Wooden lodge - check. Swimming pool - check. Range of family-friendly activities and restaurants - check.
As I gazed out over the lush green Mole Valley from the comfort of our balcony hot tub, with a glass of crémant in hand, I decided I would compare the Mole Resort in North Devon with another well-known holiday hotspot we visited recently. Have visited many times over the years. Center Parcs was a bit like comparing Virgin with EasyJet, for example.
After spending £450 a night on a disappointing lodge at Center Parcs Longford Forest in Ireland last summer, arriving with an overflowing ashtray, fitted sheets too small for the bed and a dog park not much bigger than our garden , we swore this would be our last visit there.
And yet here we were, less than a year later, in a similar but much more luxurious lodge at the Mole, which would set you back around £750 per night in peak season, but around £400 per night off peak for a mid-week holiday. . I think, dare I say it, that it's worth the price tag this time.
And that's mainly because all the little extras for which you have to pay extra at Center Parcs - from dishwashers to hot tubs - are included with the Mole. And because the overall finish, setting and experience - from the friendly staff to the double balcony doors, the enormous beds, the real wooden cutting boards and the large American fridge and ice machine - are, quite frankly, superior.
Formerly known as Highbullen Hotel, the 125-hectare estate is also much smaller and fancier than your average Center Parcs. In addition to the Hub, a games room, a spa, three restaurants and the Pavilion leisure centre, it includes 58 eco-friendly lodges, an Agatha Christie-style country house, an 18-hole golf course and several other estate rooms.
Our four-bedroom eco-lodge is brilliantly designed for a family of five like ours, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms on one side for the kids, and the master bedroom and bathroom on the other for us. We almost felt like we were on our own mini vacation, without the kids, when they finally went to bed. And our dog, a Labrador named Luna, was also very welcome and enjoyed the treats in the Hub, the main reception and base for the farm shop and indoor activities.
The lodge was on the slopes of a very steep hill (I can't say I enjoyed walking up it several times a day; golf buggies would be a welcome addition), which was chaired by the Pavilion leisure centre. With its retro split-level stone and white painted exterior and positioning, it bore more than a passing resemblance to the 1950s hotel in Dirty dancing. However, I wouldn't want to walk up the hill with a watermelon in hand.
From the kids' perspective, the big caveat, especially for those younger than ours - Charlie, 15, Eddie, 12, and Jemima, nine - is the fact that the Mole doesn't have an indoor water park, also known as the Subtropical Swimming Paradise. Center Parcs. Instead, it has a 20-meter indoor pool and a small outdoor pool.
Nevertheless, we were happy with the indoor pool, although it was a little tired around the edges, and the range of 40 activities, from pickleball (like tennis but with small, plastic rackets), to ax throwing, Nerf gun wars to pottery painting, kept us entertained . Even though the resort was fully booked when we were there, it remained wonderfully quiet at the pool.
We spoke to another family who said they had been going to Center Parcs for years, but had heard about De Mol through some friends. They had boys about the same age as us and said there was still plenty for them to do here.
And did I mention the food? The on-site farm shop may be a little pricey (£3.50 for a loaf!) but the food is a serious step up from the aforementioned Center Parcs. There was no Bella Italia or Pancake House in sight.
We sampled the very hearty breakfast basket, which contained everything you need for a chip shop, including more than 15 local sausages, organic bacon and free-range eggs, and the roast basket, with chicken, home-made gravy, local herbs, wild garlic, potatoes and so on.
We also ate in the Cellar restaurant one evening and although there was a bit of a wait as many other families had had the same idea as us and booked for an early dinner, the food was fantastic. I had a delicious Caesar salad with fresh anchovies and the kids loved the fish and chips and pasta. The homemade focaccia with Marmite butter, a huge slice of sticky toffee pudding and Languedoc rosé are also highly recommended.
Since its launch in July 2023, the resort has also just received Green Key accreditation (an international tourism eco-label). It is located in the UNESCO North Devon Biosphere, one of 738 reserves in 134 countries recognized as a learning place for sustainable development.
The indoor pool and Pavilion leisure center are fueled by a 199kW biomass power plant, the food is all locally sourced and seemingly everything from the lodges' green mossy roof to L'Occitane's sustainable soap and shampoo bars has been designed with the planet in mind. mind.
There were a few things we didn't like - such as the 4pm check-in, which meant many families were milling around the Hub uneasily, waiting to be allowed into their lodges; and a 10am checkout, which made our two night stay feel even shorter, but all in all there wasn't much we didn't enjoy at the Mole.
Center Parcs is now nothing more than a distant memory for us, but if you like that kind of holiday and don't mind paying a little extra for something a little more refined, then this new Devon car could be a good choice.
Georgina Fuller traveled as a guest of the Mole Resort (01769 540561; themeresort.nl), which offers two-bedroom lodges from £168 per night, based on a three-night stay
