Center Parcs Park Allgäu
Wintertime in Europe can be magical, but sometimes, it can be overwhelming with its ever-changing weather. We’ve had snow, rain, fog, and cold all at once that can last for weeks. That can be daunting sometimes, especially if I’m not a cold-weather gal (remember, I’m from the South). When it comes to outdoor activities, especially in the winter, my kids aren’t easily entertained unless they’re forced to or friends are involved. Hence, we needed something fun to do to keep our winter blues at bay; and, you know there’s still a pandemic going on.
We had a Center Parcs voucher we acquired from our canceled trip to Belgium last summer, (thanks C-vid). We decided to use that voucher before it expired; though, we also had the option to get a refund. We chose the former to book our trip for the Center Parcs Park Allgäu location in Germany. What better way to enjoy the wintertime in the snow and indoor waterpark for a weekend getaway? Here is my review of the Center Parcs Park Allgäu Germany.
What is Center Parcs?
First, let’s talk about Center Parcs. If you’re not already familiar with Center Parcs, it is a holiday village theme resort in Europe with all sorts of activities on and off-site you and your family can enjoy. It’s a village on its own that caters to everyone and is perfect for families, offering tons of activities as a short-term vacation getaway. In addition to activities and recreations, the resort also offers several options for dining, shopping, as well as a grocery store. There are several locations all over Europe, specifically in the Netherlands, France, Belgium, and Germany. We’ve had the opportunity to visit the Bostalsee and Hochsauerland locations in Germany and have enjoyed our experience at both locations. Find my Hochsauerland review here.
Booking Accomodations
Before I begin my review, let me briefly talk about our booking experience. Booking your accommodation is done online the country and location you want to visit. When we received the email notification that our Belgium trip was canceled over the summer, we opted for a voucher rather than a refund. From then, we rebooked our trip to the Allgäu location online a month before our trip and called the Center Parcs via their Germany directory number and they were able to assist us with our payment using our voucher since the online site would not allow us to pay with the voucher. Though it took us a while to get ahold of Customer Service when we called, when we finally were able to get through, they were extremely helpful.
Tip: One thing to note when booking, the one advice we received from a local German is to book on Tuesday or Wednesdays; sometimes you’ll find better deals booking your trip then.
Tip: Also, if your German isn’t good, there’s a section on the bottom online where you can change the language to English or the language of your choice.
Check-In
Located in Leutkirch im Allgau, Center Parcs Allgäu is in the Baden-Württemberg region of Germany. We live further north in Germany, so the drive was easily a 4-hour drive.Check-in was easy peasy. We arrived early around 11:45 am and drove up to the gate entrance where they checked our Covid vaccination and test status. After parking (included in your stay), we grabbed our swimsuits and towels and headed to check-in at the Market Dome.
Market Dome
The Market Dome is the heart of Center Parcs Allgäu. It is centrally located within the resort and houses everything you need for the park; from the grocery store to restaurants, activities such as bowling, shopping, and more. It’s also where the Reception is located as well as the Aqua Mundo (the waterpark).
Although our cottage was not available until 4 pm, we were still able to check in and acquire our bands for the park. Each person receives these bands and is your access around the park and your room. The bands can also be used to charge certain things to your room. Once we checked in, we headed to the Aqua Mundo to enjoy the day.
Aqua Mundo
The Aqua Mundo, the indoor waterpark, is the highlight of Center Parcs (in my opinion). It’s what my teen and tween look forward to. We’ve had the opportunity to enjoy other Center Parcs locations in Germany and this Aqua Mundo is by far our favorite one! It offers tons of slides and outdoor swimming opportunities. You’ll find 5 water slides (including Center Parcs’ longest water slide and one that flushes you straight down), an amazing kiddie pool play area, a wave pool, a lazy river, an outdoor rapids area that we loved, a few hot tubs, as well as a pool area where you can swim next to a fish tank full of sea creatures!
Like other Aqua Mundos we’ve visited, there is an area to order food. The food was a bit pricey for burgers, but they were good burgers, in my opinion. Payment can be made via credit card and supposedly through your armbands. At the time, our armbands wouldn’t work for payment.
