The Lodge at Woodloch

My favorite spa experience! This is the second time I have stayed here and each time I am amazed by the service, the food, the facility and the variety of things to do. The instructors are amazing. The gym is a delight and the spa outstanding. I plan to come back again and again

Absolutely amazing stay! I just got back from The Lodge at Woodloch after a 2 night stay with my wife, and while I had fairly high expectations based on the reviews, every part of the stay exceeded our expectations! The fantastic service started from the time we arrived. The gatekeeper obviously took our name and as soon as we pulled up, the valet and the front desk were expecting us. The valet took our bags, disappeared, and when we got to the room, our bags were waiting there for us. The front desk had everything ready to go and offered us a tour. Rooms: If you read reviews about the rooms being outdated, they're obviously from before the place was remodeled. The rooms are beautiful, modern, and very comfortable. The bathrooms aren't huge, but are very nice. Our view from room 320 was beautiful, and we kept our windows open so that we could hear the waterfall outside. The robes they provide are very comfortable, and they're basically all we wore for much of our stay. Spa: Services were comparable to other high-end spas I've been to (and prices were similar), but the facilities were better than most. Each side for men and women have a large and very comfortable sitting area, great showers, a steam room, sauna, and whirlpool. They also both have beautiful views of the grounds. Unlike many other spas I've been to, there are also plenty of co-ed areas, which my wife and I were very happy to find. Included in the co-ed areas are another sauna, an indoor pool, several hot tubs (one is an outdoor infinity edge hot tub), and apparently the only snow room in the US. Food: One area where all-inclusive resorts usually lack is the food. However, that's definitely not the case at Woodloch, where food is comparable to some of the nicest restaurants I've been to. All of their vegetables tasted somehow fresher than other farm-to-table restaurants we've been to. Everything, from curry mussels, to duck, to steak, was amongst the best I've had. If I were to be served any of their dinner entrees at a typical restaurant, I'd have no complaints paying $40-50 each. Grounds: Beautiful, and meticulously maintained. Plenty of hiking/biking trails available, including some that are great for just cruising around, and a couple that are a legitimate challenge on a mountain bike. There are deer on the grounds that are by far the most friendly I've ever come across - one of the deer actually came up and licked my hand! Their garden is just a short walk from the hotel, and worth the walk over to see. Staff: All were wonderful! The customer service is some of the best I've ever had, without exception. From the valet, to the front desk, to the spa, to the outdoor activities staff - they're all helpful, friendly, and seem genuinely interested in making sure your visit is perfect. Really can't say enough about this place. Although it's a 4 hour drive from our house, it was totally worth the drive, and we'd love to go back in the future!

Wonderful Stay at The Lodge at Woodloch Our four-night stay for eight at The Lodge at Woodloch was outstanding. There were enough activities/spa treatments to satisfy and strengthen all of our minds and bodies. The property is exceptional and the care from the staff was a 10 out of ten. Rooms are adequate and well-maintained. The place is pricey, but equal to other high-end getaways.

Superlative on every level There is nothing that is NOT perfect with the entire beautiful Lodge. Every detail has been thought of. The service is amazing, and the food far better than a Michelin restaurant. I can not think of anything bad about The Lodge at Woodloch, except for the fact that I have to leave at some point to go home. I have been fortunate enough to be able to visit with family, husband and friends. EVERYONE wants to return. I have booked my 9th visit and hope to continue the trend. There is so much to do that is included with your trip. The art classes will shock you. I have created so many wonderful creations and I am NOT an artist. There is also kayaking, paddle boarding, hiking, bird watching trips, dance classes, trivia classes, fitness classes, lectures, ax throwing, pickleball, tennis, fire making, archery, fishing, the list goes on and on, and it is ALL INCLUDED. as well as all your meals, snacks, and tips. You arrive at the gate, and the luxury begins. I am beyond positive that anyone who goes to The Lodge will make fabulous memories. Give it a try!

