Woodloch Pine Resorts — Hotel in Honesdale

I intended to capture all the magical Woodloch moments live, on a daily basis, before coming back home to reality, but my energy level had other ideas, so let me try to not forget the unforgettable and recap all the highlights with the hum of the clothes dryer as background accompaniment..||||If I try to recap EVERYTHING that was special and unique, I'll be glued to this keyboard for a year..until the next trip.||||(and I'm perfectly fine with that.)||||Can nirvana be described with just mere prose??||||I'm never sure, but I'll give it a go. ||||The minute you exit your car on arrival day, the very moment you inhale that mountain air, you are alive--the high fives exchanged with virtual strangers who feel like lifelong friends are endless, the smiles are reciprocal, the excitement is immeasurable, and you say to yourself:||||"I'm here"||"I'm home."||"I'm happy."||||This particular pilgrimage rates as one of the best--shared by family with my DNA and family without my DNA.||||I don't like thinking about my final moments on this planet(and yet..here I am!) but when I do, I will not be reminiscing about seeing Mt. St. Helen's on a cloudless day or snorkeling with exotic fish on the Great Barrier Reef.||||(I've done both..plus many more exotic trips) ||||Yes, it's comparing apples to spatulas, but I say this yearly to on the fence folks considering a Woodloch trip but reluctant to pay the price:|||| "On my deathbed, I will feel like I financed the experience with Monopoly money. I can't compare budgets for a European sight seeing tour to this, but I will anyway. My final memory will be of my brother's grandchildren rolling in a vat of jello during "Double Dare", laughing contagiously. Of my friends pooling our collective brain power to solve a challenging puzzle.||||My final word is likely to be "Priceless."||||My final memory will be of Lake Teedyuskung, and then I can have a very peaceful eternal rest. ||||Let me share some specifics to avoid sounding cliche, starting with Monday's arrival.|||| There was a heat wave and our rental home wasn't quite ready, so we unpacked our carry on bags, grabbed our suits, and dove into the lake that refreshed both body and soul. We came to the surface to enjoy the picturesque view..the picture perfect painting of puffy white clouds and shimmering blue sky set against the majestic green Pocono mountains.||||A couple of squeamish guests exited the ripples when sighting a gentle garter snake, but I just felt a connection with Mother Nature. I'm grateful that we could share life with all her miraculous creations, from squabbling chipmunks (for real!! They almost got into a fistfight in our driveway!) to deer who bravely would trot across the parking lot: to horses on the horse drawn carriage ride, doing what horses do. Even the elusive mouse who took up residence by the fireplace in our immaculate house rental, with mattresses that made you feel like you were sleeping on air..even those critters were welcome. I didn't see the water snake as a venomous cobra or the field mouse as a city sewer rat; I only saw furry faces looking like they wanted to put jeweled combs into my hair. Like they wanted to personally help my find the hidden Mickeys in the Disney Game.||||The "So You Think You Know Music" game proved that we apparently do, as we Boomers identified songs from Queen and ABBA, and the millenials took pride in knowing their hip hop.||||For some reason, Taylor Swift's "Shake it Off" and Kelly Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You" have been on a constant loop since then. It makes me happy.||||If you can't find something for everyone during a Woodloch vacation, then you're not looking and you're probably as blind as the field mouse who sought shelter in our home.||||I experience intense VICARIOUS pleasure: if it was all about making MYSELF happy, I'd be dragging the family to a "Gilmore Girls" convention. ||||This is a place for everyone..where every individual activity becomes spirited teamwork. ||||Every dinner is a dinner party.||||There were too many daytime highlights to mention here, but I'll mention a few, like the cleverly designed Lake Games, offering six silly but often athletically challenging events that paid homage to icons like Harry Potter and Super Mario.||||Our family arranged for a scenic boat tour, all twelve of us with our different ages and schedules and activity preferences. It is often tough to coordinate but we all showed up--on time. My hilarious great nephew was so concerned that we'd literally miss the boat that he shouted out to the captain , "Captain! One of the passengers is still in the bathroom, and my Aunt doesn't want my Daddy to make us miss our turn!"||||(Yes, he's seven and used words like "captain" and "passenger.")||||If anyone eye witnessed this, you can see why our matching t-shirts all read, "Karen..Calm Down"||||We loved the challenging brain games like "The Floor" and "The One Percent Club" and our personal favorite, the newish "Generation Gap" game.||||We loved guessing outcomes of actual jury trials, led by Randy, dressed in his judges' robe and grey wig, inspiring us to create clever team names with a law-related theme, and making us laugh at our collective cluelessness. I can't tell you what was the loudest, the laughter in the room, Randy's gavel, or Randy's booming but natural speaking voice.||||The little ones of course wouldn't be interested in predicting verdicts, so they'd spend their time on bumper boats and bumper cars and go-karts.||||We grown ups were saturated with pride as we were handed the much coveted Gold Medal during the Scavenger Hunt, even when we misheard Joey describing his "boggle puzzle" as a "bible puzzle.".||||We still coordinated our phones, all set to google everything we'd need to know about Sansom and Delilah.||||If you've ever been to Las Vegas or Broadway, then you're familiar with the caliber of Woodloch's theme show.They're as enjoyable at the s'more you just roasted over the open campfire under the strung lights before you entered the nightclub.||||This year's show was the best we've seen since we first started coming here in 2004. It was called "The Grand Slam of Entertainment" a unique salute to EGOT winners, with dazzling costumes and lighting and high kicking dancers and singers who will undoubtedly receive their own personal Tony in the not too distant future. My Boomer brother and his ten year old granddaughter loved the show equally..a rarity indeed. Swifties don't necessarily follow Sinatra, but here, they make it work..filling everyone's ears, hearts, and souls.||||Be on the lookout for a band called the "Party Crashers" with their sexy but family-friendly male dancer and his impressive costume changes. Their show was titled "Guilty Pleasures" a salute to all the songs you hate to admit to loving, but that didn't stop a night club full of people from shimmying theirs butts off to these songs with crackling voices and uncoordinated bodies that would make a choreographer look for a new career.||||The entertainment for the final night is absolutely superb, the staff's gift to guests that recapture the week, (my husband, daughter-in-law, and friend were all shown in the video) and a personal mention to our tight-knit group, the Woodloch Pickles, who've been coming to the resort the same week for nearly two decades. Our team's shout out was a swarmy unforgettable honor. ||||Speaking of our Pickles group, our last night tradition causes sleep depravation that we gladly pay for the following day. We find a private corner and continue generating fun with a new boxed game that one of our members is bound to hear about sometime during the year.||||We got to witness the smart and clever side of our group, whether we're playing a fast-paced round of "Catch Phrase" where hilarity ensues, or breaking in something new this year, a game for film aficionados called "Rotten Tomatoes."||||Arthur won the game as well as our hearts.||||He and his wife Linda arranged a surprise for our newlyweds..a special announcement over the loudspeaker and a lit up cupcake delivered by an enthusiastic set of singing servers.||||It was such a surprise but then again..it wasn't.|||| This is who they are..their whole group is made up with thoughtful, generous folks who started off as Woodloch teammates and ended as friends for life.|||| Woodloch plants the seeds, the friendships bloom naturally.||||Woodloch Pines.||||Just when you think it can't get any better, it does.||||It always does.||||And it...

