Sunparks Oostduinkerke - Plopsaland

We were sold the concept that Sunparks would be as nice if not nicer than Center Parcs. This isn't true. It is more comparable to a Butlins/Pontins site. On arrival we were greeted by the sickly smell of 'Wet Dog' when we opened our Cottage door. Our accommodation also had dog hairs on the sofa and we were generally dreading our stay. Our kids did make the most of Aqualand, which was a good job, as everything else at the Park was in a state of disrepair or was out of order. The kids love to play on the arcades, unfortunately only one out of about 15 were actually working, although the steering wheel to this machine did come off in my sons hand when he was playing. Added (payable activities) Aqua Park were good fun, although the numbers should be limited as it was virtually impossible for anyone under the age of 15 to get round without being trampled, their was also a lack of lifeguards on hand. I would thoroughly recommend the Water Bikes, although two out of the four available were faulty. Overall, it's very overpriced for a summer break and if you are from the UK I would recommend saving your money. It is however in an excellent and beautiful location, and we spent a couple of days away from the site visiting the amazing city of Bruges (about 30 minute drive) and also a day at the theme park Plopsaland (about 30 mins drive) both of these I would highly recommend.

The Good: - Central Complex was lovely. Kids loved the soft play and there was a good amount of seating nearby and was quiet due to a glass wall - which was an issue when my eldest got stuck and needed to be pulled out (dangerous #1 - this shouldn't be possible!) - The bar was great, lovely range of beers and great service. - The water park was superb. Having travelled onto 3-4 other places on this holiday, we really made a mistake in not using it more than we did. The Bad: - The buffet restaurant isn't great. Its passable, but not worth the money. The other options were better, although we struggled a little with the menu (no English option, and translations were not always obvious - that's our issue though of course) - In case anyone from the UK is reading, they just don't sell fresh milk here, or in the local Lidl/Aldi. Everyone just drinks the horrific UHT stuff - apparently there is *1* brand who sell pasteurised fresh milk, but its not easy to find! So grab some before leaving France if you can (and wine while you're at it!!) - The room - we stayed in one of the cottages. Not only was it a million miles from the centre, but it absolutely stunk to high heaven of "wet dog" and damp. In the end I went to the car and grabbed a couple of spare car air fresheners. I would have simply opened a window, but........ The DANGEROUS: - The upstairs windows open all the way out with no stopper, and they are quite low down to the floor. We didn't dare open them whatsoever in case the kids fell or tripped whilst playing and fell straight out. I've attached photos showing this. Its unacceptable in 2023 that there are no safety measures on the first floor.

Check-in and check-out is organised perfectly, took 1-2 minutes each. We reserved a chalet in between the main building and the aquafun, which proved to be a good strategy. Our chalet was tidy and clean from inside, and a bit neglected from the outside, just like the little garden. Overall the accommodation was simple but OK. No internet in the park, only in the main building. Super activities for kids (outside and inside playground, aquafun, animated activities). Great brasserie to eat in. Traffic within the park is a bit chaotic, noone knows where to go, no signaling of one-way streets or the location of the parkings.

We’ve been visiting this Sunpark for many years - probably since the early 90s. Unfortunately it has become tired and is awaiting a refurb. We enjoyed our stay, but things like the litter around the rear of our property, stained mattresses and chipped kitchen worktops just didn’t feel especially welcoming. And then we were charged for hiring sheets / pillows! Over £42 to pay as we didn’t take our own. When we last went (2017/18?) these were included in the price as long as you were happy to make up your own beds. It just didn’t feel good value anymore, and although we enjoyed spending time with family, and the pool was ok… the whole site is just is at the end of its life. 2/5 bubble beds working, 1 out of 2 hot tubs working… very chipped pool tiles. Shop prices through the roof, and if you want to pay by card they seem to be adding 3.5% to make you pay in gdp rather than Euro. It’s cheaper for us to pay in Euro, but staff didn’t seem to know how to over-ride the system… so we kept ending up paying extra for transactions. We won’t go back until the refurb. It’s not good enough any more.

The standard of the house is simple, but that is okay. There is no internet access in the house, although WLAN is listed as a service in the booking confirmation. Technically, this is true, but it is only available in the central building. It was clearly noticeable that the house has not been cleaned thoroughly but only superficially for months. We did not look for dirt, but we encountered it everywhere. We pushed the beds apart to sleep separately and underneath it was really disgusting. There is no dishwasher in the house. The park itself is fine and the pool is very good for kids.

The bungalow was very clean. The lady at the reception was very welcoming and polite. I forgot to hand in my bungalow cards before leaving and when I called I was told there wa no problem to simply mail them to the park without any charges.

This place is incredible. I bet Micheal Jackson's Neverland is still in better condition than this place. Everything is broken, damaged or dirty. Lucky there is a fantastic place to eat and drink down the road. Anyway I've worked out how to survive a week at sunparks. Get up, get a shower, leave the site, have a nice day out and get bind drunk on Belgian beer. Come home and sleep and repeat the process. A total discrace.

Havn't been here since maybe mid 2000's, when I returned I remebered parts of the home and swimming pool. Remember to bring your own bedding, food, hand soap, towels etc as that's not in the home. There's so much to do here, including swimming, bowling, pool, one buffet restaurant and many more. you can never get bored here. A lovely place that's good value for money.

So nostalgic. Which I suppose has its downside. I first stayed here in 1999 and it literally hadn’t changed since then. However I kind of liked that about it, it just adds to the charm! Friendly staff, fantastic waterpark, which again, hasn’t changed, but is actually very well maintained! The park has a lot to do for families too, probably a cheaper option than centre parcs and for being in the south east of England it’s closer too! Good supermarket on site too! We hired linen which was clean, only downside is we had a 4 person chalet, and only single beds on offer so felt a bit like a school trip. But other than that, I can’t complain, we enjoyed it and will be back! I love how the chalets are laid out like neighbourhoods, and the lake and general atmosphere is ambient.