The Center Parcs Eifel vacation park is located in the middle of the Volcanic Eifel in the small town of Gunderath in Rhineland-Palatinate, around 60 kilometers east of Koblenz. It is surrounded by a beautiful natural landscape and forests. We had the opportunity to spend four days in the park and explore everything. After Center Parcs Allgäu and Center Parcs Bostalsee, this is the 3rd Center Parcs vacation park in Germany that we have visited.
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Interesting facts about Center Parcs
It all began in 1953, when Dutch entrepreneur Piet Derksen opened a sports store called Sporthuis Centrum in Rotterdam. After expanding to 17 Dutch branches, he bought a piece of woodland in 1968 to turn it into a campsite. This was very well received, so the tents were quickly replaced by bungalows and an adventure pool was added in 1971. In 1978, Derksen sold his sports stores to focus on the vacation parks. The company was renamed Center Parcs in 1986. The Center Parcs Europe N.V. portfolio now comprises a total of 27 parks in Central Europe: 6 in Germany, 9 in the Netherlands, 5 in Belgium and 7 in France. In 2026, another park will open in Germany – on the Baltic Sea coast in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on the Pütnitz peninsula. A total of 600 cozy vacation homes and apartments will be built here on an area of 120 hectares.
Center Parcs Europe N.V. is part of the French tourism and real estate group Pierre et Vacances with a total of 207,000 beds and a turnover of 1.4 billion euros. Since 2001, Center Parcs UK and Ireland has been operating independently with 6 parks. The vacation parks with their bungalows and vacation homes are usually located in the middle of the forest or by the water in the midst of beautiful natural landscapes – sometimes ancient forests, sometimes extensive beaches or fantastic winter sports areas. An exciting fact is that 90% of Center Parcs’ vacation parks consist of forest and water!
When you stay at a Center Parcs, you enjoy many inclusive services such as free WiFi, entry to the Aqua Mundo swimming paradise, a parking space and final cleaning of your vacation home. In addition, the more luxurious the accommodation, the more convenience, comfort and additional services included.
Center Parcs locations in Europe
The Center Parcs vacation park in the Eifel
Interesting facts about Center Parcs Eifel
Founded in 1979, the vacation park in Gunderath is the oldest Center Parcs vacation park in Germany. It was taken over by the Gran Dorado brand in 2001 and has been operated under the name Center Parcs Eifel ever since. Covering an area of 26 hectares, there are 440 vacation homes here, which can accommodate between 2 and 8 people depending on their size.
In 2023, the vacation park was closed for around seven months and extensively renovated at a cost of 68 million euros. Of the 440 vacation homes in the park, 320 were modernized and renovated and 120 were completely rebuilt. The Market Dome, the Aqua Mundo bathing paradise and the outdoor facilities have also been modernized. Today, at the heart of the resort is the Leisure Boulevard, a car-free green area with a children’s farm, a pony riding station, a mini-golf course and several themed playgrounds.
The park was also digitized as part of the modernization. At check-in, guests now receive a digital wristband with which they can conveniently open their vacation home, pay digitally anywhere and also gain easy access to Aqua Mundo.
A map of the Center Parcs Eifel
On the following map you can see the size of Center Parcs Eifel and the location of the various vacation homes. This map can also be downloaded here as a .pdf version.
A map of the Center Parcs Eifel
Vacation homes
At Center Parcs Eifel, you can choose between four different sizes of accommodation when booking – from 2 to 8 people. Each accommodation is then available in the different categories Comfort, Premium or VIP. The categories offer different amenities, depending on what is important to you. The accommodation ranges from cozy wooden bungalows to vacation homes with upscale furnishings. These can accommodate couples, families or larger groups as required. Facilities vary, but typically include a fully equipped kitchen, living areas, terraces or balconies and amenities such as Wi-Fi and entertainment electronics.
We found the lovingly themed natural wonder vacation homes, where each room is dedicated to a different natural phenomenon, very interesting. Here you can marvel at a waterfall in the living room and giant sequoia trees in the bedroom, and in the bathroom you can immerse yourself in an exciting underwater world. Really great and certainly a highlight for children in particular.
The VIP vacation homes have a luxurious wellness bathroom with a bathtub with whirlpool function, a walk-in rain shower and infrared sauna.
Our 6 person premium vacation home
Our completely renovated 84 m² 6-person vacation home in the Premium category at Center Parcs Eifel was not far from the BALUBA indoor play world. The small semi-detached house is on two floors, has a living room with sitting area, 2 bathrooms, a private terrace with garden furniture and a renovated, fully equipped kitchen with stove, fridge, dishwasher, microwave, coffee machine, NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto, toaster, crockery, cutlery, pots and pans and a high chair.
Overall, everything was very tidy and you could see that a lot of effort has been put into renovating/refurbishing the houses. We were a little surprised that there were 2 bathrooms with showers, but only one small WC for 6 people in the basement. Unlike at Center Parcs Allgäu, for example, you can park your car right next to the house. However, the streets are very narrow, which is why it can get a bit crowded here.
Cycle Center & E-Cars
At the Cycle Center you can hire bicycles, mountain bikes, kick bikes, handcarts, e-scooters and other electronic means of transport. During our stay, we had a large e-car with 6 seats, which we used to drive everywhere. This was not only great fun for us, but also for our children. The Volcanic Eifel around the leisure park offers a well-developed network of cycle paths and a clear map with many cycle paths can be downloaded here.
