Center Parcs Longleat Forest, which is located in Wiltshire, is celebrating 30 years of making family memories following its opening on 14 July 1994.
With a 97% occupancy rate, the village welcomed its millionth guest just four years after opening – and is expecting to welcome its 10 millionth this year – of which more than 105,000 have celebrated a birthday at Longleat Forest.
The village currently employs more than 1,640 colleagues, with the vast majority living locally, and this year 20 employees are celebrating 30 or more years of service.
While the Subtropical Swimming Paradise is a firm favourite with guests, in the last 20 years Ariel Adventure has proved to be the most popular outdoor activity with over 27,000 thrill seekers taking on the zip wire, followed by the most popular indoor activity – Badminton – as 9,000 guests got their racquets at the ready.
With a range of restaurants, from Las Iguanas to Bella Italia, Center Parcs’ renowned favourite Huck’s American Bar and Grill came up on top, as more than 60,000 families enjoyed its South Californian and Mexican-inspired dishes.
Hidden among its Giant Redwood trees is Aqua Sana, which Longleat Forest has invested significantly in its forest spa concept. With around 150,000 guests visiting for a spa day since 2005, the spa includes 25 innovative multi-sensory experiences across five zones – from the atmospheric Forest Cavern to the calming Moonlight Steam Room. Guests can also choose from a range of treatments and enjoy lunch at Vitalé Café Bar.
Center Parcs has been committed to protecting and enhancing the woodland since the very beginning – having been awarded The Wildlife Trusts’ Biodiversity Benchmark for 17 consecutive years – and a team of dedicated rangers have worked hard over the last 30 years to create and manage habitats that attract native wildlife. As a result, there are now great-crested newts, hazel dormouse and the European otter – all of which are European Protected Species.
Similarly to other Center Parcs UK villages, there was no water before it was built and the waterways have been a great habitat for insects – now home to rare species of oil beetle, the silver washed fritillary butterfly and a strawberry spider which was a first record since 2003.
Longleat Forest is also home to one of the most significant bird populations in Wiltshire – siskins – as well as woodcock and the incredibly rare firecrest. In the last 12 years, glowworms and 14 species of dragonfly and damselfly which were recorded as the highest numbers in over a decade.
Sarah Deverill, Village Director at Longleat Forest, said: “I joined Center Parcs in June 2016 as Village Financial Controller and very quickly realised I had a huge passion for the operational elements of our business, I was delighted to be promoted to Deputy Village Director in 2018 before taking on the Village Director role last spring.
“We’re always looking at how we can improve our offering and service to our guests as well as improve our colleague experience, our beautiful village is consistently changing from the incapsulating forest environment we get to work in every day, to the significant financial investment into our village. For example, this year includes a refurbishment to our guest services area, a new Adventure Golf course, as well as an extended brand-new Leisure Bowl facility which will also be open in the autumn, which will both be open in autumn.
“It’s been fantastic to see colleagues grow and develop with the business over the years, there are so many success stories to celebrate, and I am so proud of the team and all we have achieved – Happy 30th Birthday Longleat Forest!”
To find out more about Longleat Forest, visit: www.centerparcs.co.uk/village-news/longleat-news.html
