The European leisure group Center Parcs

Center Parcs

Center Parcs is a European network of holiday villages incorporating a UK-based company, Center Parcs UK, which runs holiday villages in the United Kingdom and a sister enterprise, Center Parcs Europe, that operates in numerous locations in continental Europe...

opened its first UK Holiday Village

Holiday village

A holiday village is a park, that is developed as a holiday resort in which the visitors stay in villas. There is a central area with shops, entertainment and other amenities. One of the most well known chains of holiday villages is Center Parcs.A holiday village is also a system of club hotels...

 in July 1987, in 400 acres (1.6 km²) of land in Sherwood Forest

Sherwood Forest

Sherwood Forest is a Royal Forest in Nottinghamshire, England, that is famous through its historical association with the legend of Robin Hood. Continuously forested since the end of the Ice Age, Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve today encompasses 423 hectares surrounding the village of...

near Rufford, Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...

.

Attractions

• Sherwood Forest has its own small Nature Centre complex located close to the Country Club, which gives visitors the chance to explore in closer depth the nature in the woodland, as an attempt to encourage people to observe the wildlife. The nature centre has an exclusive lake and bird hide for watching birds and waterfowl.
• There is also an exclusive Grand Cascade Family Raft ride located in the subtropical swimming paradise which opened in 2006.
• A golf driving range and putting greens are located close to the Country Club.

Accommodation

Sherwood Forest has a total of 983 units of accommodation. These villas and apartments can accommodate a total of 4,278 guests.

After Center Parcs was acquired by the Blackstone Group

Blackstone Group

The Blackstone Group L.P. is an American-based alternative asset management and financial services company that specializes in private equity, real estate, and credit and marketable alternative investment strategies, as well as financial advisory services, such as mergers and acquisitions ,...

, they extended the facilities at the Sherwood Forest holiday village, constructing 27 new four bed villas in 2007 and refurbishing a further 159 villas (lodges).