Help me find retreat space for 90+ people

February 13, 2016 6:56 AM

My company is looking for space that would accommodate 90+ employees for a weekend retreat. We would like it to be in the Northeast, driving distance 3 hour max from NYC region, have sleeping quarters employees can sleep comfortably in, a kitchen, dining and community area. We will be catering or hire a chef onsite to prepare our meals. Our stay would be for 2 nights, Thursday to Saturday, or Friday to Sunday. We would like to spend our days relaxing, drinking and playing a few games/activities. Please help me find a location. We are open to anything..hotels, mansions, camps, etc.
posted by anonymous to Travel & Transportation (6 answers total)

You might check out the Mohonk Mountain House. It's about 90 miles from NYC. It's quiet and relaxing, lots of hiking trails. Wikipedia has more photos. I don't know for certain if they can accommodate all those people, but there's a tab on their website for meetings and events. (trivia: It was the spa featured in the movie Road to Wellville.)
posted by bluecore at 7:20 AM on February 13, 2016 [4 favorites]

Check out Becket and Chimney Corners Camp and Outdoor Center in Beckett, MA. They are about 2 hours and 35 minutes from NYC, and they have great activities to do even in the coldest winter months. My daughters go to camp there, but I have seen a lot of other programming that they have in the Outdoor Center that takes groups.

One caveat though is, having organized retreats for a school I worked at, it's hard to find a non-hotel that allows drinking on the premises, I think it's a liability to the owners.
posted by momochan at 7:20 AM on February 13, 2016

First place that came to my mind was Bon Secours Retreat and Conference Center in Maryland, which Google Maps says is 3 hours 22 minutes from NYC. I have been there a few times and although many of their retreats are religious I believe they keep the lights on by doing other kinds of retreats.

Closer to you would be Malvern Retreat House which is also primarily religious retreats. It is quite beautiful but much older.

I don't know if either are what you have in mind, but are probably worth a Web visit and/or phone call.
posted by forthright at 8:48 AM on February 13, 2016

Two years ago at this time there was an outbreak of norovirus at Mohonk Mountain House. They just settled a class action suit about it. I know about this because a tech group whose mailing list I subscribe to held a meeting there, and many got sick. Despite that, they continued to hold meetings there.
posted by Sophont at 3:13 PM on February 13, 2016

Incarnation Center in Ivoryton, CT. Rustic, woodsy, allows drinking, has a lake, hiking trails, campfire areas, etc. A good place if you're more into "retreat in the woods" than "fancy amenities."

Despite that, they continued to hold meetings there.

Mohonk is an absolutely wonderful, beautiful place that does a brisk tourist business and is almost always full. Hundreds of people can stay at any one time. It has been in business for more than 100 years and has a high-end clientele. The only tick against it (barring that incident, which was probably a one-time thing) is that it's very expensive, even for an all-inclusive.
posted by Miko at 3:18 PM on February 13, 2016

Pendle Hill is a Quaker retreat center in Wallingford, PA, which is 2 hours out of NYC. They can accommodate up to 130 people. I believe their sleeping quarters tend towards individual cabins, and their meals tend towards the communal, but I bet they would be willing to work with you as far as the caterer goes.
posted by fancyoats at 2:59 PM on February 14, 2016 [1 favorite]