Quisisana Resort

This is a challenging review to write because this family run resort occupies a rarified niche in the Northeast. Hopefully, I can help you decide whether this is your cup of tea. I apologize in advance for the long review.||“Quisi” is a resort, meaning its services are all encompassing from room service, to dining, to activities (many on the lake), to chauffeured golf carts for the elderly to get around to the entertainments. With some 158 guests living in cabins scattered around the grounds and some 100 staff, you will be taken care of in your week long stay. The resort is family run and has been around since 1947. They take their job of making you a happy guest seriously. ||The dining experience is quite good with flexible options for takeaway and for vegetarians. Each meal has a fixed menu with a couple of choices and a general menu that always is available. Breakfast has a lot of options.||Quisi is situated directly on a quiet lake, with two nice beachfronts. Quisi beach staff ensure that you find the right activity from sailing, to a bicycle pedalo, to canoes or kayaking etc. to beach volleyball or shuffleboard. ||If you have seen the movie, Dirty Dancing, you have an idea of what to expect (except the staff have stricter boundaries). ||Now, what makes Quisi stand out, is its entertainment and vibe. The entertainment is a signature item requiring immense planning, auditions, effort and practice. ||Entertainment. Some 50 members of the staff are young artists who perform nightly (with two daytime shows a week, primarily for kids). Musicals, revues, operettas, and chamber music recitals all vie for your attention. The musical numbers, operettas and revues (for our year) were crowd pleasers. The recitals were serious performances. If you come, please be mindful that performing stage members, who wait your table three meals a day, are also the performers at the 9:00 pm shows! ||They have long days! For one of the operettas, the lead had to get up and practice at 5:30 am, serve breakfast, do an 11:00 am performance, and serve lunch and dinner. ||My takeaway from the entertainment experience is that for the adult members of families, it’s a major plus. PS young kids were remarkably attentive and well behaved. The downside, as someone who attends a lot of theater, is that the theatrical performances (although well performed) were a little light and over-the-top, a notch below summer stock theater. That said, there is something magical about Fine Arts and Music Arts graduates launching their careers before your eyes and ears. ||Vibe. The vibe here is very particular (and for me a three star experience). First, and Immediately, you will discover that many of the families are from the Northeast and have been coming here for generations. It seemed to me that a large majority of guests had come here many times. Although social and inclusive, there is a clubby feel, even for someone like me who has lived in the Northeast.||Second, Quisi has a very summer camp like vibe. The vibe is also, understandably, family centric with lots of young family members with kids. Although there are couples and couples with friends or older children, as a couple, we felt a little removed from the central focus of Quisi. But for families with kids, who are safe here and can make lifelong friends here, it’s an absolute treasure. ||Having said all of that, we met incredibly interesting people and felt pampered and well taken care of. ||Caveats. The website tells you this but wifi is available in only part of the main building. More importantly, there is no cell reception in the area. So if you go off hiking, keep that in mind. Also, and an obvious point, there is no lifeguard on the beaches, so attend to your children and loved ones. ||Confession. The vibe at another famous Northeast coast resort, Mohonk, is also very particular but a five star experience for me. Mohonk also is on a lake (is open year round) and with a storied history and generations of returning guests. Hypocrite! Maybe. Or maybe I just didn’t like summer camp as a kid.

Heaven comes to earth!! Stunning setting. The loveliest of accommodations. Fabulous food. Attentive and welcoming staff. The performances each evening are stellar and memorable. I leave counting the weeks until I return.

Quissisana is a modest musical resort on beautiful Lake Kezar in Lovell, Maine. We've stayed for a week in each of the last three summers. All meals are included. What sets this place apart from most places are the performers. Usually, there are nine performances in one week. Two are at 11 am and are geared toward children. This year they were Honk (a retelling of The Ugly Duckling story)made into a musical) and a very unusual version of The Magic Flute. The nighttime shows start at nine pm.||At night there might be a musical from Broadway, an evening of operatic arias, chamber music, or a whole opera. ||The performing staff go through an audition process and if they accept the invitation, they know that they might be serving meals or cabin housekeeping, water activities, maintenance, and so on. They are unfailingly charming, open, and incredibly talented. Most of the performers are musical theater or opera majors. ||The food is quite good. Start the week with Lobster Risotto, among 2-3 daily options. But they do offer 'always have' alternatives for lunch and dinner. You choose what you like at breakfast for the next two meals.||If someone in your group is stuck on a screen almost all the time, alert them ahead of time that there is no TV, cell service, or internet on the grounds. Ha! If they have to check things, they can go to the main lodge to get a phone signal or internet. If they must. Actual landline phone booths dot the grounds, that are free to us within the US.||The lake is huge and gorgeous. They have 2 beaches--a peppy active one and one quiet one, perfect for reading. Sidenote: despite what you might think about swimming in Maine, the water is not cold. Use the paddleboards, float, canoes, and kayaks found at the active beach. ||It's friendly, quiet, and an all-around unique experience. ||

