The Lodge at Woodloch review
Jul 8, 2009 Product Review
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I took a picture of my feet the other day for a whrrl story about taking the kids to a museum, and I couldn’t help but notice how great my toes looked. My last pedicure was four whole weeks ago, at The Lodge at Woodloch, a destination spa in Pennsylvania. I spent the night there with a few other bloggers – Katja Presnal, Kim Orlando, and Amy Platt – as guests of the owners, John and Ginny Lopis, so that we could review the hotel and spa. All accommodations and food, as well as one spa treatment, were paid for by The Lodge.
I’d never been to a “destination spa” before, and was amazed at how immersive the experience was. I’ve been to plenty of hotels with first-class spas, and I’ve been to dozens of day spas. This was very different from any of those places. For one thing, there were very relaxed looking people in robes everywhere: the hallways, the dining room, lounging outside. Once you enter the grounds you’re free to relax, and you don’t have to worry about putting yourself together. I didn’t see any robes at dinner, but that really was the only time.
Everyone knows that I’m no nature girl. So I was pleasantly surprised by how much of an impact the woodsy setting had on my moods. There are floor-to-ceiling windows everywhere. And actually, for someone like me, that’s the best of both worlds, because I can be surrounded by nature without having to actually be outside. But whether you’re indoors or out, the place is just breathtaking. There’s a fire pit, a lake, walking trails, and places just to sit and relax and take it all in.
The guestrooms are beautiful – mine had a balcony – and the staff is fantastic. Friendly and helpful. The staff can make or break an experience like this, and they passed with flying colors.
The owners have decades of experience running spas between them, and it really shows in the design and the details of The Lodge. The pool area is without a doubt the most beautiful I have ever seen, anywhere, with its giant cascade of water. 
The treatment rooms are divine – there are 27 of them! – and the pedicure stations are designed so that you don’t feel like you’re sharing your pedicure with your neighbor. The women’s locker room is beautiful (I imagine the men’s is similar), and there are ten private rooms (with showers) that are refreshed after each use, in case you don’t want to leave the spa area in your robe. The foot baths (copper, no jets) and door hardware (brass) are all designed to make sure that germs aren’t being spread amongst the staff and guests. The thought that went into these kinds of details really speaks to the kind of dedication the Lopis’s have to making sure you have a great stay.
Of course all the beauty in the world will mean nothing if the spa treatments aren’t good. Thankfully, they are. I had a Native Stone Massage, something I’ve never had before. It was a very good choice for me. Large hot stones were placed on various parts of my body, and smaller stones were used for parts of the actual massage. I’ve had a lot of massages, and the hot stones brought it to a whole new level. I definitely recommend it. It was sublime. But of course it had to end eventually, and the lovely woman who did my massage said that the hardest part of her job is telling people that the massage is over. But at least the transition was relaxed, and not rushed in the least.
My Restorative Spa Pedicure was also fantastic. It was just what my winter-beaten feet needed. I was afraid the cracks in my heels would scare away the woman doing the pedicure, but she assured me that she had seen worse and she got to work. I usually read the whole time I get a pedicure, but of course the pedicure chairs were facing the woods, and I kept zoning out into the view. I really can’t overstate how good my feet looked and felt after this treatment.
The two treatments I got were from a huge menu of treatments (pdf file). There really is something for everyone. There’s even a spa suite where couples can get treatments together. There were some couples at the resort, but women – especially groups of girlfriends – made up the majority while I was there. It would be a great way to celebrate, reconnect, or just get away. And if your idea of relaxing involves sweating or actually learning something, there’s also a full compliment of classes and activities. We took a drumming class, which was honest to God the most fun I’ve ever had while exercising. The room was set up with rows of exercise balls, we were each given a set of drumsticks, and I spent the next hour concentrating so hard on what my feet and hands were supposed to be doing that I forget I was exercising.
We also went to a cooking demonstration, led by The Lodge’s head chef (who really needs his own cooking show). But the most impressive class was the art class. Kim and I took a watercolor class, and I was actually nervous because I have no artistic talent whatsoever. But believe it or not, I did about 85-90% of this painting. The instructor would come over and help me through rough patches. And if you look closely, there are some parts that look a little goofy. But I did it! It’s good to try new things, and with so much to choose from, I had the chance to explore a little.
It wasn’t all sunshine and roses. I went to one seminar that was frankly a bit dumb. But if my three companions hadn’t been going, I wouldn’t have been there (or if I had wandered in alone I would have politely left). And I was the only one in the room who didn’t love it, so I can’t really fault The Lodge. There’s enough variety for everybody – you only have yourself to blame if you spend time there doing anything you don’t fully enjoy.
The hardest part of The Lodge to review for me is the food. I’m notoriously picky (and boring) when it comes to food. I’m a vegetarian who hates the vegetarian staple foods (tofu and mushrooms). I would just eat pasta, bread, peanut butter, and cheese if I wouldn’t weigh 300 pounds. So maybe it was because I’ve been trying to lose weight lately that I liked the small portions. But my friends didn’t, so that should be taken into consideration. In general, I liked the menu food better than the buffet food, although I do like being able to pick and choose from a buffet (there was a soup that was so velvety, I was shocked to find out it had no dairy in it, and I kept going back for more of the crunchy blackened broccoli). And while the buffet had several choices that were meatless, I would have liked to see more than one vegetarian entree on the dinner menu. I was annoyed that I couldn’t get a veggie burger at dinner off of the lunch menu, but really disappointed by the reason: I was told that they were frozen. I would expect something fresher from a place like this. I have nothing against frozen foods, I eat them all the time. But I was surprised.