Safety-wise, lifeguards were present everywhere, including outside in the cold! We felt extremely safe enough to have our girls (teen and tween) ride slides on their own with the lifeguards around, and both are pretty decent swimmers. There are also life jackets on hand for children to use (free of charge).
The cleanliness of the Aqua Mundo was overall very clean. Oftentimes, I’d see the cleaning crew walking around and cleaning areas of the water park area. The bathrooms, showers, and locker areas were also clean. Locker room areas were also clean, you can keep your items locked away for free in the lockers using your armband as your key.
The crowd factor wasn’t too bad. There were no time limits for this particular park and we could come and go as we pleased, until park closure. I’m sure they still kept a certain amount of people in the park, but it wasn’t advertised.
TIP: Bring your own towels for the Aqua Mundo! Otherwise, pay extra for towels for the park. Some accommodations do not offer towels in the cottages and I like having separate towels for the pool and cottage.
Accomodations
At around 4 pm, we were finally able to check into our cottage. Keep in mind, this is a vehicle-free resort, where you are only allowed to drive to your cottage at check-in and check-out. For the rest of your trip, your vehicle remains in the parking lot; therefore, walking around the resort is a must. There were many families there with small children walking around, a good reason for cars to be limited.
We rented the Comfort Cottage for the weekend, the basic cottage, we wanted to stay within our budget. Our cottage met the needs of our family of four, with two bedrooms with double beds in each, a bathroom, a fully equipped kitchen with a microwave/oven combo and dishwasher, a living room with a tv, a dining area, and a backyard. It was perfect for our family for the weekend. Below, you’ll find some photos of the layout and a video of the cottage. You’ll also find other cottage accommodations here.
Keep in mind, some cottages will not have bed linens and towels included, ours did not. Tip: Make sure to check when you book online if your cottage includes linens and towels. Otherwise, completely normal to bring your own linens and towels. Comforter and pillows are already included.
A few downsides of our cottage, it was hard to warm up the entire place when we first arrived. But, once the radiators ran a good few hours, it warmed up. Location-wise, we were also far away from the parking lot and a 10-minute walk to the Market Dome and other activities. Good to note, to pick the location of your cottage, you do have to pay extra if you wish to move closer to amenities.
The cleanliness of the cottage was decent, although, most of the reviews I read online seemed to differ from my perspective. Besides bringing your own towels (unless you decide to pay extra for the resort to provide them for you), do bring extra toilet papers. Additionally, you want to also bring your own kitchen towels and any condiments you wish to have with you, (oil, salt, pepper). The resort did provide dishwasher detergent and trash bags.
Grocery Store and Restaurants
If you forget to bring your salt and pepper, among other things, like other Center Parcs locations, this resort had a grocery store and a few restaurants inside the main area. The grocery store prices were comparative to the store prices outside the park (on the economy), but maybe a dollar (or euro) higher. It had most of what you would need for a small grocery store and was very convenient to have on the property.
Restaurant eating is available, and several options are provided. We ate at one of their fast food joints inside the Aqua Mundo where we ordered from Rockets. The burgers and food were all very good, the price was as expected to be somewhat pricey for resort price, but not overly too expensive. We don’t eat out much these days, and in our area of Germany, good burgers are hard to come by. This was a treat for us, especially if the burgers are comparable to good burgers in the States. Additionally, you can find a list of restaurants here.
We also ate breakfast at the resort at Market Restaurant for two mornings of our stay. It is buffet-style and offered a variety of food to choose from. Though the menu was quite the same for both mornings we ate, the meal was pretty good. I will say, it will cost quite a bit for a family of four to eat every morning. This meal was probably €30/day. We don’t normally eat this much for breakfast anyway, so if you are on a budget, I would skip to just ordering pastries from the grocery store or the Starbucks on site (which will also be pricey), or cooking breakfast back at your cottage.
Additional Activities
Another great thing about Center Parcs is the activities offered on and off-site. At this Allgäu location, we had the opportunity to book ski lessons for my youngest. Though the ski school would be approximately a 20-minute drive away, it was convenient to book within the resort. For the ski lessons, we paid roughly around €125 for two days of ski lessons for about 3 hours for my youngest. It was enough time for my youngest to learn the basics of skiing and learn to ski down a hill without falling. Here’s my brief write-up of the ski school you can find, here.
