To be caught among a group of parents without an opinion on Center Parcs is like showing up at the office without your trousers. People may acknowledge your embarrassment but they won't understand how you got this far without realising something was missing.

Center Parcs virgin Jennifer Howze visited the Sherwood Forest site to find out why

'Brilliant,' my sister-in-law called it after visiting with her two teenage sons. 'It was marvellous,' another friend said, who went with her toddler and baby. In fact, every parent my husband and I talked to had been or was planning a visit.

As any parent knows, holidays with the children are far from the wild and free excursions we all once enjoyed. These days we're happy to get two hours without playing Snakes and Ladders.

Safe, car-free fun
What's great about Center Parcs is that it does two things: it provides plenty of all-day fun that kids and adults alike can enjoy while also giving parents plenty of time to themselves.

All the camps are set up as car-free zones. You check in, park your vehicle, then spend the rest of the time wheeling around the grounds on your bike, walking through a village square that has restaurants, a market, carp ponds, a swimming pool, a bowling alley and more.

It was the simple things that pleased us the most, like simply cycling around the camp and enjoying the domesticated great outdoors. We also loved the Treasure Trail, a simple scavenger hunt on bikes you do with other families, some of them overly competitive. We were practically run over by a father, two kids on bikes with stabilisers and a mother towing a toddler in a trailer. Never mind, we goofed around, got lost twice and managed to come in fourth.

The pool, or 'Subtropical Swimming Paradise', is also a major draw. It has a main area (the temperature was a bit too cool for us but was well-populated), a baby pool, a children's pool with two slides and a sand area, a heated outdoor pool, a 'Grand Cascade' slide for adults, a 'Wild Water Rapids' and more - enough to keep everyone entertained for half a day.

Other great benefits include an Ofsted-registered creche, a billiards room, badminton, ping-pong, a football academy and a falconry. Don't worry, you'll get an entire booklet for pre-booking the activities you want.

Relax in the spa
Make sure the Aqua Sana spa is on the list. Let's face it, you can't stay at any kind of resort or hotel these days that doesn't have a spa. Some can be dispiritingly empty but the Aqua Sana here was big, with treatment rooms, a hammam, an ice fountain, gardens, rooms of different temperatures and a cafe serving 'Food Doctor' menus. Furthermore, it was populated by both men and women. Often spas have pointless little rooms for 'relaxing' that no one ever sits in. Here, I saw people meditating in the Zen garden, chatting in a sunny relaxation room, simmering in a bubbling pool and otherwise taking advantage of all the facilities.

Signs outside each of the rooms, like the Sea Salt steam room, tell how to use them in friendly and welcoming language. I've been to loads of spas but can never remember how long to sit in the laconium and what to do after the steam room. It just had the feel of a spa where people were actually enjoying themselves rather than seriously going about the business of relaxing.

Smooth operator
The machine that is Center Parcs operates smoothly. Our accommodation was excellent: a fully-kitted-out kitchen including dishwasher and microwave, dining and sitting rooms, two bedrooms (one with en suite bath, one with en suite shower room) and televisions.

There was even a downstairs guest toilet and a patio that led directly onto a swathe of green bordering a duck pond. You can arrange for linen and towel rental before your arrival, book any classes or activities you want, pre-register online and even arrange for a box of groceries to be waiting for you on arrival.

If there's anything that grates about Center Parcs, it's the extra charges for so much of what it has to offer. While I'd expect to pay for laser shooting, archery or abseiling, I feel a bit penny-pinched by paying for a round on the miniature golf course or for a guided nature walk in the grounds.

Even the Treasure Trail costs £3 per adult and £2 per child, a bit steep considering the participants do all the work. The most ridiculous example we saw was at the pool, which itself is free. In the dressing room it cost £1 to dry suits in a centrifugal drier that any decent gym swimming pool provides free.

Charges can be avoided by bringing your own towels and bikes as well as cooking in your accommodation instead of eating at the restaurants. For the most part these were mediocre at best, except for the 'fine dining' La Sapiniere restaurant which was lively and delicious.

How to do Center Parcs

• Stock up on groceries and make the most of your self-catering accommodation. While there are plenty of places to eat around the complex, we wished we'd taken better advantage of our kitchen, which was well-stocked with pots and pans.
• Visit the spa. Find a way to have the children entertained, whether that's a scheduled activity if they're old enough or at the creche for supervised activities, and allow ample time to cycle through all the pools and various heated rooms.
• Reserve bikes or take your own. You can also rent children's bikes of different sizes and bike trailers for toddlers. And don't forget a bike lock.
• Bring your own sheets and towels to avoid the rental fee.
• Splurge on housekeeping, at £14 per day. They'll wash up, empty rubbish, clean the bathroom, make the beds and do a general tidy. You'll feel more like it's a real holiday.
• Book as many things in advance as possible, including babysitters and creche.
• Bring your dog. They're allowed with some restrictions. Check with the facility before arriving.

For more information about Center Parcs, go to www.centerparcs.co.uk