Surprise Lake Camp

We recently stayed at Suprise Lake Camp for a friend’s wedding. We stayed 2 nights in one of the private cabins. The cabin was spacious and had 3 bedrooms with full size beds, 2 bathrooms and a kitchen area. Since its almost autumn, we all brought extra blankets, which we needed because it was chilly!
From the moment we arrived, the staff were nice and accommodating. We had a bonfire, that staff lit and kept going throughout the night both nights that we were there. We also had meals provided in the main lodge that were good, fresh and filling.
The most fun we had were the activities available. We zip lined and played soccer, kickball and volleyball. We were supposed to rock climb, but rain had us retreating to our cabins.
The wedding was beautiful and everyone had a wonderful time.
We’d definitely come back for a family reunion or a weekend getaway with friends.

I’m not Jewish, but they open this site up groups of other faith and I came here on a spiritual retreat. I have no idea what this place is like during the Summer, or even Spring and Autumn, and it may be a nice place for a child’s summer camp during those months with all those acres of land and the lake and places to play, but as far as scheduling an adult retreat here in early-​February, I can’t say this place is winterized enough to comfortably house adult groups during the Winter.
The main lodge during which we spent most of our time was heat controlled by two large installed space heaters (as opposed to central heating throughout the entire main lodge) and everyone had to wear their coats and scarves the whole time. My feet were cold and several members of our group became sick and/​or ended up not feeling well. Only the main lodge area and its bathroom were heated and the other areas of the main lodge remained unheated and cold (including the stairway and other rooms). Our meals (which were good and filling) were served in the main lodge and not their dining room, which remained closed. I think we had been expecting hot food and while our staffer tried her best with the meals, it ended up feeling catered more than prepared on-​site in a kitchen. Like even the food felt cold.
The gym area, in contrast, was more modern and nice and warm and I think everyone had a good time in there playing games and sports. I think this was a nice respite for everyone from the cold.
As far as the winterized log cabins where we slept, while warmer than the main lodge, they could have been warmer. Chopped wood was provided, but nothing was provided with which to light the fireplace. Fortunately, most of us had brought sleeping bags to accompany the linens and blankets that were provided, but a few hadn’t and they mentioned the following morning they had not been able to sleep well especially since the heat seemed to shut off during the night. Additionally, the guys cabin had running water the whole time, but the water pipes in the girls cabin froze overnight and there was no running water in the girls cabin the following morning. The girls had to make do by retreating and using the bathroom in the main lodge and a few went to the gym to take a shower.
Having been to a lot of retreat sites during the winter months over the course of my life, I think Surprise Lake Camp needs to make sure that the entire site is winterized (working kitchen/​dining area, centrally heated main lodge, consistent heat and water in the sleeping log cabins) so that adult groups can have a comfortable and safe stay during the winter months.