A dog friendly holiday to Center Parcs

We recently had a big family holiday to Center Parcs Longleat Forest. There was myself, my husband and our two younger kids, my parents, my sister, brother-in-law, niece, nephew, brother and sister-in-law – with an age range of 10 to  80. It was the fifth time we’d had a holiday like this, dating back to 2018. For the first time ever, we took Hetty, our cockapoo, with us.

In recent years, we’d noticed more and more dogs at Center Parcs. We usually saw them walking around on leads when we had a big run on a Sunday morning. Previously, when we’d been  to Center Parcs, we’d put Hetty in kennels near home, but we said when/ if we went again, we would take her with us. This made sense as my husband had chosen not to spend much time in the swimming pool when we went last year, so it would be fairly easy to take Hetty with us.

Spoiler alert. If I’m honest, Center Parcs isn’t really dog friendly.

Dogs are allowed there, but dogs and their owners really aren’t given a lot of thought. I understand some of the reasons for this, but I also think if dogs are allowed to stay at Center Parcs, a bit more should be done to make it comfortable for dogs and their owners.

There are a limited number of dog friendly lodges at Center Parcs, so you need to book early, especially at busy times. You can take up to two dogs to each lodge. It costs £89 extra to take one dog and £109 extra to take two dogs.

EDIT 2026 – It now costs £129 to take either one or two dogs to Center Parcs. It is unlikely we will take Hetty with us again, as this price is now close to the price for kennels and having a dog at Center Parcs is quite restrictive for the humans.

All of the dog friendly accommodation has a bath, to make it easier to clean your dogs if they get dirty. It also has a dog tie post in the garden and its own dog poo bin. These are obviously very useful, although Hetty isn’t the sort of dog to be tied up. If we’re sitting outside, she will always choose to sit on our laps. It would have been useful for the garden to be fenced, as Hetty had to go out on a lead to have a wee and we couldn’t leave the patio door open even though it was hot, as she would have wandered off.

But while the number of dog friendly lodges is limited, it’s not insignificant, so I really think there needs to be more consideration for dogs and their owners. There was always a lot of dogs and owners stood or sat outside The Plaza – often for hours at a time. There isn’t an awful lot of outdoor seating and the only toilets directly accessible from the outside are at the boathouse by the lake. If you’re on your own with your dog for a few hours while your family swim or go to a restaurant, that can be a problem!

One nice touch was a welcome message to Hetty on the blackboard of the lodge when we arrived. Another thing I really appreciated was that there wasn’t any rules about dogs not being allowed on sofas and beds etc. A lot of the dog friendly cottages we’ve stayed in in Padstow have had rules about exactly where dogs are allowed in the house, which makes them feel not very dog friendly at all!

When my husband was in charge of Hetty, he spent most of his time sitting outside the Sports Cafe having a beer. I joined the hordes hanging round outside The Plaza, unsure of what to do with myself after Hetty had run round the dog play area and tired herself out.

Dogs must be on a lead at all times, apart from in the two dog play areas. I understand why – Center Parcs is in an actual forest and there is wildlife there – deer, squirrels, rabbits, birds etc. Dogs could be a danger to the wildlife. There are also lots of families and small children there, who might be frightened of dogs. So I’m absolutely fine with this!

There is a dog play area right by The Plaza – the building containing the Sub Tropical Swimming Paradise and various shops and restaurants. There is another smaller dog play area in the Westside accommodation area – the area furthest away from The Plaza. Luckily for us, this was very close to our own accommodation. In these areas, dogs are allowed off the lead and free to run, sniff, explore, chase each other, play with balls etc.

The only indoor restaurant where dogs are allowed at Center Parcs Longleat is The Foresters’ Inn in the Village Square – possibly the most boring area of Center Parcs. Dogs are also allowed in the outdoor areas of The Pancake House and the Sports Cafe. The exact restaurants they are allowed in will vary between the different locations, but it will be a similar number. As you can see, this isn’t ‘dog friendly’. This is far less restaurants than they would be allowed into in the outside world.

After three consecutive years of going to Center Parcs Longleat Forest with my family, we’re not going to go again next year. When and if we do go again, I’m sure we will take Hetty, but I wouldn’t describe it as dog friendly. I do hope more can be done to make it dog friendly, while also being considerate of people who don’t have dogs, in the future