For many in the UK, Center Parcs is a childhood staple and families spend plenty of trips away enjoying the cabins and having fun outdoors.
There are five different locations to choose from, all surrounded by woodland areas and offering a range of activities.
America isn’t too different, Great Wolf Lodge promises a similar fun-packed experience for families.
With 23 spots across the States and Canada, guests stay in a suite and can splash in the huge indoor water park that boasts a variety of slides and pools.
They also have the chance participate in ‘dance parties’ and make use of the arcade as well as other attractions.
It is described as ‘North America’s largest family of indoor water park resorts’.
First opening in 1997 in Wisconsin Dells, there are now sites across the US including Massachusetts and Chicago.
Now, Great Wolf Lodge is expanding and is set to come to the UK – though the planned development has stoked some controversy in the local area.
For many in the UK, Center Parcs is a childhood staple and families spend plenty of trips away enjoying the cabins and having fun outdoors
America isn’t too different, Great Wolf Lodge promises a similar fun-packed experience for families
According to The Telegraph, three lodges will be built in Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Derbyshire.
The expansion will be a first for Europe, with Bicester, which is set to be built initially, being the debut Great Wolf Lodge in the continent.
The new hotel, which is budgeted to cost £200million, will feature an adventure play park and a water park.
It will be situated on an old golf course and building has already started on the site.
However, it is not yet known when the resort will be ready to open.
Like the UK’s Center Parcs, Great Wolf Lodge prides itself for being suitable for all the family.
In America, it boasts characterful cabin-style decor and totem poles, while mascots including Wiley the Wolf occasionally appear.
Prices are around £150 per night, according to The Telegraph, for a family of four.
With 23 spots across the States and Canada , guests stay in a suite and can splash in the huge indoor water park that boasts a variety of slides and pools
Now, Great Wolf Lodge is expanding and is set to come to the UK
But the plans for a new resort in Bicester have not gone down smoothly in the past.
The Telegraph reported how planning permission for Great Wolf Lodge in Chesterton, near Bicester, was approved in 2021.
However, it wasn’t well-received by some and over 30 local parishes fought against the proposals.
They argued Great Wolf Lodge would not fit the character of the local area and would cause traffic issues.
Chari of Stop the Wolf campaign and local resident Caroline Chipperfield-Twiddy, previously told The Telegraph: ‘The scale of this huge hotel complex is so completely wrong for its surroundings that it’s as if no one from the US has actually visited the British countryside.
‘It is the wrong thing in the wrong place. It will totally dwarf our village and it’s an eyesore too.’
Meanwhile, building on the site in Chesterton has been paused, according to the Oxford Mail, and a Great Wolf Lodge spokesperson told the publication: ‘The current status for the Great Wolf Lodge project near Bicester remains unchanged.
‘We have completed significant infrastructure improvements to the site in Chesterton, but have temporarily paused additional development as we explore the potential of additional resort locations within the UK in order to reach more families and provide a stronger entry into the market.’
But the plans for a new resort in Bicester have not gone down smoothly in the past
The Daily Mail previously revealed that a trip to Center Parcs UK costs around £1,709 on average, for a family of four staying four nights from October 27-31 2025.
There are alternative options across Europe, too, which generally work out to be cheaper.
Center Parcs Europe is a separate company to Center Parcs UK and boasts several destinations, including the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Germany and Denmark.
In the analysis, all were cheaper than staying in the UK on average, with some costing less than half the price of the same trip closer to home.
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