Market Dome
The Market Dome is located in the heart of every Center Parcs in a tropical atmosphere, where all the important facilities of the vacation park are concentrated: an information desk, the Aqua Mundo adventure pool, various restaurants, a small supermarket, a Shop & Smile store, a bowling alley and the Gametown games center. In the middle of the Market Dome there is also a pond with fish and the newly built Adventure Trail, an obstacle course for children with a slide.
Aqua Mundo bathing paradise
The Aqua Mundo pool area at Center Parcs Eifel offers all guests free attractions and recreational opportunities regardless of the weather: These include an extra-warm children’s pool, the Water Factoy water playground (water play area with slides, oversized water pistols and water jets), whirlpools, an outdoor pool and a ninety-metre-long tire slide (Aqua Racer).
Families will find everything they need here: Family changing rooms, changing mats, life jackets, lockers, playpens and bottle warmers. Like the entire park, Aqua Mundo was extensively renovated in 2023.
For park guests, unlimited entry to Aqua Mundo is also included before check-in and after check-out. Day guests can currently book tickets on the Center Parcs website for EUR 24 (adults) and EUR 17 (children).
Indoor play world BALUBA
The free BALUBA play paradise offers unlimited, weather-independent climbing, adventure and play fun for the whole family. For children aged 0 to 11, BALUBA is the perfect place for fun and games at Center Parcs Eifel.
The indoor play world at Center Parcs Eifel offers various play areas where there is plenty to discover and experience: Climbing frames, a softball area with cannons, a climbing volcano with a slide, a puppet theater, creative workshops in the Kids Club and much more. In addition, a large stage offers a colorful entertainment program where you can meet the Center Parcs mascot Orry and his friends.
Children’s farm
The children’s farm was a daily meeting point for us. Here the little ones (and adults) can stroke goats, sheep or donkeys. In addition, each child is given a cup of fresh food so that they can also feed the animals. It was a great experience to be able to get so close to the animals. The children also have the opportunity to ride ponies several times a week.
Adventure minigolf
At the end of the newly built Leisure Boulevard in Center Parcs Eifel, near the Market Dome, there is a beautifully laid out 18-hole adventure minigolf course. We would have liked to play a few rounds here, but unfortunately we didn’t have the time and the bad weather.
Playgrounds
What we found really good is that there are different playgrounds all over the park. Sometimes bigger, sometimes smaller – but you never have to walk far to reach the next climbing frame, slide or swing 🙂
Restaurants & Food
At Center Parcs Eifel there are five restaurants where you can eat and drink if you don’t want to cook in your vacation home. We tried the Market Café on two evenings and were very impressed by the quality of the food. Despite the large crowds, the food was served quickly and tasted delicious. We strongly recommend booking a table in advance via the Center Parcs app if you want to eat in the Market Café. In the evening, there are long queues, so you can hardly get a table here.
The adjacent Market Restaurant is a buffet restaurant and can only be used against payment of a flat rate. We found the price of EUR 37 per adult for the evening buffet very high, so we didn’t eat here. The Family Restaurant is suitable for both small and large appetites. Here you can enjoy delicious snacks, crispy fries and fresh burgers in a cozy atmosphere.
The Aqua Café in the Aqua Mundo bathing paradise offers a wide selection of snacks, delicious hamburgers, crispy salads and much more. You can also enjoy an ice cream or cake in the warm, tropical atmosphere. The BALUBA Bar in the BALUBA indoor play paradise offers savory snacks as well as sweet regional delicacies from the cake display case and is perfect for a snack in between.
Things to do in the region
Center Parcs Eifel is located in the middle of the Volcanic Eifel, which boasts fascinating landscapes and magnificent views. The region is characterized by its impressive volcanic craters, massive deposits of pumice and basalt rock, the typical water-filled Eifel maars and its current volcanic activity. The Volcanic Eifel offers hikers, nature lovers and history buffs a variety of hiking trails, viewpoints and information centers to better understand the volcanic landscape and its history.
As we were only at Center Parcs Eifel for three nights, we didn’t leave the park grounds at all during this time. However, if you stay longer, the region offers incredibly beautiful excursion destinations. We have already been able to get to know some of them on other trips, such as Cochem on the Moselle with the Reichsburg castle, the beautiful Moselle bend near Bremm, the Geierlay suspension rope bridge, the city of Koblenz with its famous Deutsches Eck and the fairytale Eltz Castle.
The half-timbered village of Monreal and the geyser in Andernach are also well worth a visit.
Our conclusion about Center Parcs Eifel
All in all, we had a good time at Center Parcs Eifel. Much has been newly built and renovated or renewed, which can be seen in various places in the park. What we found a bit unfortunate is that we had seen various activities on the homepage of the Eifel Center Parcs that we wanted to try out (e.g. children’s scavenger hunt), but none of the three employees we asked at the park could give us any information about them. There was also no information about the announced “Spring Celebrations”, i.e. we didn’t know exactly what was taking place and when.
You can definitely spend a few wonderful days at Center Parcs Eifel in a great vacation region in Germany 🙂