Clearview Estates in Monticello NY

amother

Jade

Wed, Feb 22 2017, 2:49 pm

We went there last year, first time.

The crowd is very mixed. Mostly MO but with a huge range from right wing to left wing. A handful of families who would probably identify as just plain orthodox, not modern. The people were very nice but a lot of them have known each other for ages, which I think happens in any bungalow colony. There were definitely enough people who were very welcoming of newcomers.

Definitely bungalow colony, not hotel. But lots of the units are more like houses than bungalows.

The day camp was very nice. My kids LOVED it. All the kids seemed to have a great time. I didn't think I loved it quite as much as my kids but I think relative to other bungalow colony camps it was run well but if you're comparing to a big professionally run camp then there will obviously be differences. There is an adult director/head counselor and a couple of staff members who are all professionals in childcare or education. Most of the staff is teenagers. Some of them were really great. They had excellent swim instruction - my kids went from totally not swimming to totally swimming in about 6 weeks, but interestingly they said what they liked best was that the instructor did all that without any pushing, they felt so comfortable that they would swim whenever they were ready. There were at least three trips. Occasional night activities.

amother

Jade

Wed, Feb 22 2017, 6:53 pm

Pool has both family and separate swim hours. There are two pools so sometimes both at once.

Day camp may depend on which or how many kids are in each age each year, but as of last year they were together until 4/5 and separate bunks from 5/6. Lunch, trips, banquet together. Regular davening and learning groups every day. The oldest boys bunk even made a siyum of some sort at the end. Some intercamp sports. It was very nice.