Review: Legoland woodland village “it's like staying in toytown”

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to spend the night in toytown? Well, I did it. Earlier this year, Legoland Windsor opened the wooden doors of their new ‘village’, on the Legoland estate. Specifically, behind the car park of the Legoland estate. But once you enter, the car park is a distant memory, and you enter an alternate universe. If your children are as obsessed with Lego as my son, they will adore it. There are ‘woodland characters’ who do meet and greets and shows in the village restaurant, Lego and Duplo pits everywhere, and Lego sculptures all around the gardens surrounding the woodland cabins that you stay in.

Where?

On the site of Legoland Windsor – a short walk from the park’s main entrance. What a joy for little legs just to be able to potter 10 minutes across the car park and flop into a Lego-themed hut.

Style

The woodland village is what Centre Parcs would be like, if it had been designed by Santa’s elves. The lawns of the 10-acre site are perfectly manicured, with charming woodland creatures made out of Lego dotted around, benches carved out of logs, and 130 wooden lodges with decking outside, and 20 ‘camping barrels’.

The huts are very sweet, if you’re a child that is. We stayed in one of the cabins, which had a main room with double bed, an en-suite shower room (the entire wall was a realistic mural of a Lego scene), and a bunk bed room, which had its own Lego pit, and a space night-light which projected onto the ceiling. The only thing separating the double room and the bunk room was a curtain, which gave us the sense that we were camping – all very well, but I could have done with a door. It was tricky to creep around the room after the children had gone to sleep. Obviously so many babies stay that there’s a drawer in every room with a travel cot in it, and yet that must mean nobody ever gets any shut-eye. I also wasn’t entirely sure why my double bed also had a woodland Lego scene headboard, and a woodland Lego scene blanket, too – but I do appreciate a full commitment to a theme. And once again… this weekend wasn’t about me, was it? It was for the children. And all I heard from them all weekend was utter delight.

Food and Drink

The restaurant is also wooden cabin-style, decorated with oversized Lego from trees to apples to vines covering the ceiling, all part of the ‘campfire’ theme. The food is a little confusing, though. My blackened cod with saag aloo was beautifully cooked, warm from the chilli heat, and unexpected in a Lego “clubhouse” (especially after making the terrible decision to go to the Pirate Burger Kitchen in Legoland proper during the day – it was both overpriced and not remotely tasty). The kids food was disappointing, however – odd, when everything else is so completely wonderful for the children. My children ordered bangers and mash, where the sausages were flaccid, and there was a big solid lump of weirdly shiny mashed potato. Conversely, their breakfasts the next day of pancakes were pretty decent, nice berry compote on top and streaky bacon… but my breakfast (there were only two choices – pancakes or fry-up) was… flabby. Flabby tomato, flabby bacon, possibly the scrambled eggs were powdered – alarmingly pale, in any case. Decent hash brown though.

At the base of the giant Lego trees in the clubhouse restaurant are Lego and Duplo pits for the kids to play in. It’s bliss for parents to have a breather while the children are safely entertained and bonding with other children, particularly after an exhausting day in a theme park. I went straight home and tried to work out how I could make one in my own home.

Facilities

Legoland! The room packages include entry to Legoland. Having never been before, I was surprised by how rides-focussed it was, I had always assumed that it was just an entire world made out of Lego. At age four, my son was too young to really enjoy most of the rides but loved the daily theatre set around the lake. Once we found Miniland, where intricate models have been made of the world’s leading capital cities, we were all utterly enthralled. He was also  particularly taken with the room of Lego pits where every creation gets a spot on a display shelf, with pop badges given to every child who presents their build.

Best for

Children! All of them! This is not for adults

Which room?

Children will love them all. Adults may not. The woodland barrels are snug, but are very competitively priced, as the price includes entry to Legoland. The Premium lodges are the top-level cabins with double beds, bunks and bathroom, and a covered table and chairs outside on the veranda.

Details

Prices start from £92 per person for a Standard Lodge in the Woodland Village based on a family of four sharing, and include a round of Legoland Adventure golf, and bed and breakfast. From September 27 to November 3, Legoland are giving the park a Hallowe’en makeover called ‘Brick or treat’, with everything from a ‘Monster jam harbour show’ to a vampire disco, creepy cobweb castle and supersize Lego pumpkin and skeleton heads. Spooky!

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