EXCLUSIVE Is it cheaper to go on holiday to Center Parcs or Magaluf? Here’s what it would cost to spend a weekend at the UK resort compared to other A-level party destinations like Sunny Beach and Newquay – including travel, accommodation and booze

• Research factors in cost of travel, accommodation and three three-course meals
• MailOnline looks at 3-night Friday-Monday trip for four adults from July 21 to 24 

The cost of a four-day holiday to Center Parcs for four adults later this month is roughly the same as a trip to Newquay, Magaluf and Bulgaria, MailOnline can reveal.

Research factored in the cost of travel, accommodation and three three-course meals with a beer on a three-night long weekend stay at all four locations.

And there was little difference in cost, with Bulgaria coming in cheapest at £412 per person – followed by Center Parcs at £431, Newquay at £458 and Magaluf at £470.

It comes as experts said Center Parcs UK was now targeting a younger audience to attract prospective buyers after lowering the minimum booking age from 21 to 18.

Bosses said they want to attract ‘young families’, in a move that comes after the chain was put up for sale for £4billion by Canadian private equity owner Brookfield.

To look further into this, MailOnline examined the cost of Center Parcs against three other destinations popular with young adults, going in just over a fortnight’s time from Friday, July 21 to Monday, July 24.

Full research: How the price of a holiday to Center Parcs compares

Costs are given per person for four adults travelling for three nights from  Friday, July 21 to Monday, July 24. 

CENTER PARCS – SHERWOOD FOREST

Travel: £10

Four people travelling together from London in a car would have a roughly 300-mile round trip. In a Ford Focus with an average 47.85mpg, this would give an estimated return fuel cost of £40 – or £10 split between four people.

Accommodation: £325 

Total cost for a four-bedroom lodge for four people is £1,299

Meals: £96

Three-course meal at the on-site Cafe Rouge would cost at least £32 per night – given the cheapest starter is £6.95, main £14.20, dessert £5.75 and beer £5.50. When multiplied over three nights, this gives a figure of £96.

TOTAL: £431

NEWQUAY, CORNWALL

Travel: £89 (trains)

Travelling by train would be £354.20 for four super-off peak returns with a group save discount on Great Western Railway from London Paddington to Newquay – equating to £89 each.

Accommodation: £288

A four-bedroom AirBnb property is found for £1,154, or £288 per person.

Meals out: £81 

The cost of a meal out at the town’s Pizza Express would be £27 for three courses and a beer. The cheapest starter is £5.95, main £10.95, dessert £5.45 and beer £4.95. Multiplied over three days, this would be £81.

TOTAL: £458

SUNNY BEACH, BULGARIA

Travel: £240 (flights)

The cheapest flights on Skyscanner to Bourgas are returns for £240 each – leaving Gatwick at 6.40am on July 21 with EasyJet, and returning on Wizzair from Bourgas at 8.50pm.

Accommodation: £130 

Expedia’s cheapest hotel with four bedrooms in the resort is the Magnolia Garden Hotel, costing £520 for four people – or £130 each.

Meals out: £42 

And Numbeo, the crowdsourced cost of living database, states the price of a three-course meal at a mid-range restaurant in Sunny Beach is just £12.50 plus beer for £1.36. This gives a total of just £42 over three nights.

TOTAL: £412

MAGALUF, SPAIN

Travel: £123 (flights)

The cheapest flights from London to Maguluf on those dates via Skyscanner are £123 each with Ryanair, leaving at 7.25am from Stansted to Palma de Mallorca on July 21 and returning from the Spanish airport at 11.20pm on July 24. 

Accommodation: £278

The cheapest hotel with four bedrooms on Expedia is the MLL Blue Bay Hotel, costing £1,113 for four people – or £278 each. 

Meals out: £69

Numbeo says the price of a three-course meal at a mid-range restaurant in Palma de Mallorca would be £20.33, and a domestic beer would cost £2.57. Added up over three nights, that gives a total of £69.

TOTAL: £470

Beginning the research at the Center Parcs site at Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, one four-bedroom lodge for four people over that period would cost £1,299 or £325 per person.

A three-course meal at the on-site Cafe Rouge restaurant would cost upwards of £32 – given the cheapest starter is £6.95, main £14.20, dessert £5.75 and beer £5.50. When multiplied over three nights, this gives a figure of £96.

Four people travelling together from London in a car would have a roughly 300-mile round trip. In a Ford Focus with an average 47.85mpg, this would give an estimated return fuel cost of £40 – or £10 when split between four people.

When adding together the £325 accommodation cost, £96 on meals and £10 on car travel, this gives a total of £431 for Center Parcs.

Turning attention to the Cornish seaside resort of Newquay, a four-bedroom AirBnb property for those dates can be found for £1,154 – or £288 per person.

Travelling by train would be £354.20 for four super-off peak returns with a group save discount on Great Western Railway from London Paddington to Newquay – equating to £89 each.

Then, the cost of a meal out at the town’s Pizza Express would be £27 for three courses and a beer. The cheapest starter is £5.95, main £10.95, dessert £5.45 and beer £4.95. Multiplied over three days, this would be £81.