What an AMAZING week we just had at Quisisana Resort. From arrival to departure the experience was perfect. The lake with sand beach makes every day a delight as you get to utilize the boats, rafts, paddle boards, kayaks and other beach side amenities to your hearts content; we spent a good amount of time exploring in the kayaks all the nooks and crannies of the lake and even picked wild blueberries on an island close by. The food is top notch, this is not your normal hotel food, this is 5 star restaurant quality food - from lamb, to lobster bakes, to steaks, to duck the choices each evening were something you would see in a top notch restaurant. Breakfast and lunch are equally impressive - there is no lack of great choices. Finally, and most importantly what truly sets this resort apart from all others are the performances! Every evening (and a few mornings too!) there are highly talented artists entertaining you for no additional cost. From Broadway Play to Opera to Chamber Music the sheer amount of talent is mind boggling. These same talented performers are also your waiters, beach help, and work around the resort - what a cool experience. To a one everyone at the resort was also helpful and friendly. We will be back every year to this truly special place. Highly recommended.

We have come to this peaceful spot for years and each year the subtle improvements support a great experience. This year's opera was staged impressively and the musical (Kinky Boots) and children's shows were so much fun. The voices of the staff this year are particularly strong and the joy from the stage makes it into the dining room where the standards for the meals continue to get raised. The renovations to the main lodge are impressive. Even with a fairly rainy week, the time for all of us was great. (Even our grandkids got to perform at the "Treble Talent Show".)

The setting is a feast for the eyes - scattered beautiful gardens amid the pines, on a gorgeous clean lake. |The staff is extraordinary in many ways - they are kind, good-natured, welcoming, cheerful, and helpful. They are extremely talented.|The meals are outstandingly delicious and plentiful, and beautifully served. The wait staff is attentive and considerate. |There are rowboats, canoes, paddle boards and kayaks available at no charge. There are beach chairs, chaise longues, and umbrellas available at the beach, as well as dry towels and life jackets. There are sand toys for little kids.|There are plenty of places to sit and read, do puzzles, play games and relax, in sunny and rainy weather. The guests in general are friendly and respectful; there are people of all ages, including families, singles, and senior citizens.|The cabins are very comfortable, as are the beds. There is heat and air-conditioning in the cabins.|There are professional quality musical performances every evening and sometimes during the day. |If you are addicted to video games, or if you need other people to dress formally at dinner, this is not the place for you. Otherwise, it is really nice here.|

THE ENTERTAINMENT IS DIVERSE AND EXCELLENT. AT 11 am children can see musical or plays.Then at 9 pm musical or plays. The waiters are the performers. Great food served at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The cottages are recently upgraded clean, screened in porch. I enjoyed the lake for swimming and kayaking. WI-FI ONLY available at office and large deck outside. MEANS MORE CONVERSATION, READING AND talking with other guests.

It is difficult to know what to talk about first — the food (incredible), the lake (breathtaking), the performances (magical), the staff (wonderful) or the vibe (far more a community of newfound friends than a plain ole resort).||The place gets better and better, all while staying the same. ||Guests arrive on a Sat and depart the following Sat. So, you know the people you see will be there all week with you; erstwhile strangers take the time to get to know each other while hanging out in the lake. ||Families young and old get to spend quality time together … and apart… with hiking, sailing, boating, paddle boarding, waterskiing, etc., etc. etc. ||Many of the staff are trained performers — concert level instrumentalists, musical theater actors, opera singers. Each night they perform a show that leaves you cheering. ||Chef Andrew Vogel cooks up daily meal options that are so good, so well presented and so bountiful that you’ll swear to start a diet next month. The meals are what you’d find at the best restaurants anywhere.||The new back deck is incredible - a huge new gathering space that lets guests lounge, drink in hand, while taking in a priceless view. ||Quisi is so good that it makes a cabin-on-a-lake experience anywhere else disappointing!