The holiday firm Center Parcs has made a U-turn on its decision to close their sites on the day of the Queen's funeral, which would have forced guests to leave.
It was announced yesterday that the parks planned to shut at 10am on Monday, September 19 for 24 hours, so that staff could pay respects to the Queen on her funeral day.
However, after receiving backlash from angry guests who were expected to leave the parks on Monday and return the following day, the decision to force guests out has been cancelled.
In a Tweet yesterday, Center Parcs said it was planning to close all of its UK villages (in Cumbria, Bedfordshire, Wiltshire, Suffolk and Nottinghamshire) for 24 hours "as a mark of respect and to allow as many of our colleagues as possible to be part of this historic event".
Following on from that, a second Tweet read: "Guests who were due to arrive on Monday 19 September should not travel, we will reopen on Tuesday 20 September to welcome guests. All impacted guests will receive an email from us today. Please visit our website for additional information."
People fumed at this decision in the replies, with one saying: "We paid over £600 for a four day holiday. This has now been effectively cut short by a full day. You're discounting for those that have a delayed arrival date but what about those of us who have lost the last day of their holiday?!"
However, Center Parcs has since backtracked and said the guests will not be forced to leave the villages.
Which Center Parcs facilities will be closed?
After hundreds of comments from angry guests, Center Parcs gave another update on Twitter.
They said: "We recognise leaving the village for one night is an inconvenience, we have listened and made the decision to allow guests to remain on village on Monday, however, the village will still be closed, so guests will need to remain in their lodges."
However, this led to some confusion amongst holidaymakers, with many people thinking they would be placed under "house arrest" in their lodges for the day.
The holiday firm reassured guests that this was not the case, saying: "Apologies for my wording, you will be allowed to walk around the village, but the facilities will be closed."
Center Parcs usually offers activities for families such as adventure golf, paintball and archery, and opened its first village in Nottinghamshire in 1987.
The holiday firm has said that guests can cancel their break and get a full refund, as well as any activities that they had booked.
Center Parcs has also said it will offer a discount to make up for the lack of facilities on Monday, including the restaurants being shut.
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