Review: Woodloch Pines Resort in Hawley, PA

Woodloch Pines Resort is the perfect place to relax with your family and have a wonderful time. It’s very rare that you can instantly feel the warmth when you check into a resort… from the staff and guests. But at Woodloch Pines Resort in Hawley, PA, that’s the norm. There’s plenty to do in cold weather (as well warm weather) and the customer service and food is outstanding. There’s a reason why it’s ranked as the #1 rated hotel for families in the US, according to Trip Advisor’s 2015 Traveler’s Choice Awards. But is it right for your family?

Ask yourself this: Do you want to spend time with your family, enjoy delicious meals, and be able to ride go karts, bumper cars, plus participate in activities like Gingerbread Wars, “horse racing”, scavenger hunts? If so, read on.

Woodloch started as 12 acres and little boardinghouse – now Woodloch Pines features 160 guest rooms in four different room categories with most rooms accommodating up to six people.

Check-in is anytime between 11am to 5pm. We drove up and stopped in Port Jervis for lunch (where my inlaws live). We drove into Woodoch — and followed signed for Registration (the signs are very visible).

In the lobby, you can check in and then relax before your meals (the main dining room is right off the lobby). We were thrilled the warm atmosphere and abundance of comfy chairs and couches. Need a little tea or coffee? In the back of the lobby, you’ll find free coffee and tea open 24/7. The gift shop is right downstairs, so you can pick up a pair of gloves or a hat (we had to pick up gloves for the kids, which were actually $3 a pair). We were at Woodloch right before Christmas, so we enjoyed seeing all the beautiful decorations.

You may see some characters — we saw a character before every breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And the kids went wild each time a character showed up.

My kids met Santa and were so charmed (we’re Jewish, so Santa isn’t something they really come in contact with).

It was too cold to do anything on the lake, so we hope to return in warmer weather.

Our Room:

We stayed in Springbrook, a few doors down from the indoor and outdoor pool. There are plenty of places to stay at Woodloch, most are a quick walk to the main lobby/dining room – but people do drive and there are shuttle buses that run between the areas constantly.

We had a living room and a bedroom with two double beds and a ensuite bathroom.

This is a tour of our room:

Because we are a family of 5 (with my youngest being a little difficult), having an living room with a pull out couch was perfect for us. Because my youngest wasn’t going to bed easily on the first night we were there, the other 4 of us had to go into the bedroom so we could sleep. If we had been in one room, he would have kept us all up. The second night my youngest son and my daughter slept in the living room (we did so many fun things and they both were exhausted). That next morning all three snuggled together – it was so cute!

Food:
At Woodloch Pines Resort, you can choose from a two meals per day plan or a three meals a day plan. There is table service and the wait staff is very attentive. Cocktails are available at lunch and dinner (for an additional cost).

Note: They have special non alcoholic drinks for kids at the dining room. They are sparkly and bright (and cost extra). Your child is going to want them. Your child may lose his little mind over them. Keep in mind that you are not paying for many extras at Woodloch, so you may say yes.. one or two times. It will add up, so you may want to negotiate this before your trip.

However, my husband and I treated ourselves to a drink each (we don’t drink that often). You can easily charge it to your room.

Soft drinks are included in the meal plan, as well as juices and chocolate milk. They can serve the juices and milk in kids cup with lids.

There were delicious bread included at dinner. My youngest child loved the pumpkin bread that was served on our first night.

The side dishes (including salads) are served family style.

If you have a food allergy or sensitivity, speak to your waiter. Since I do have a dairy sensitivity, I was able to find out if a soup had milk in it and avoid that. While I am eating gluten free, I don’t have celiac, so I didn’t ask about that — I just avoided eating things that I knew would have gluten.
There are plenty of choices for the kids for lunches and dinners. The portions were huge and you can expect to see such kids faves as chicken tenders, fries, and pizza.

One thing that you’ll notice is owner & CEO of Woodloch, John Kiesendahl is a fixture at meals. He greets all the guests warmly and actually goes from table to table checking in on everyone. He also makes the announcements during meals and highlights birthdays and anniversaries. And yes, they announced my birthday. Luckily they didn’t announce my age!

Activities:
There was tons to do. Check out the daily activity sheet for meal times, special events, and activities. They print out copies or you can check on their website — http://woodlochedge.com/.

Most of the activities were included, like their six sided rock climbing wall, indoor and outdoor pools, bumper cars, go karts, bumper boats, kayaking, snow tubing, ice skating and more. My kids loved the go karts. There are Jr. Carts for kids between 48” – 58” to drive Jr. Carts.

If you have a smaller child who wants to ride along with you, walk up past the rock climbing wall and drive the family carts — you must be over 58” and up to drive. I had so much fun driving the go kart with my little one.

 

Another fun activity was Woodloch’s Festival of Lights. While it’s over for the season now, make sure to not to miss this next year.

Find out more about the Festival of Lights.

Woodloch Pines also offers Woodloch Forest, a fantastic indoor playground.

For my two younger kids, this was their favorite activity. They loved climbing around and didn’t want to leave the Forest.

There is an arts and crafts room in the main building, not far from the main dining room. Like the Toddler Room, you need to supervise your children. We wandered in after dinner and had fun drawing together.

We participated in Gingerbread Wars. We teamed up with a family we met at Woodloch (they actually adopted us) and showed us the ropes. Our kids were similar ages and everyone got alone well.

Woodloch Pines also has a fabulous sister resort called the Lodge At Woodloch, which is a Destination Spa and has been chosen by Travel & Leisure and Conde Nast as “One of The Top 10 Destination Spas in the World”. Since it was my birthday, my husband treated me to a massage. The spa was actually closed for renovations during my visit, so I went to one of the lakehouses for my treatment. It was amazing and probably one of the best massages I’ve ever had (I’ve a few before). Christine was professional and really listened to me.

Summary:
What I really liked about Woodloch Pines is that families were encouraged to spend time together. Families actually hang out as a group – this isn’t a “drop your kids off and go take a nap” kind of a resort. The staff was friendly and really wants to make sure you enjoy yourself. There’s a reason why families come back again and again — and we think we want to go back again too.
We heartily recommend a visit to Woodloch Pines Resort. Tell them The Mama Maven Blog sent you!

Thank you to Woodloch Pines Resort for providing us with accommodations in return for an honest review.