A Wellness Haven (with a areas to grow) TL;DR - It’s a really lovely resort that allows you to choose your own type of wellness. The grounds of the property are immaculate. The staff and the classes really make the experience. The spa is great but can also be hit or miss and can get crowded. And there are some things that can be improved (particularly at this price point). A small essay of my greats, goods, mehs, and gripes. First Impressions - After a windy journey up some interesting roads, arriving at the resort was an immediate delight. I was greeted by the security gate and directed to the valet, who promptly whisked my car away and took all my luggage. Check-in was quick, and the front desk staff were incredibly friendly, giving us a tour of the building. We were then directed to the spa for a tour, which was very helpful for getting acclimated. We went for a walk to explore while our room was being prepared and were quite impressed. The grounds are impeccably maintained and manicured. There are mostly paved paths directing you around the property, and anything not paved is well-groomed. There are even just arbitrary hammocks for your lounging delight. The grounds are lush, foliage is plentiful, the dock on the lake is perfect, and it’s fairly impossible to get lost since everything loops. Overall, there was lots of “ooo-ing” and “ahh-ing” the entire time! We were also blessed with the most lovely and mild weather. The Room - Our room was ready a short while before check-in time, and we were happy to settle into our 2nd-floor double veranda room facing the gardens. The room was generally nice—spacious, with a large closet, double vanity bathroom, two very comfortable beds, a TV, nice patio, etc. However, it didn’t feel very luxurious or even particularly resort-like, which was a bit of a surprise. It’s just your standard run-of-the-mill nice room, somewhat akin to a Marriott with a bit more cottagey personality. It would have been nice to have at least a teapot in the room. There is tea and coffee available in the garden room until 5 p.m., but after that, you have to ask the restaurant, which can be a chore if you want a cup of sleepy tea before bed. The Classes - After settling into our rooms, we immediately dashed off to a jewelry-making class. Be sure to follow their instructions and book classes in advance because it can get busy, and the popular ones do fill up. Our first class was with Jill, who was an absolute gem and had the patience of a saint as we fumbled with our wire to wrap around beads. We ended up taking a few classes with Jill, including a landscape acrylic class, a drawing mushrooms in the moonlight class, an oil pastel water lilies class, and a clay class. Each of these was super fun, appropriate for all skill levels, and well-designed. They also have a nice video and screen teaching setup, so you can follow along. We also took an outdoor watercolor class with Debra, which was lovely, and it was so nice to do art outside. Interlude at Blackmore Farm - My favorite class of the whole week was sun printing in the garden with Sara at Blackmore Farm. She is a fantastic well of knowledge and willing to share everything with you. It’s actually a cyanotype class, which on a sunny day is incredibly satisfying. It’s also a great way to see the farm. You can choose to print pretty much any plant, weed, fern, flower, rock, wood, etc., so it’s also an opportunity for endless and forgiving creativity. Definitely recommend a farm tour! We even took a ukulele class with Veronica, which was something I would have never tried had I not had an opportunity like this. It was so fun and approachable. For someone who has never played a musical instrument in my life, I now want to get a ukulele and play "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Thanks, Veronica! It’s truly a testament to your great teaching. We also sampled some fitness classes, including basic vinyasa yoga, foam rolling, kneading classes, and wall yoga. The wall yoga with Alyssa was incredible and something you have to try at least once. Never in my life did I think I’d be comfortable hanging upside down in a harness on a wall I scaled myself, but she made it so easy, approachable, and ensured all of us were safe. One of the coolest classes I’ve done. We also did some hatchet throwing and archery. Ian made me feel like an actual archery pro, making sure to set us up for success, watching our shots, critiquing our stances, and getting us to a place where we consistently improved, and of course, taking excellent photos. I appreciated that you could also bike, birdwatch, fish, kayak, eat s’mores, and play pickleball all day. Many charred marshmallows are still bouncing around in my stomach. I can’t say enough good things about the teachers we had. They were all amazing, accommodating, attentive, helpful, and