Looking for a weekend family getaway in the Northeast?  Then do something unconventional and venture to Club Getaway in Kent, Connecticut.  Club Getaway offers all-inclusive packages that provide outdoor adventure for the whole family.  A top-value weekend includes all meals, activities, and cabin accommodations on 300 grassy acres surrounding a beautiful lake at the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains.

Club Getaway has an unusual business model:  weekdays are devoted to young campers and more than 150 daycamps, Scout troops, school classes, church organzations and other associations use the CG facilities for overnights or mini sleepaway camp experiences on weeknights.  In summer and fall, high action weekends are usually reserved for adults only, but a few special times a year, this destination opens its doors to families so parents and their kids can go back to camp together. 

Fun for Kids

During these times, children ages 4-17 can be part of the all-day, supervised Kids or Teens Club where they can play volleyball, canoe, jump on the bungee trampoline, climb the rock wall, hike, glide along the zip line, ride bikes, swim, play with arts and crafts, and more. 

The Kids Club starts at 9:30am and runs until you meet your children for lunch and Family Hour.  After the family break, kids return to the Club activities until you pick them up after dinner.  Kids love the water trampoline, paddleboats and acting like they’re part of the circus on the flying trapeze.  Unless you hire a babysitter (available for a reasonable hourly rate), younger children ages 2 and 3 have only four hours (two hours in the morning and two in the afternoon) of supervised activity each day.

Aside from partaking in many of the same activities that children enjoy, parents can also kayak, play golf, water ski, go sailing, take yoga and massage classes, or just relax on the man-made beach surrounding the lake.

Good Times - Day & Night

Each night, parents can enjoy an adults-only cocktail party.  When it’s dinnertime, children can either eat with their parents or choose to dine with new friends.  Parents can enjoy free wine with dinner, but other alcoholic beverages are an additional charge.  After cocktails and dinner, parents can watch their kids show off new skills as they perform special trapeze shows, or dance and sing on stage.

When I visited Club Getaway, the children sang and danced to the music of  “Grease.”  Each child had a part in the performance and appeared to enjoy their time on stage as the crowd cheered.  After the Kids Show, families can retreat to their wooden cabins or enjoy making marshmallow and cracker S’mores around the campfire.

If you prefer to be alone during night activities and your children don’t require a full-time babysitter, Club Getaway offers a special Night Patrol.  Until midnight, staff members will take regular walk by your cabin to check on your children.

Who Comes, How, Why?

Most of the guests at Club Getaway are return visitors, so that definitely says something about customer satisfaction.  Aside from return guests, many staff members are volunteers who simply love the natural beauty and fun offered at Club Getaway. 

Weekends are reasonably priced for cabins that sleep four; children ages 4-17 pay half price and children 3 and under stay free.  Everyone I spoke to during my summer weekend was having fun; they had no complaints about the wide variety of family programs, and only mentioned the simplicity of the cabins as a minor downside.  Actually, the cabins are very much like the basic cabins you may remember from camp as a child.  There are no TVs, no phones and no locks on the doors.  Each room has beds, a bathroom and towels and little else.  I guess they really want you to have no choice but to enjoy the outdoor fun!

Why did the successful Club Getaway venture into the family market?  According Judi Reinke, a Club Getaway representative, CG weekend adventures were originally designed to resemble the “swinging singles” version of Club Med.  The long-standing “adults only” packages were the only getaways offered, until single parents who came hoping to meet a mate expressed an interest in bringing their children along. 

Reinke added that many of the Club’s regulars, some of whom met their partners in Kent and settled down, began requesting family weekends after they got married and had families of their own.  True to their policy of customer satisfaction, Club Getaway complied.

Sound like fun?  Remember, unlike Club Med that mostly hosts vacations outside of the States, Club Getaway is a quick car ride away for most New England singles, couples or families with children.

 For other information, call 212/935-0222, or visit the website at www.clubgetaway.com.

Vivienne Fife is originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana and is now living in New York City. She loves traveling with her family and taking road trips with friends.