I phoned around the centres in my area (ones that were in a suitable location) and went to see the ones I was interested. You definitely get a feel for whether you like the place from the minute you walk in - cleanliness, variety of toys, are the carers friendly and approachable, do the kids playing look happy and healthy (in general) - right down to the smell of a place (it's generally going to smell to some extent of a cleaning product, particularly near the bathrooms, but the rest of the centre shouldn't smell offensive in any way).
One place I went to most of the things I wanted were there "on paper" - but when I went there I just got a bad vibe about the place.
Good luck - it's such a big thing trusting a centre and leaving your littlies in the care of someone else!
You might like to look at Family Daycare too, like any type of care people will have pros and cons but DS has been with his FDC since he was 8 months old and she is like another mother to him.
Try to meet a few of the carers, these are the people you will be leaving your child with. The centre could be lovely but you might find that the room leader is not someone your child is going to click with.. Another thing to check out is how many people will be caring for your little one. There were about 12 at the last centre DS was at, so sometimes I was leaving him with near strangers. A good centre will attempt to have some consistency with the carers.
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