Adding together the £288 for accommodation, £89 for travel and £81 for meals gives a total of £458 – making it only £27 more expensive than Center Parcs. Further savings would likely be achieved by travelling by car instead of train.

Looking at going abroad, the cheapest flights from London to Maguluf on those dates via Skyscanner are £123 each with Ryanair, leaving at 7.25am from Stansted to Palma de Mallorca on July 21 and returning from the Spanish airport at 11.20pm on July 24.

The cheapest hotel with four bedrooms on Expedia is the MLL Blue Bay Hotel, costing £1,113 for four people – or £278 each.

Numbeo, the crowdsourced cost of living database, says the price of a three-course meal at a mid-range restaurant in Palma de Mallorca would be £20.33, and a domestic beer would cost £2.57. Added up over three nights, that gives a total of £69.

Then, when considering the resort of Sunny Beach in Bulgaria, the cheapest flights on Skyscanner to Bourgas are returns for £240 each – leaving Gatwick at 6.40am on July 21 with EasyJet, and returning on Wizzair from Bourgas at 8.50pm.

Expedia’s cheapest hotel with four bedrooms in the resort is the Magnolia Garden Hotel, costing £520 for four people – or £130 each.

And Numbeo states the price of a three-course meal at a mid-range restaurant in Sunny Beach is just £12.50 plus beer for £1.36. This gives a total of just £42 over three nights.

It comes as experts said Center Parcs UK was now targeting a younger audience as the chains remains up for sale.

Financial experts said the owners will want to ‘keep a full house of bookings’ to show potential buyers there is high demand.

However, tourism experts warned that the changes ‘will clearly have an impact on the traditional middle-class boomers who look for a civilised escape’, amid fears that it will lead to parties of school leavers travelling to the sites and causing booze-fuelled mayhem.

Beverley Boden, head of Teesside University’s department for aviation, tourism, finance and marketing, told The Sun: ‘This is a new way for Center Parcs to diversify its product and to increase occupancy during term time.

‘It’s an opportunity to enter a young market and given the cost of living crisis, it will help them look to new income sources to maintain the grounds and to generate new revenue streams.

‘This will clearly have an impact on the traditional middle-class boomers who look for a civilised escape but entering a new market could be the way forward in income generation, which is to appeal to the masses during a difficult economic climate.’

People swimming in the pool at Center Parcs Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire 

And Patrizia Riganti, professor in tourism at the University of Glasgow, told MailOnline: ‘Lowering the age responds to the need to expand the market, following a period of severe tourism crisis. At 18, a person is supposed to be fully responsible and independent. 

How Center Parcs UK was originally part of a Dutch firm and opened its first site in 1987 

Center Parcs UK runs five holiday villages in Britain and one in Ireland.

The holiday operator draws millions of visitors to its forest locations and offering accommodation, together with activities such as water sports, quad biking and tennis.

It was originally part of a Dutch business, which opened its first site in the UK at Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire in 1987.

After adding further sites, the UK arm was spun off and floated on the stock market in 2003 before US firm Blackstone bought it in 2006, and then sold it to current owners, Canadian firm Brookfield, in 2015 for £2.4billion.

Its real estate was independently valued at £4.1billion in April.

The Center Parcs sites in the Republic of Ireland and UK have been open since April 2021 after the pandemic had forced them to close.

Brookfield’s investment in Center Parcs since its acquisition has included £100million on tech upgrades alone.

Revenues for the year to April 21, 2022 hit a record £503.4million and profits returned to the black, with a £245.6million haul following a Covid-induced loss the year before.

Profits were £66million last year, up from a loss of £157million in 2021.

However it scrapped plans to build a brand new resort at Worth Forest in West Sussex earlier this year amid a backlash from wildlife campaigners.

‘For most countries 18 is the age when they can vote and are officially adult. So, in principle, this is a very reasonable destination management action or policy.

‘The problem is the expected behaviour and the fact that groups of school leavers might be disruptive and interfere with the kind of experience other tourists would like to have when visiting these resorts.’

She added that one possibility for Center Parcs was to ‘develop appropriate marketing strategies to encourage responsible behaviour’, adding that rules should be established in the resorts to ‘discourage disruptive behaviour’.

The rule change applies to all five Center Parcs sites in the UK, including the original holiday village at Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, as well as the Center Parcs in Ireland – Longford Forest, which opened in 2019.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, told MailOnline: ‘Holidaymakers appear to have fallen back in love with the great British break, but risks remain to sustained growth for Center Parcs, particularly as the lure of the overseas trip is strengthening post pandemic.

‘The chain has been put up for sale, for double the amount the current owners paid for it, and it needs to keep a full house of bookings to demonstrate high demand to justify the price. 

‘Tapping into the young adult market, may also help even out the booking season, with the parks super-busy during school holidays and quieter during term time.

‘Center Parcs will also have its eye on the cost of living crisis and worries that more households will tighten belts as borrowing costs become more onerous may have prompted the widening of their potential customer base to offset fewer bookings from cash-strapped families.

