We have eaten at Portals in the Suncadia Lodge twice now and the food and service did not disappoint.  Mother's Day breakfast was amazing!!  I had the Mountaineers special (it's now off the menu but you can ask for it) - 2 eggs, 2 pancakes, 2 sausages, and 2 slices of bacon - all really good.  The kids loved the pancakes with the fruit face and the eggs. Plus, they gave the kids crayons and menus to color while waiting for our food.  Mom had the vegtable egg white omlette and loved it. It was reasonably priced too.  (We skipped the big Mother's Day ballroom brunch buffet since we had it for Easter when our parents came up with us.  That's another post.) 

Dinner at Portals was yummy too but with the typically high prices you would expect at a resort.  It was good but I wouldn't call it super special.  It was the slow season a couple of months ago and the Lodge was pretty empty.  The kids fare was solid with lots of choices - chicken fingers, mini corn dogs, mini hamberger etc. We shared the Salmon special and a beef/buffalo hybrd meat (can't recall the name) that was good. 

So I would highly recommend the breakfast but for dinner, I would recommend closing your eyes at the prices.    

 
 
Here is an excerpt from a blog post on TheZarembasBlog. They stayed at Sugar Cookie Cabin with a relative who won a 3-day weekend at  our sons' schools charity auction. 

"Two weekends ago we spent a fantastic weekend at the Suncadia Resort, on the eastern side the Cascades which is a little over an hour from our house.... We stayed at the Sugar Cookie Cabin, which is billed as a kid / family friendly place to stay and it really did deliver. It was so nice to have a crib ready to go, baby gates, booster chairs, toys... you name it everything for kids was there! While we were there we enjoyed their Fall Festival complete with a bouncy house, a corn maze and best of all pony rides! Suncadia also had a great pool facility that we took the kids too - as usual McKenzie loved the water and would have been happy to stay all day....
 
 
They have announced the happenings for the 4th Annual Suncadia Harvest Festival.  The dates are Oct 2 to 4 and Oct 9 to 11.  Charity auction winners are staying at our house both weekends but the Lodge is running a promotion.  Use promo code: HARVEST09 when you book and tell them Sugar Cookie Cabin sent you.  :) 

Here is the info from an email I received: 
Beginning next Friday October 2nd, Suncadia kicks-off the 4th annual Harvest Festival at Nelson Dairy Farm. With carnival games, arts & crafts and pony rides - the little ones will have smiles on their faces. Enjoy musical entertainment, local artisans & seasonal cuisine from Suncadia too! Here's a sneak peak at more fun:

  • Giant Straw Maze
  • Pumpkin Patch
  • Carnival Games
  • Arts & Crafts
  • Mercantile Market
  • Wagon Rides
  • Pony Rides
  • BrewFest
  • Seasonal Cuisine from Suncadia
  • Local Artisans
  • Musical Entertainment
  • Nelson Preserve Fun Run
  • Admission: Free
SUNCADIA BREWFEST
Featuring a variety of seasonal brews from local and regional breweries, 12:00pm to 5:00pm Saturday's and Sunday's only. Admission $10 per person including a commemorative tasting mug.
 
 

First off, I wanted to correct some information on a previous Water Slide blog post.  The height minimum for the Suncadia swim fitness center water slides is 42" (not 48" as I had posted.)  Aly who works at the swim fitness center commented below but since the comments aren't easily visible I wanted to fix that misinformation.
 
This brings me to my second and more important comment.  The Suncadia Swim Fitness Center Staff.  They are amazing.  We make it up to Suncadia about once per month and they make a point of remembering our names.  Aly, Halle, Phyllis, Patti, and David (sorry if I got your name/spelling wrong) go out of their way to help us and make our kids feel special.  Top notch customer service.  We feel like Norm when he goes to Cheers!  :-)  (sorry for the 80s sitcom reference for those of you who missed it) 

On a related note, there was a mix up today with our guests at Sugar Cookie Cabin.   I did not properly communicate the process to gain access to the SFC.  (Good learning for me - it won't happen again)  To stave off an imminent 3yr old meltdown, the staff was good enough to let them despite my mess up.  I am super thankful that they did.   It just another example of how the Swim Fitness Club staff goes the extra mile. 

Lastly, the outdoor pool and patio grille are now open.  We went up Memorial Day and it was great to see it busy and bustling.  It was great to get outside for a swim. 

