Collective Retreats: Governor’s Island
A New York City Retreat
Collective Retreats is a luxury camping experience at Governor’s Islands. Collective Retreats is a unique stay unlike anything you will find in New York City. Collective Retreats provides a rejuvenating and relaxing experience that is only 8 minutes away from New York City via ferry. I found out about Collective Retreats by surfing the web for glamping experiences. I had no idea that Collective Retreats even existed but when I stumbled upon it, I thought it would be a dope ass experience. I booked Collective Retreats for a friends birthday. We only stayed one night because honestly I did not know what to expect. In hindsight 20/20 we both had wished we stayed an extra day because it was an amazing and relaxing experience.
At night, Governor’s Island is closed off to the public except for the individuals who are booked at Collective Retreats.
Accommodations. The Collective Retreats has three different room accommodations choices. The Summit Tent, Outlook Shelter and Journey+Plus Tent. I booked and stayed in the Journey+Plus Tent. I personally think that my tent had one of the best views which I think I got by luck of the draw. From my tent, there was an amazing view of the Statue of Liberty and Lower Manhattan both during the day and at night. The Journey+Plus features 300 sq ft room with a King bed and temperature controlled air conditioning. Collective Retreats also proves complimentary Wifi for the entire resort. The Journey+Plus rooms feature shareable bathrooms that are a few feet away from your room. The shareable bathrooms are constantly cleaned with around the clock on site 24 hour service. The bathrooms were super clean with a toilet, sink and showers. The bathrooms was my main concern and the cleanliness of them but the bathrooms were really clean. I was never upset or worried about the appearance or condition of the bathroom (given it was only one night). The most annoying part was just having to walk to and from the bathrooms. If you upgrade to one of the other room accommodations you can have a private bathroom. These were sold out so I could not book it.
Click here to see what each room offers.
I had requested that they decorate the room for the person I was with birthday and they did but for an additional fee of $30 which isn’t too bad. They used a Happy Birthday signed and balloons that were spread throughout the room. I wouldn’t have had time to do it myself so them having it done upon arrival made it easy for me.There was also personalize hand note on the bed welcoming us. I love these small details because you can really see the effort and thoughtfulness put in from the company.
Getting to Governor’s Island. Transportation to Governor’s Island is rather simple. As you may or may not know, vehicles are restricted to the island. Collective Retreats has a reservation system for a free ferry you can book through their website. If you book this option through their website with the allotted times, a Collective Retreat employee will meet and greet you with a golf cart once you arrive to the island. The golf cart ride to the resort is about 5-8 minutes. You can also take the regular schedule ferry to Governor’s Island by taking public transportation or a water taxi from the 10 South Street Ferry terminal or Pier 6 at Brooklyn Bridge Park. If you do not have a ride or forget to schedule a pick up through Collective Retreats once you arrive to Governors Island, the walk from the ferry to the resort is about 15 minutes long.
Restaurants. There is one main restaurant on Collective Retreats property that provides American Cuisine which features an A La Carte menu. This restaurant is specifically for Collective Retreats only. I had arranged dinner reservations prior to arriving to the resort. The restaurant is an indoor/outdoor experience that features American classics like Salmon, Lamb Chops, Lobster, and more. The food was good but the service could definitely use improvement.
In the morning, Collective Retreats provided a ‘Complimentary In-Tent Breakfast’. The breakfast was served to the tent around 9:30-10am by a Collective Retreats employee. The In-Tent Breakfast basket included orange juice and apple juice, cheese and meat platter, croissants and muffins. I thought this was a cute personalized touch.
For lunch, Collective Retreats offers daily lunch at a separate cost. On Friday’s, Collective Retreats offers Collective Picnic Baskets that you can enjoy on the Collective Retreats resorts but you must set this up through them ahead of time at a separate cost. On the weekend, Collective Retreats provides both lunch and brunch at a separate cost.
Collective Retreats also provides Collective Culinary Explorations experiences that include anything from oyster shucking, cocktail making class, lobster poaching, simple syrup making class, or wine tasting class all at a separate cost of the price of your stay. The Culinary Explorations are offered everyday. But be sure to check the schedule to see what classes are offered throughout the week.
Collective Retreats also offers a Chef’s tasting experience which is priced at $150 PP with $50 PP to add the wine pairing. This Chef Tasting is a five course meal pre-fixed menu.
Every night Collective Retreats offers S’Mores Night for Collective Retreats guest. During the S’Mores Night, Collective Retreats will provide all the ingredients for your campfire S’Mores Night. During this time you can sit around the fire and talk with other guest and enjoy a perfect city view of lower Manhattan. This is one of the best views you probably see of New York City in my opinion.
If you are staying multiple nights you are not restricted to the island. If you want to leave Governor’s Island to have lunch or dinner in the city you are more than willing to do so long as you are back before the last ferry.
Activities. Collective Retreats does really great job curating an entire experience that is creative, peaceful, fun, and memorable. Outside of the Culinary Explorations Collective Retreats offers there are a bunch of things to do that is strictly exclusive for the resort. Every morning Collective Retreats provides Yoga in the mornings around 7/8am. Collective Retreats also provides entertainment of a live band daily starting at 5pm. On Governor’s Island, outside Collective Retreats there are a few things to do if you prefer not to leave the island. Governor’s Island proves biking, hammock lounging, guided walking tours, and bunch of other pickings things to do during the day.
Overall . . .
I would give Collective Retreats a solid 8.5/10. The restaurant service was the one thing that was less than mediocre but the food was good so that made up for the lackluster service. The bathrooms being separate from the Journey+Plus rooms was not as bad as I originally suspected. As I mentioned, the bathrooms were very clean and a service attendant was there 24/7. I plan to do another Collective Retreats at another one of their locations but I definitely would book the Summit Tent for the ease and access to a personal bathroom.
If you are looking to do something different with a significant other, a group of friends to celebrate, or a solo experience this will definitely give you a home away from home feeling. The city and New Jersey are just right across the water. While it feels like you are in a different world you are never too far from the bright lights of Manhattan when doing Collective Retreats on Governor’s Island.