‘Wealthier consumers also appear still willing to pay some hefty prices for add-ons like luxury spa treatments, ringfencing budgets for expensive treats and this could be an area of under-tapped potential for the parks to exploit among younger holidaymakers.’

Explaining the changes, a Center Parcs UK spokesman told MailOnline: ‘Center Parcs is a family short-break destination, and we recognise that all families are different.

‘As part of a regular review of our terms and conditions we made the change to ensure that younger families are also able to makes special memories in our safe forest environment.’

One of the five Center Parcs sites in the UK is at Longleat Forest near Warminster in Wiltshire

Waterside Lodge accommodation at the Center Parcs site in Elveden Forest, Suffolk

But reacting to the news on Twitter yesterday, one user said: ‘Brilliant. Centre Parcs becomes a wannabe Butlins, best of luck with that. Completely destroying high-value/high-class experience.’

Another added: ‘I don’t think it’s the age that you can book that they should be lowering. (From 21 to 18). It should be their prices!’

However, tourism expert Professor Sheela Agarwal of Plymouth Business School told MailOnline: ‘I don’t view the change in policy to have a substantive impact on the experience of others at Centre Parcs.

Who owns Britain’s holiday park sites? 

• Center Parcs – Brookfield (Canada)
• Haven Holidays – Blackstone (USA)
• Away Resorts – CVC Capital Partners (Luxembourg)
• Butlins – Harris Family Trusts (UK)
• Aria Resorts – CVC Capital Partners (Luxembourg)
• Park Holidays UK – Sun Communities (USA)
• Parkdean Resorts – Onex Corporation (Canada)
• Coppergreen Leisure – CVC Capital Partners (Luxembourg)
• Warner Leisure Villages – Blackstone (USA)
• Pontins – Britannia Hotels (UK)

‘The resorts do not cater for hedonistic type holidays which are part and parcel of the built infrastructure in places such as Magaluf and St Antonio and given the layout of the resorts, different types of customers can be accommodated in different zones that are separated by the forest.

‘Many young people of this generation also do not participate in excessive binge drinking that was fashionable in the 90s and 00s, but instead prefer to collect experiences and make memories.’

In contrast to the UK sites, Center Parcs Europe – which operates holiday parks on the continent as a separate company – has maintained a minimum booking age of 21.

The European firm states on its website: ‘The lead booker of the trip must be at least 21 years old at the time of booking. Center Parcs only accepts reservations from persons who are 21 or older.

‘Reservations where the booker is younger than 21 years of age are not considered valid. The main booker is also liable for all fellow travellers included in the reservation.’

It comes as speculation grew today that the planned £4billion sale of Center Parcs UK could be scrapped after a number of prospective bidders quit the race.

First bids were due a few weeks ago, with the owners taking some through to a second stage – but two have now dropped out, according to The Times.

One insider said the sales process was ‘wobbling’, adding: ‘It’s a fantastic business, but the problem is that it’s fairly dry – there’s not a lot of juice.

‘There’s not a lot to do to drive value and you can’t guarantee that you’re going to get a new site. I wouldn’t be surprised if they pulled [the sale]. Brookfield doesn’t need to sell right now.’

However, the newspaper also reported that the process is still ongoing and several bids remain on the table.

The Center Parcs site at Woburn Forest in Bedfordshire is among its five locations in the UK

In May, experts told MailOnline that the cost of holidays at Center Parcs could rise if the chain is sold.

Brookfield bought the UK resort group from US firm Blackstone for £2.4billion in 2015, and it is thought to have been looking to sell on its investment since last year.

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The owners are trying to cash in on Britain’s staycation boom that began during the pandemic and it comes as they returned to profit after lockdown rules eased.

Experts said that there is interest from US lifestyle brands and private equity groups wanting to get a foothold in the UK outdoor adventure-based holiday market.

They added that any new owner of Center Parcs is likely to want to improve facilities, but it could also mean pricier holidays as they seek to recover their purchase price.

Many UK holiday park chains are already owned by foreign private equity groups – such as the Bourne Leisure brands Haven Holidays and Warner Leisure Villages, which were bought by New York-based Blackstone for £3billion in January 2021.

Away Resorts, Aria Resorts and Coppergreen Leisure were all bought in sequence by CVC Capital Partners of Luxembourg in 2021 – in June, August and December of that year respectively.

Parkdean Resorts was bought by Canada’s Onex Corporation in 2016 for £1.35billion; while Sun Communities of Michigan purchased Park Holidays UK for £950million in April last year.

There are few remaining UK holiday park chains owned by British companies – although these include Butlins, sold to its former owners the Harris family for £300million last September; and Pontins, owned by Britannia Hotels which is based in Hale, Greater Manchester.

The Financial Times reported in May that the sale of Center Parcs would include £2billion in existing debt, which is likely to appeal to interested parties given that raising new financing would be tough amid current market anxiety.

Last year, Center Parcs faced a backlash after it said its five UK sites would close from 10am on September 19 for 24 hours ‘as a mark of respect’ for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. However it later made a U-turn after a backlash from guests.

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