We had a fantastic stay at this all-inclusive resort, conveniently located within driving distance from North Jersey. The resort is a perfect fit for families with kids, offering a wide range of activities and events that cater to all ages. Some highlights of our stay included a scenic boat ride on the lake, visiting the petting zoo, bumper boats, go-kart racing, archery, and a fun-filled carnival fair.

The resort's pool facilities were impressive, with both outdoor and indoor pools for adults and kids, open from early morning to 10 PM. We also appreciated the private beach area for kids, beach volleyball court, and water activities like kayaking and paddle boating. Plus, beach chairs were available for relaxing and taking in the lake views.

Other amenities included a night club, games room, theater for shows like comedy show, magic show, singing show etc every Tuesday and Friday.

The shuttle service was excellent, allowing us to get around the property with ease. We could even request pickups and drop-offs anywhere within the resort by calling the front desk, and golf carts were available for added convenience.

While we loved our stay, there were a couple of areas for improvement. Our room was a bit dated, and the food options were limited for vegetarians like our family. Additionally, the timings for breakfast, lunch, and dinner had short time windows, which were challenging for us with a 14-month-old's schedule to match. We felt that we were forced to adhere to these defined time windows, which was a bit restrictive.

Despite these minor issues, we had an amazing time and are already planning our return trip for next summer. Overall, the resort's strengths far outweigh its weaknesses, and we highly recommend it to families looking for a fun and...

third time stay. first time was magnificent. there were nine of us. was so impressed, we invited more family to join us, the next time. i was so embarrassed. after all the build up.. the attention level was bare minimum. a couple years passed, and seven of us from the original group, decided to do a short get-away with returning. horrible. the room furniture had drawers that would not stay closed. we were in the north wing where there was no elevator. the food was worse than diner food. more like generic grocery food. for breakfast.. just two meat choices. neither was any good. ordered scrambled eggs. found out they were powdered eggs. no family shared sides. got sick on the salad. i think the cheese had gone bad. we went on a deal.. which was still very expensive. they said the water activities were open, but there was no staff outside. none of the arcade rides or games worked. no smoking section. if they weren't going to provide a room for smokers, they should have at least offered an outside tented area. a lot of sprinkling of rain. never liked that the large outside, umbrella patio did not allow us to drink alcohol. it was just for sitting. no drinking, poolside. no real food, pool side. oh. we ran out of toilet paper. when sat for dinner, there was a shared salad there.. but no salad bowls. we asked for some. they no sooner got placed, on our table.. then the main waitress said she'd remove them to make more table space. this same waitress, we asked for refills. we could tell by her attitude, she wasn't going to get them for us. when another waitress came over to see if we needed anything.. we asked her for the refills. she got...