seemed genuinely invested. I do wish there were a few more evening classes or activities available, like bedtime or wind-down yoga (even a short stretch session). It was clear some guests were looking for activities at night that were not bingo or karaoke. The Gym and Equipment - We also visited the gym on our own to get some lifts in. It’s generally a nice space with solid equipment but is not state-of-the-art and frustratingly lacks racks, bars, or plates for weight lifting. It does have a good array of machines, dumbbells, and benches, which were fine substitutes. It was also a bit silly that the gym isn’t open all the time. I really like a late-night treadmill walk or mini lift, and that just wasn’t feasible. An intensely specific complaint (given we did a lot of yoga) is that the yoga mats are the thinnest I have ever encountered. They could spend a few extra dollars to get some cushier mats, as it was noticeable when every attendee in class was getting blankets for their tushes. The Food - The food menus initially impressed me and were certainly one of the highlights, with tasty options and generous portions. They offer choices for vegans, vegetarians, and pescatarians and are fantastic at asking about allergies and accommodating a wide range of restrictions and preferences. The menus could get a little tedious and weren’t always executed to perfection. Let me explain: the breakfast and lunch menus stay the same all week (with a special or two for lunch), and the addition of small buffet-style offerings and salad bar at lunch which may have a special or two, and then dinner rotates between an A and B menu for the week (with again a special or two). So if you’re there for more than a few days, you’re going to see some of the same things repeatedly. For dinner, this really wasn’t an issue since the menu is extensive, but for meals like lunch, it got tedious quickly. We started with dinner on our first day, and it was lovely. Our server was attentive and helpful, and we were impressed by the appetizers, salads, entrees, and desserts, except that my steak came out quite overcooked. The server handled this spectacularly—took one look after I made a sad face and whisked it away for a new one. The pavlova was my favorite dessert, and I enjoyed it so much that I had it several nights in a row. When the food was good, it was VERY good—well-seasoned and genuinely delightful. I still think about the octopus I got as a special. When it was mediocre (like the chicken, asparagus, and rice I had at lunch), it was frustrating and disappointing. I literally had to season my chicken with lemon, salt, and pepper, and pour a little of my friend’s soup on top because it was a bland palette of blandness. While I appreciate that wellness is really what you choose to make of it at this resort, I also wished for some healthier and lighter options overall. I appreciated the salad bar available at lunch, but some nice seasonal salads on the lunch menu would be nice - even totally cliché spa food like quinoa salad, summer rolls, zucchini noodles, cauliflower rice, etc. I think food can still be light but generous, and I know food is where a lot of guests get their money’s worth. The meal times are also particularly odd with a lack of options in between. Breakfast ends at 9:30 a.m., leaving you a weird gap until lunch starts at 11:30 a.m. Prime snack time is between lunch and dinner, and again—no solid options. They do offer an à la carte menu for between lunch and dinner where you can pay for some options, and they put out some cookies or cupcakes at 3 p.m., but that’s pretty much it for snacks (aside from some granola you can find at the gym and spa, and bowls of fresh fruit). I personally do not want a green apple or orange after my cardio fitness class. It’s just really odd to me that there are not actual small or large options available for in-between meals (even like crudités, or dips, or mini healthy snacks). You can get around the timing and snack conundrum by asking for your meals to go (which you can pick up or they can deliver), but this takes a bit of planning and strategy on your part. In addition, there are wellness drinks (quite a few therapeutic lattes that sounded very cool), but they all come with an additional charge, which feels incredibly strange for a wellness resort. While it absolutely makes sense that alcohol would come at an additional charge, it doesn’t mean that a golden milk latte or a matcha latte should cost an additional $18 (with the menu price and the service charge). The Spa - The spa is lovely, and that, of course, is why many guests are here in the first place! I was impressed and overwhelmed by my first spa tour. I also loved that plush, fluffy robes and slippers are available at every corner, and many people just wander around all day in a robe for