Other activities on and off-site at the Allgäu location include bowling, arcades, putt-putt golfing, an indoor climbing wall, the spa, day trips, an outdoor Saturday Farmer’s market, and more. Additionally, you can find some activities are offered for free. More activities at the Allgäu location both free and extra can be found, here.
Booking activities can be done online prior to your visit, it’s actually recommended to book ahead of time. Payment for the activities is done once you arrive and check-in. Also, we directly called the Center Parcs Allgäu location to double-check if our booking had been reserved and for further instructions for our activities.
Spa and Sauna
Since my family wanted to go skiing, I spent the day pampering myself, and I did not feel bad about it, lol. It’s only fitting to do something for myself while they also have fun. In fact, my husband encouraged me to go for it.
On one of the days, the family went skiing, I took advantage of the spa on site. No reservations are required and it was super cheap for me to go to the spa for two hours, €15. I got to enjoy both the spa and sauna (nude). I know that sounds rather awkward, but Germany is pretty known for its nude spas and it is quite a normal thing here in Europe. Besides, I couldn’t really avoid the nudity on the day I went since the spa and saunas were in the same area; and, luckily it was practically empty. It was still worth the two hours and I truly enjoyed my relaxation time. There are certain days for family days as well for families to utilize the spa. You can find more information about the Spa and Country Club Allgäu here. Highly recommend the spa and sauna if you are looking for some relaxation time.
Tip: If you wish to utilize the Spa’s Wellness Center for their massage services, it is highly advisable to call in advance to reserve your appointment 2-weeks prior to a month before your visit. The services book quickly. I was not able to snag a massage appointment, but cancellations do happen at the last minute, so inquire with the Spa at the resort. To book ahead, call the Center Parcs you are staying at and they can provide you the number for the Spa to make an appointment.
Kid Friendly Resort
One of the many reasons why we love Center Parcs is that it is very kid-friendly! In addition to the Aqua Mondu and the Market Dome activities, I forgot to mention this Center Parcs also has an indoor kid playground called BALUBA indoor play world. My kids are older, so they did not qualify for this included amenities, but I know several families with younger children that would appreciate this share. There is also an outdoor petting zoo area, many amazing playgrounds, an opportunity to rent a kid-size jeep to drive around in a racer track (just for kids), and more. I’m sure once it gets warmer, there are more kid-friendly activities offered. Find more activities here.
Location
I’ll touch briefly on location, we only spent most of our 3-night stay on-site at the resort, besides the off-site slopes for skiing. The beautiful region of Allgäu, where this Center Parcs is located, is a beautiful location in Southern Germany that offers so many opportunities for outdoor adventures. It is so close to the Alps that you can see the beautiful mountains from afar a few miles away from the resort. Furthermore, the snow this time of the year is magical. You can’t go wrong visiting this area. There are several day trip-worthy places, including a visit to the famed Cinderella-inspired castle of Neuschwanstein, the southern part of Lake Konstanz, and several hiking locations in the area.
Covid Restrictions
During our visit (January 2022), vaccination status was checked daily to enter the Aqua Mundo. FFP2 masks were also required. There is a testing center on-site that is free of charge during your visit. My girls are not vaccinated (10 and 15 years old), so they only had to test each day which was sufficient for re-entry to Aqua Mundo if the test is negative, of course.
Final Thoughts
This is our 4th winter here in Germany and searching for fun winter getaways can be a challenge. However, Center Parcs is one place we can certainly enjoy to beat the cold weather. The Center Parcs Allgäu location is one not to miss, especially since it is close to the Alps. It’s a newer location and to us, it’s been our favorite location thus far! Highly recommend this location! It is very kid-friendly, lots of activities are offered, and the location is beautiful for outdoor enthusiasts. I hope you enjoyed reading this review. If you’d like to read my review for the Hochsauerland location, find it here. Until our next adventure friends! Bis zum nächsten Mal Freunde!
** Disclosure: All views expressed on this site are my own and do not represent the opinions of others and in no means an affiliate to any of the companies discussed.***