I asked Ginny Lopis what the philosophy behind the food was, if it’s supposed to be healthy above all else. Because that could account for me not being over the moon about the food. She insisted that food that tastes great and food that’s healthy doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive, but I think that’s not quite true. I do think that The Lodge has found a great balance, and that people who choose to go to this type of spa will welcome the chance to experience good meals that don’t leave them feeling bloated and heavy.
Some tips: If you’re addicted to pop like I am, bring some with you. I happened to have a half bottle of Diet Dr. Pepper with me, and after that ran out I got a pretty bad headache (I don’t drink coffee or tea). The Lodge is pretty isolated, so there’s no running out to the store. Be warned. Also, The Lodge is very easily accessible by car, but not so much by public transportation from New York City. And last, I only had a little more than a day at The Lodge. While I did get to do a lot while I was there, my day was rather packed and it would have been nice to space things out a bit more, so that I could spend more time just relaxing. So while getting away for a day gave me a taste of what The Lodge has to offer, I think a minimum of two nights would be ideal.
Here are some additional pictures that I took during my stay. I think this montage really conveys the peacefulness of The Lodge.
All in all a great getaway – I’d love to go back for a longer stay. Thanks so much to Ginny and John for being gracious hosts, and to my friend Maria Bailey for inviting me on the trip.
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
Tags: destination spa, massage, pedicure, spa, The Lodge at Woodloch
Shocking myself into relaxation
Sep 7, 2008 Product Review
So I’m sitting here on the couch with electrodes strapped to my back. No, wait, that’s not quite right. I have sticky gel pads stuck to my upper back, and electrical pulses are running through them, contracting the muscles. And it feels sooooo good.
A few weeks ago I went to a RoleMommy PR party, and got to try a really interesting device called Slendertone EnerVive. The party itself was great: food, drinks, massages, and manicures! Want me to think nice things about your product? It really can’t hurt to feed me, massage me, and make my hands look pretty. It’s probably a very good thing that I’m not a politician. I think I’d be a lobbyist’s wet dream
Anyway, at the party a rep from Slendertone gave us a demonstration. She put the sticky pads of the Slendertone unit on a willing party-goer and turned it on, gradually ratcheting up the intensity. You can see a video of the party here. The Slendertone stuff starts around 1:20.
We each got to take a unit home, which was really cool because these sell for $150 on HSN. So, on a day when I was really beat, with nobody around wanting to rub my shoulders, I unpacked the EnerVive unit and read the instructions. I was a little bit afraid that I would electrocute myself to death with a nine volt battery, so I wanted to read all of the warnings and guidelines. After reading the instructions, as much as I wanted to get right to it, I went upstairs and took a quick shower so that the pads would stick right. I had been for a long bike ride in the humid late summer heat, and was really gross. I think under normal circumstances I probably could have just cleaned whatever body part I wanted to massage with a washcloth.
Positioning the pads on the backs of my shoulders where my tension was was not easy, but I did the best I could. I chose a 20 minute program and turned the unit on, starting the intensity low and then gradually raising it. It felt good – for about 10 seconds. Then the unit started to beep and gave me the exclamation point warning, which meant that some part of the gel pad wasn’t connecting to my skin. The instructions (that I had just read ten minutes before) say clearly to pause the program before repositioning the pads, so what do I do? I grab the pad while it’s still on. I have to say, something that feels great on your back does not necessarily feel good on your fingertips.
So after cursing to myself and pausing the unit, I tried to reposition the pad, and turned the unit back on. It was fine for a couple of minutes, but then it started beeping again. Basically, every time I moved even a tiny tiny bit, it beeped. Pretty much the opposite of relaxing.
I decided that it wasn’t a good idea to test this thing out on a part of my body I can’t really reach, so I decided to do my arms instead. I had been lifting some boxes earlier in the day and my arms were a little sore. Heeding the advice that I shouldn’t do both arms at one time (so that one is free to operate the unit), I put a pad on my right bicep, set the program, and sat back. This time, no beeping! It’s hard to describe what it felt like. The best I can do is thousands of tiny fingers tapping on my arm. The muscle would gently contract for a few seconds, and then release. Now, nobody is going to confuse this with a real massage, but I only get a real massage a few times a year. I can use the EnerVive any time I want!
It felt really good, but in order to pass the usability test, I had to be able to use my laptop while the unit was working. If I can breastfeed a baby while typing, then I should be able to use this while typing. And I can! Whoo-hoo!
Since then I’ve tried doing my back, with my husband attaching the gel pads for me, and it worked great. I haven’t done anything other than the relaxation programs yet. The unit claims that it can “condition” muscles, and someday I’ll test that out. I totally believe in the relaxing effects of the EnerVive unit, but I’m skeptical that it can actually tone my muscles in any way. We’ll see. Maybe I’ll try to do some kind of comparison, like using the unit on one arm for a couple of months and see if that arm is more toned than the other one.
Originally posted on Selfish Mom
Tags: EnerVive, massage, RoleMommy, Slendertone
