Horrified mum who paid £1.7k for a stay at Center Parcs with ‘VIP clean’ finds ‘moth infestation, hair & grime’ in lodge
A MUM who forked out a whopping £1.7k for a New Year’s stay at Center Parcs has shared her horror after finding the lodge infested with moths, gross grease and hair.
The mum, only known as Kelly, took to TikTok to share the horrific discovery, which has since left web users sick to their stomachs.
Kelly explained that her family have been going to Center Parcs around the holiday season every year for a decade now – and this New Year’s Eve wasn’t any exception.
But although the parent noted that ”the lodges are always a little bit dirty” and it’s not something ”a quick wipe around couldn’t fix”, nothing could’ve prepared her for the grim state of the lodge.
”I didn’t even need to look for the dirt – it was just there, it was absolutely filthy,” Kelly said, showing the dust on the carpet, as well as the skirting boards.
The cleaning fan said that the past two years that the family have paid to stay at the holiday village, ”it has been so grimy” that she’s resorted to complaining.
According to Kelly, who was staying at Sherwood Forest, near Nottingham, they have since been ”put on the VIP Cleaning list” to ensure maximum satisfaction.
”I don’t even know whether that’s a thing – or they just said that to shut me up.”
Although Kelly was told the lodge would’ve had ”a deep clean” prior to their arrival, the mother was in for a shock, admitting that ”this was the worst it’s ever been”.
Not only did she discover ”black bits in the kettle”, but there was also ”grime around the sink, the toaster hasn’t been emptied” and there was leftover food stuck to the white plates.
”Thought I’m not gonna let this consume my holiday – I just chucked everything in the dishwasher, had a quick wipe-around and just get on with it.
”Then spent my evening cleaning just to ensure my kids had a clean place to stay,” the furious mum complained in the now-viral video.
Despite spotting ”so many hairs” in the oven, Kelly explained she wasn’t bothered about giving it a clean – as the family didn’t plan on using the appliance.
Baffled, especially after forking out the eye-watering sum, Kelly was looking for answers.
”I just don’t understand why this hasn’t been cleaned. These lodges are cleaned a minimum of two times a week – there are no excuses,” said the mother, who described the bathrooms as ”mouldy”.
”Absolutely everyone who comes into these lodges uses these toilets – that should be one of the priorities, and the kitchen.”
Little-known free perks at Center Parcs
Visit before check in
Families can explore the park from the morning to make the most of their stay, with six free hours before the 4pm check in.
The park website states: “On your day of arrival, you can start your adventure in the forest from 10am and have access to your accommodation at 4pm.”
Stay after check out
Check out is 10am, but guests can stay on site until midnight that day.
This gives another 14 free hours to explore the activities.
The website states: “On your final day at Center Parcs don’t rush to get back to reality, you will need to leave your accommodation by 10am, though guests are welcome to stay on village until midnight.”
Free baby swimming sessions
Baby Dolphins is a free session for kids under three before the pool opens, so parents can have a quieter session with their little ones.
The horrified mum also shared her shock when she discovered a ”moth nest” under the bedside table.
”I noticed some things crawling on the carpet. At this point, I didn’t really think much of it.
”It did make my skin crawl a little bit but I thought ‘You know what, I’m just going to give it a quick hoover and get on with the rest of my day’.
”As I am hoovering, half of the carpet is getting sucked up by the hoover.”
As a cleaner with seven years of experience, Kelly very soon realised what this meant – the lodge was infested with moths and ”this would have never happened” if the holiday property had been cleaned properly as promised, she explained.
For those saying that the cleaners may not get enough time to spruce up the homes up to standard, the manager allegedly told Kelly they ”get five hours to clean one lodge”.
Sharing the story on social media, Kelly said the family were offered a different lodge, as well as a £450 refund for the four-night stay.
But although they did get a chunk of the money back and the second lodge didn’t have moths, the mother noted that this would probably be their last stay at the popular holiday village.
”After ten years of being at Center Parcs, I do not think we will be returning. This has completely ruined my week.”
Center Parcs told The Sun: “We were disappointed to see these videos, as this is absolutely not the standard we expect for our guests. We will address this with the relevant teams and have provided compensation to the guest.
“With regard to the moths discovered, being located within a forest we do find that nature makes its way into our lodges from time to time. When this happens, we will of course arrange a new lodge for guests to move into, as we did in this situation.”