First Tayto Park and now this!

Center Parcs Ireland has confirmed that Center Parcs Longford Forest will reopen on 13 July. The reopening date will be four months to the day (13 March) that the resort closed its doors in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. As part of the reopening and in line with government guidelines, there will be social distancing and health and safety measures in place to protect visitors as well as the resort’s 1,000 employees. Those measures include the following:

• Reduced numbers of guests on each break
• Changes to some activities to maintain social distancing
• An enhanced cleaning regime for accommodation and central areas
• Changes to arrival and departure times to allow more time for enhanced cleaning
• Cashless payment only across the village
• Online-only bookings and payment for activities
• New takeaway service offering contactless delivery to lodges

Furthermore, subject to government guidance, the Subtropical Swimming Paradise or Aqua Sana Spa, will not reopen until Monday, 27 July, two weeks after the reopening date. Center Parcs has also introduced a ‘book with confidence’ guarantee, which allows guests to cancel their break up to six days prior to arrival and still receive a full refund. A more detailed breakdown of the new measures and some frequently asked questions can be found here. Work is also ongoing to bring the resort’s 1,000 employees – the majority of whom have been supported by the Government’s Covid-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme – back to work and deliver a comprehensive training programme around new ways of working and safety procedures. Center Parcs’ five UK villages remain closed in line with the UK Government’s timeline for easing lockdown. Commenting on the planned reopening of Center Parcs Longford Forest, Center Parcs’ CEO, Martin Dalby, said: “Although it was disappointing to have to close our forest resort within nine months of opening in Ireland, it was the right thing to do to keep our guests and staff safe. The coronavirus pandemic has had a significant effect on the whole country and we always said we would only reopen once we were 100% satisfied it was safe to do so. We’ve had our teams working around the clock to review everything we do, right down to the smallest detail, and we‘re now ready to open our doors again. “We know that a lot of families were looking forward to their first Center Parcs break and we can’t wait to welcome you to the forest. Those families who have visited us before will notice some changes to the way we’re doing things, but the essence of a Center Parcs break will remain the same, offering a fantastic short break experience within 400 acres of natural woodland.” “We know that the Subtropical Swimming Paradise is one of the biggest things our guests are looking forward to experiencing,” Dalby added. “We have been planning the changes needed to maintain social distancing, but the Subtropical Swimming Paradise has many different elements, including flumes, rapids and numerous changing rooms. We are working through what new capacities we will need to apply and how best to do that. "We’re committed to reopening these facilities as soon as we are 100% satisfied we’re ready to do so. However, we know families have been looking forward to their breaks and we wanted to give our guests the option to visit us as soon as we could.”