IF you love a Center Parcs stay but also want a bit of winter sun, you can get the best of both worlds a short flight away.
My family of five has just returned from Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands, where we stayed at an all-inclusive resort run by the parent company of the European Center Parcs.
Pierre et Vacances might not be a big name with Brit holidaymakers, but it's got plenty of fans on the continent and I was keen to check out whether this sunshine break would be a bit like Center Parcs on Sea.
With an outdoor waterpark set inside a crater to shelter it from the wind, my boys spent all day every day splashing on the slides, conquering the craggy poolside climbing wall and wading through the wave pool with their new friends.
We barely saw the older two from the moment the park opened until the lifeguards left in the evening, just like when we let them loose at the subtropical swimming paradise.
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It's just that here, we didn't need a dome to keep us warm and there were bar snacks and drinks on tap.
The added bonus was that most of the entertainment and activities like archery, football, table tennis and yoga were free, unlike at Center Parcs in the UK.
The ones we did pay for were very affordable, with snorkelling or stand-up paddleboarding in the pool at just €5 (£4.28) per child, thanks to the on-site surf shop Yolo Riders.
And there was a free kids’ club every day for primary-aged children to give parents a bit of time to themselves.
One of the things we all love about Center Parcs at home is being immersed in woodland and feeling surrounded by nature.
While the landscape in Fuerteventura is the opposite of leafy and green, it's certainly very dramatic, with the resort sandwiched between dark volcanic mountains inland and thundering waves on a coast covered in what looks like popcorn.
We could walk to the shore from the hotel, but it was quite a trek and it's not the sort of beach where kids can build sandcastles or adults can sunbathe.
For that, you need to head to either Corralejo or El Cotillo on one of the free shuttle buses that run every day.
Being off the beaten track and away from the hustle and bustle of the seaside towns gives you that Center Parcs sensation of getting away from it all, although it might be a bit too isolated for holidaymakers who like a bit of nightlife.
The entertainment team on site runs a kids’ disco in the early evening and then quizzes and shows for the adults, which are a bit of fun, but this isn't a place to stay if you like bar crawls or visiting a different spot every night.
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We enjoyed the food at the buffet restaurant and thought there was a reasonable variety that catered to all tastes, with a good mix of family favourites like burgers and chips, Spanish dishes like paella and plenty of salad, fresh fruit and puddings for all palates.
Our spacious three-bed villa set over two floors was well equipped, with a washing machine, a fridge-freezer and a dishwasher to make life easier for those who choose the self-catering option.
If you're going down that route, you'll probably want to hire a car to get to the nearest supermarket as it's quite a distance from the resort and the on-site shop is pricy.
The only thing that let the side down a bit was some of the reception staff, who seemed to think that helping guests was a hassle.
But everyone we encountered working at the bars, restaurant and running the entertainment programme was lovely.
The irony is that it probably costs less to spend a week in Fuerteventura, even factoring in flights, than it does to visit Center Parcs in the UK for the same amount of time.
The base price for our villa for 11 nights, without the all-inclusive package, was £800, with another £250 on flights for us all.
Meanwhile, the cheapest seven-night stay at one of the UK Center Parcs would be £1000, plus you need to factor in travel costs to get there.
I managed to shave a fair amount off our winter sun holiday by checking out the child goes free dates on the Pierre et Vacances website.
Just by shifting my holiday two days later, I saved £300 on the all-inclusive package for the same length of stay by avoiding the popular Spanish holiday of Epiphany, which tends to mark the end of the festive season.
So it pays to be a bit flexible and use local knowledge of which dates to work around.
Our first foray to Fuerteventura was just what we needed to kickstart 2024, with fun in the sun for all the family.
Earlier this year, I played Ryanair roulette with our flights to Fuerteventura for my family of five and managed to save £30 just by leaving my booking for a few days.
Ryanair has launched a brand new website feature that will save you money on your next holiday.
Similar to the Skyscanner "everywhere" button, the new function is called the "any destination" feature.