breakfast and lunch (you don’t need real clothes until dinner!). On our second afternoon, we took full advantage of the spa. We showered and settled into the steam room, went to the sauna and snow room, dipped in the indoor hot tub/waterfall, and read for a bit in the all-season patio. We then headed outside to lounge on the loungers, visited the outdoor hot tub, and did the sauna and snow room all over again. I will say the loungers are a bit disappointing—just thin mesh lounge chairs with no cushion. I’m sure they are much easier to clean, but they’re not very luxurious. We took lovely showers and enjoyed all the amenities in the kit provided and sunned ourselves like little lizards with the heat lamp that’s in the shower rooms. They also have hair products, combs, straighteners, etc. that you can ask for. I also particularly appreciated the quiet and social lounges downstairs, which were great places to relax. My massage with Andrea was incredible. I cannot say enough good things! I did a massage with a scalp add-on and it was delightful in every way. While spacious at first glance, the spa facilities can actually get quite cramped. I was taken to the whisper lounge after my treatment, and every chair was occupied except for the straight-back corner banquettes, which kind of defeats the purpose of being a content loaf after treatment. There was an evening when every single lounger outside was taken, and there were ten people in the outdoor hot tub. I really don’t know how you manage the crowd control when you want guests to be able to use the facilities without treatments. Maybe some sort of sign in log? Encouraging people to come at certain blocks? Something about even and odd number rooms? I don't have a perfect solution for this. This is compounded by the fact that the indoor pool is chlorinated, so you can’t really lounge by the indoor pool because it smells like chlorine. I really wish they had more outdoor options for the spa. I didn’t see anyone at the indoor pool except during classes or taking short dips after the hot tub. More hydrotherapy options would also be lovely. The indoors is a great option when the weather isn’t ideal, but on a nice day, it’s no fun to be inside. It can also be understaffed, particularly at busy times when everyone is trying to take a shower. Attendants are frantically trying to get towels for people, restock amenities, manage guests, and pick up the constant barrage of towels. They are clearly doing an amazing job and trying so hard, but sometimes it’s impossible to keep up. I saw an attendant take away a basket of towels and then 3 guests drop in like 12 more. Spa services aren’t included so it’s also important to factor that in if important to you and book that in advance if you have specific services or times you want. Sign-Ups and Online Access - Their online booking system has been down for months, which is quite a nightmare. I know the staff are also desperately waiting for it to come back up, but it has made the whole booking experience a pain. It took a few weeks of back and forth to figure out dates and pricing, and then calling to book, and then they couldn’t take a deposit, then they called to request one, and everything involved a lot of back-and-forth calls with their lines remaining busy. Once the schedule is released, you also have to call or email to book classes, which feels like an extra step. I would recommend booking your classes in advance because they can fill up quickly! Everyone is also wandering around with their papers or picking up new ones. While I support their disconnection from phones policy, the whole experience would have been vastly improved by a resort app (and would save a lot of paper). Everyone is on their phone anyway even if it's on silent. Even if it an app just to let you view and sign up for classes, it would make it much easier for people to drop in and give others a chance to have space. An app could also help build your own itinerary with meal times and non-class activities. Their current booking and concierge structure is not always practical. Conclusion - That’s it! That’s literally everything I can think of. This was a really lovely wellness spa that lets you choose an array of wellness - whether you just want to lounge at the spa, be super active all the time, explore your inner artist, try something new, try watersports, or just be in nature - it has it all. I was consistently impressed by the staff and how pleasant and accommodating they were and it truly made the experience. I was also impressed at the array of things there were to do. Like an endless adult summer camp with yummy food. There were just a few things that I raised an eyebrow about given price, rating, and marketing. If the timing and the schedule worked out I would still totally come back and be just slightly better prepared!