Center Parcs WiFi (Availability, Speed & Price)
I realise that for many Center Parcs is a time to switch off and disconnect, but personally, it’s something I simply can’t do. I remember our first visit to Center Parcs, and we actually arrived on the day of the Game of Thrones finale.
Despite being on holiday I was determined not to miss the finale, or have it spoiled by someone on social media, so I researched about wi-fi at the resort to find out if we’d be able to watch it on SkyGo.
I found my answer, but it took a lot of time and effort (which I assumed such a basic question shouldn’t). Therefore, since visiting multiple different Center Parcs resorts numerous times I wanted to share my personal findings with you to help you better plan and prepare for your trip.
Despite being in the middle of a forest, all Center Parcs locations have complimentary Wi-Fi throughout the village. This includes the restaurants, cafes and bars as well as inside the lodges.
The wi-fi doesn’t require you to log in. Simply connect your device to the open network and browse the internet freely while enjoying your visit to Center Parcs resort.
Center Parcs Wi-Fi In The Village Centre
All Center Parcs village centres and sports centres have brilliant Wi-Fi. I’ve never once experienced a problem with the internet at any of the Center Parcs resorts we’ve visited, and I’ve been able to upload photos from our trip to social media directly.
The Google speed report shows the internet as slow but honestly, I didn’t notice any difference compared to being at home. I didn’t really watch any videos, but downloading emails or browsing social media wasn’t a problem. There was zero lag and zero interference.
However, the great internet doesn’t just stop at the village and sports centre. You’ll actually find that the internet is pretty perfect regardless of where you’re located within the village. This could be out on a woodland walk, on the tennis courts or out at the far corner of the resort out on the shooting range.
Personally, we’ve found that this great internet coverage makes up for the loss of traditional mobile phone signal, which is pretty poor. In most cases when visiting a Center Parcs resort we’ll have anything from zero services to two bars of signal.
This is to be expected, given where you are when visiting Center Parcs resorts (in the middle of nowhere – in a good way).
Center Parcs Wi-Fi In The Lodge
All lodges at Center Parcs have Wi-Fi. This is regardless of where they are located or the type of lodge. We’ve been to all of the Center Parcs resorts located in England, many numerous times and we’ve never had a lodge with no access to the internet.
Most people assume that the Wi-Fi inside the lodge is going to be worse compared to the village centre due to the proximity of the lodge from the village.
However, this isn’t the case. The infrastructure has been well implemented so regardless of where on the site you’re located your internet should still have the same or similar speeds to in the village centre.
No example is better than this screenshot I took inside our lodge on our most recent visit to Center Parcs Whinfell. Our lodge was located in the top right-hand corner of the park (Beachwood #32 if you want to look it up), right at the edge, so much so we could see the fields beyond the resort.
Yet the internet was just as good here as it was at the village centre (again, see the screenshot above).
While all Center Parcs lodges have a TV inside (multiple TVs if you’re staying in a lodge with several bedrooms) they are relatively dated and do not feature the latest Smart TV technology.
As such we recommend adding a Roku or a Chromecast to your list of things to pack for Center Parcs so you can stream movies.
These internet speeds allowed me and Helen to check our emails for work purposes, make a couple of notes here about our trip to share with you guys our readers, and on an evening stream Netflix while relaxing on the sofa.
As well as location, these speeds were consistently good regardless of the time. The internet didn’t suddenly start to lag after 6pm or 7pm as people returned to their lodges for the evening.
This is helpful as I am considering booking a break next year but will need to log on to do work for 1 of the days.