Center Parcs Woburn Forest celebrates 10 years by revealing fascinating numbers behind its 'decade of success'

Center Parcs Woburn Forest, on the doorstep of Milton Keynes, Leighton Buzzard and Bedford, is celebrating 10 years of making family memories following its opening back on 6 June 2014.

Now the resort has revealed the fascinating numbers behind it’s ‘decade of success’ including the fact the village has welcomed more than 3.1 million guests in that time.

With a 97% occupancy rate, Woburn Forest welcomed its one-millionth guest in 2017 and broke the 3million barrier in the lead up to its 10th birthday.

Speaking of which 52,000 guests celebrated a birthday at Woburn Forest between June 2014 and present day.

The village currently employs more than 1,750 staff, with the vast majority living locally. This year 158 employees celebrated 10 or more years of service and nearly 500 colleagues have reached the five-year milestone.

While the Subtropical Swimming Paradise is a firm favourite with guests, Woburn Forest says adventure golf has proved to be the most popular outdoor activity with over 530,000 guests ‘putting’ their skills to the test, followed by the most popular indoor activity – badminton – as 210,000 guests got their racquets at the ready.

Center Parcs’ renowned favourite Huck’s American Bar and Grill comes out on top as the resort’s most popular restaurant with more than 175,000 families enjoying its South, Californian and Mexican-inspired dishes.

Woburn Forest has invested significantly in its Aqua Sana forest spa concept which has seen over 140,000 guests visiting for a spa day since 2014. The spa includes 25 innovative multi-sensory experiences across six zones – from the re-energising thermal experiences of fire and ice to the healing powers of mineral and gemstone. Guests can also choose from a range of treatments and enjoy lunch at Vitalé Café Bar, which received a full makeover last summer.

When Woburn Forest was being constructed there was much discussion around environmental factors.

Center Parcs says it has been committed to protecting and enhancing the woodland from the beginning – having been awarded The Wildlife Trusts’ Biodiversity Benchmark for 17 consecutive years. A team of dedicated rangers have worked hard over the last decade, to create and manage habitats that attract native wildlife. As a result, there are now 40 species of bird at Woburn Forest and a healthy bat population with 11 of the 17 breeding species found in the UK.

Like other Center Parcs UK villages, there was no water at Woburn Forest before it was built but since 2014 the waterways have been a great habitat for insects. It is now home to six species of damselfly and 11 species of dragonfly as well the Small Skipper butterfly and a Species of Principle Importance the Small Heath butterfly – both of which have been in acute decline over the last 10 years.

Rebecca Wileman, Village Director at Woburn Forest, said: “The last 10 years has been a truly amazing journey and one that I am incredibly proud of. We’ve seen a few changes over the years, with significant investment into our village, for example we added more accommodation with the addition of three treehouses and more recently we refurbished and relaunched our conferences and events space The Venue.

“We’re always looking at how we can improve the offering and service to our guests and our 97% occupancy rate is testament to the hard work that goes into achieving that. We have many guests who return time after time, and we even welcomed our millionth guest just three years after opening.

“I am so proud of the team at Woburn Forest, it’s been fantastic to see colleagues grow and develop with the business, and all we have achieved over the last decade – here’s to the next 10 years!”

You can find more about news about Center Parcs Woburn Forest online.