a lover of the 80’s, the 90’s or the chart hits, get out of your seat singing and dancing to our fantastic musical tribute, Party in the Parc, perfect for the whole family.
Visit The Green Room in the Village Centre or book on our website to see what shows are showing during your break.
Lake closures on our villages - 2nd September 2019
As we operate a number of submersible activities on the lakes at our villages, we test our lake water for quality on a regular basis. Due to natural organisms, we occasionally receive a reading that means we have to close our lake whilst we treat the issue and gain a normal reading again. Should this happen we will ensure that guest disruption is kept to a minmum and that we bring activities back online as soon as we possibly can.
Forest safety - 21st August 2019
During extreme dry weather spells we take advice from the Met Office, please see below some basic fire safety points:
- Smoking is permitted only in designated smoking locations on village and on the patio/ balcony of accommodation
- The use of wood from the forest is strictly prohibited for use on the fire in accommodation (please only use logs purchased from ParcMarket)
- The making of fires of any sort is strictly prohibited
- Should you discover a fire no matter how small, please contact the village emergency number or call 999
- Due to our forest environment we may need to withdraw the use of BBQ’s in extreme hot weather
We do have regular fire checks in place but please be vigilant and help us to maintain a safe environment in the forest.
New fun-filled activities for little ones - 28th January 2019
Discover three new activities for your little ones to enjoy. Make memories that will last forever as you forage through the forest to create your very own Family Nature Journal, or help our rangers discover woodland animals and their habitats in Nature Detectives, both at the Ranger’s Lodge. Your little ones can also have an adventure of their very own in Wizard Academy, where they can learn spells, play games and make marvellous wizard crafts in this this 3-hour unaccompanied session at the Activity Den.
Aqua Sana at Whinfell Forest opens new Relax Areas - 15th January 2019
A new way to drift away during your spa escape. Aqua Sana Whinfell Forest has had a mini makeover and now boasts two brand new areas dedicated to inducing complete relaxation.
Our biggest ever lodge - Updated 20th December 2018
Whinfell Forest is welcoming a 6-bedroom Woodland Lodge that sleeps up to 12. With six spacious bedrooms, family bathrooms and shower rooms and a large open-plan living space, it’s perfect for large families or groups of friends. Now available to book for breaks arriving from 21st December 2018.
Take aim with Archery Adventure - 10th December 2018
All about accuracy and new to Whinfell Forest, Archery Adventure will bring out your competitive side as you complete archery-themed challenges at the Outdoor Activity Centre.
Laser Target has hit Whinfell Forest - 10th December 2018
In this brand new activity test your aim and the steadiness of your hand with new Laser Target. Use our state-of-the-art laser-adapted guns to see if you can hit the bullseye. LED targets will light up in sequences - getting faster and faster! - to test your reaction times. They'll keep score electronically to see who's the best shot in your group.
Aerial Adventure enhancements - 23rd July 2018
We’ve added some exciting new obstacles to our Aerial Adventure course.
Are you brave enough to tackle the Tree House and Floating Staircase in this adrenaline packed challenge high up in the trees?
Minimising traffic on the village
We know that our focus on providing a safe environment with minimal traffic is something you really value. That’s why we need your help to reduce the traffic on our villages to protect what you love about Center Parcs: a place where little ones can run free and explore, and parents can feel at ease.