Garrison Institute

I did my first Spiritual 3 days retreat here with the SRF and the experience was a one in a lifetime experience. I don’t want to give many details, all I can say that this place is like Heaven on Earth, a Spiritual Paradise. The location is upstate on top of a mountain with a lot of nature and wild life. Lots of gorgeous plants, flowers, birds flying around. I got to see a Cardinal bird and a few others that I do not recognize. It is a monastery, very clean and beautiful. There is a Meditation Annex room inside to the left that is open 24 hours. Yes, on one of my days, I was meditating till 5AM. what can I say, I am an intense person, and I give my all when I love what I do.
On the second floors is the ladies room, so as you walk to the second floor straight up the first door to the right is the Ladies room with a Sauna ! yes, they have a Sauna on the spot ! it can’t get any better than that ah… yes, it does. But I will leave it up to you to discover all the wonders this place have to offer whether you go for work or spiritual reasons. Absolutely and relaxing gorgeous place in NY.
The meals made here are always Vegetarian.

Came here for a work-​related retreat, and was pleasantly surprised. It’s a former monastery, so don’t expect any frills. But it’s comfortable, clean, and definitely has the serenity one might hope for in a retreat center.
The food was shockingly good for being all-​vegetarian, too. Most vegetarians seem to cook as though they’ve forgotten what good food tastes like, but not at this place. It was downright comfort food, which was impressive.
The grounds were beautiful, despite it being winter and rainy. :-)
Oh, and there are no locks on the room doors, which I actually kinda enjoyed. It forces you to trust the other occupants, which can be unnerving but healthy for us New Yorkers With Trust Issues.

I don’t really know what category this place falls under. It’s a retreat center that’s housed in a monastery in upstate NY, Garrison to be exact, on the Hudson River. It’s exactly what you would expect: beautiful, haunting, nestled in nature, calming, soothing.
I went here for a work related retreat and felt so. .. still. The retreat was incredibly productive, and the little time I had to explore the trails on the property left me wanting more.
The rooms are basic and very clean, the service calm and friendly, the food mostly vegetarian and fresh and delicious. There is a hot tub in the women’s bathroom on one floor, and one in the men’s on the floor above it. The doors to the rooms don’t lock. I like that.
As mentally (and, come to think of it, physically) exhausted as I was when our retreat was over, I still felt incredibly refreshed. Garrison rebalanced me.
It is truly a catalyst for stillness, reflection, and movement forward.