A couple of weeks ago I visited Centre Parcs at Whinfell Forest just outside of Penrith to celebrate a friends birthday. We went for a long weekend arriving on Friday evening and leaving on Monday morning.
Having never visited Centre Parcs before I wasn’t sure what to expect and was really surprised by the activity and restaurant options. I also really liked the fact that everyone arrives and leaves on designated days so there are no cars on site over the weekend (fantastic if you have kids in your group).
We decided to bring our own food for the majority of our stay and chose to eat out on our last night. Our lodge was lovely and had recently been revamped. It had everything we needed and the modern decor reflected our surroundings perfectly.
On the Saturday we opted to play badminton in the huge sports hall then went for a swim in the pool complex. There were numerous slides, a wave machine, outside pool and jacuzzi. It was very busy as we went in the middle of August but would be fantastic in the quieter months. I can imaging spending hours and hours sitting by the pool, eating, swimming and relaxing.
Sunday was our day at Aqua Sana Spa. It had everything. A Balinese Multi-Steam Bath, Greek Herbal Bath, Ice Fountain, Indian Blossom Steam Room, Japanese Salt Steam Bath, Footbaths, Spa Pool, Turkish Hammam, Tyrolean Sauna, Water Beds, Zen Garden and Outside Pool. We decided to spend the whole day there and didn’t run out of things to keep us occupied. The spa was filled with sun loungers and chairs to relax in and each spa experience had it’s own sensory shower that had multiple options to cool off.
That night we had dinner at Bella Italia which I really enjoyed. I had calamari to start and a calzone for main and some mini doughnuts for dessert. It was the perfect way to round off a fantastic weekend at Whinfell Forest.