 
 
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Our son was so excited to try out CampCadia and it lived up to his expectations.  The start was a bit chaotic during drop off but once they started circle time and defining the group rules, he got comfortable.  We came back 15 minutes before pickup and he wanted us to come back when it was over. 

What is CampCadia?  It's part babysitting and part summer camp.  There were about 12 kids and two "counselors" (who incidentally also work at the Swim/Fitness Center.) The cost of $35 for 3 hours breaks down to a good value at least relative to Seattle babysitting prices.  There are 2 or 3 session a day 9am-noon, noon-3pm and sometimes 6-9pm.

During Memorial Day weekend, the kids ranged from 4 to 8  years old and they did a good job engaging the whole spectrum.  Saturday's theme was "Survivor" and they took the kids out on a nature walk and collected sticks, rocks, and pine cones which they then used to make an arts and craft Survivor themed "immunity" stick.  They also drew various pictures including a trophy for the winner.  Sunday's theme (yes, it was so good, our almost 5 year old wanted to return the next day) was Animals.  During their hike, they went to Suncadia Pond and fed the fish and looked for other wildlife and bugs.  They again collected leaves, pine needles, etc and used them to make a picture frame. 

Our son loved it and we loved it because we got some adult time and used to run and workout during the gorgeous weekend. 
Picture
 
 

The water slides are such a hit with the kids (and adults) that I had to throw up some more pictures.  This picture is at the top of the water slides. There is a 3 story climb from the bottom to the top.  Kids need to be over 48" (I think) to ride the slides and unfortunately only solo rides are allowed - in other words no taking the kids on your lap.  This is tough because getting the younger ones to try for the first time can be challenging.  It is pretty dark inside but once they try, they never want to stop.  

This picture is of the bottom of the slides which lets out near Suncadia's indoor pool.  The Yellow slide is much faster than the Green Slide.  There has never been more than a 3 minute wait for the slides when we have been visiting Suncadia and the wait is usually under 1 minute.  The swim and fitness center's hours are longer than the waterslides' hours.  Currently, the water slides are open from 3-7pm on Friday, 12-5pm on Saturday and 10am-3pm on Sunday whereas the pool is open daily at either 6, 7 or 8am.

 
 

Our Spa Experiences at Glad Spring Spa were our Valentine's presents to each other.  They were awesome.  The only non-romantic bummer was that we had to go separately so we could tag team with the kids.  Someday they will be old enough to both go to CampCadia! 

To start, we both enjoyed the warm outdoor soaking tubs.  There were three pools set at approximately 90, 100, 110 degrees respectively.  Unlike the hot tubs at the swim/fitness center, these are built with real rocks/stones and are private, quiet, and relaxing. The "Sanctuary" waiting area was peaceful and relaxing and they served grapefruit or lemon water and a light healthy menu.  The magazines/newspapers were lacking so I would bring your own or a friend to talk with or prepare to meditate.  :-)  

My wife had the Chardonnay Facial which included a glass of, what else, Chardonnay.  She loved it.  Super relaxing and refreshing and she came out looking years younger.  ;-)  I had a deep tissue massage (my usual) with Jess.  He was awesome and used techniques I had never experienced before to really loosen up my hips, legs and shoulders. 

We would both highly recommend the Spa.  The only hiccup was a snafu with our reservations. I would double-check your appointments before you go.  They lost my wife's friends reservation but managed to squeeze her in on busy Valentine's Day!  Great customer service.  Also, I thought the prices were a bit on the expensive side but my wife informed me that they are inline with your typical luxury Spa.  Doh! :-)
Pictures below: 1) My view from Outdoor Soaking Pools
                         2) Sanctuary waiting area

 
 

The water slides were closed on Saturday for maintenance and we thought we were going to have a disaster on our hands. But instead, the kids learned how much fun Tubing and Skating are.  "Daddy, Tubing is faster than the water slides.  It's awesome"  The tubing hill is perfect for kids of all ages/sizes because there is a groove in the snoiw that makes it (dare I say?) impossible to flip or fall off the tube.  You can get some pretty good speed going on the hill too.   The pull cable ride going back up is almost as fun. 

Skating took a bit longer for the kids to warm to but I think that's because they have my jeans.  They have these great poles for the little ones to lean on and learn to walk/skate on the ice. 

The water slides opened on Sunday and all was good in the world.  We had to drag the kids out of the pool.  We discovered the Private Family Change Rooms (look for them by the enterance to the Men's locker room) which made changing much more relaxed.