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Comments
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8/24/23 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
I sent my daughter here for a summer (her first summer as a camper) and truly regretted it. Poor leadership, horrible food, lack of communication, and overall bad vibe. My son goes to an amazing boys camp and I was hoping ALC would be the girls camp equivalent - NOT the case.
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7/16/20 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
I love this place more than anything in the world!
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*
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4/30/19 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
Alford Lake is my kids’ favorite place in the world. Going there has done wonders for their self-confidence and independence. They especially like getting to choose which activities to go to each day and the chance to go on out-of-camp trips (whether hiking or canoeing), which give them a way to apply the skills they have learned. There are activities for active kids and for kids who would rather make art or read a book. ALC is all about community, supporting girls, and encouraging girls to support each other. This is a real camp experience, away from distractions like phones. If you’re looking for opportunities to grow, learn, and have fun in a positive, welcoming community, this is the place for you.
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2/12/19 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
This camp is truly amazing. Each year I go back and have SO much fun. I have made so many friends and I have lots of fun during activities.
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7/28/18 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
ALC is more important than ever. Kids can unplug and engage with each other. They are teaching great values and leadership skills. The trip program is fantastic. Oh and the girls have a blast. One visit or conversation with the camp directors and you will know if this is the place for your daughter. It is an amazing place.
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5/10/17 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
I went to ALC and now my daughter does. This is a place where girls to new things, set their own goals and leave the stresses of home and school behind. Besides having great activities, this camp emphasizes kindness and interpersonal connections and gives girls a chance to have fun and not be self-conscious. ALC is about getting back to basics. No electronics, no candy, no fashions from home. Lots of letter writing, watching for shooting stars, singing, playing cards and listening to the loons on the lake. Things like short showers and living in canvas tents helps girls learn about caring for their environment and know more about their place in it.
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12/2/16 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
I went here hoping for a great experience. Instead I got a MRSA infection. 3 Minute showers. Sinks with cold water. Food was awful. Girls had money but no class. Facilities were sub standard. Save your money and you might save having a doctor take a melon baller and scooping out a hole in your knee!
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SYSTEM: 2 negative duplicate or disallowed ratings automatically removed |
*
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10/8/13 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
I'm a "lifer" having attended as a camper, counselor trainee, counselor, and now family camper. It is certainly rustic, as some have mentioned in comments, but that is what I love about it. The "no-frills" approach allows campers and counselors to unplug for the 3 or 7 weeks they're there. What a wonderful gift to campers to remove them from the immediacy and impersonal "connection" of the electronic world and encourage real, face-to-face conversation and connection!
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6/16/13 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
this camp is the best in the world! my daughter has a fabulous time there each summer. :)
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6/8/13 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
Every negative comment on here makes me so sad! I was a camper and a counselor at ALC, and would not trade that time for the world. It has helped me become who I am today, and has given me so many skills and opened so many doors for me in and out of camp. Yes, there are 3 minute showers to conserve water and help the environment and you use the camp shampoo because it is biodegradable. You do not go to ALC to be pampered because that is not the point of camp! Camp means making new friends, having new experiences, and learning all while having the time of your life. Ask my parents, friends, or anyone who knows me, ALC is the best decision you could make for your daughter. I still keep in contact with my campers from 4 years ago by emails and letters, and I even still am friends with the girls I met in camp 10 years ago. Like any new experience in life, you must be open to change and have an open mind about trying new things. I am sorry for anyone who did not absolutely love ALC
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5/31/13 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
No real leadership at all. Very wishy washy. Lice and cleptos ? That went out with the Mayflower!
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5/22/13 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
This camp is without a doubt, the most incredible place to send a girl. I can not recommend it highly enough. It is a place that really teaches values. Every girl is valued and taught how to be a strong leader and team member. The activities are top notch, and the staff is knowledgable, devoted, and caring. Alford Lake is a family. If you are willing to work with others, try new things, and be yourself, this camp is for you. I will send my daughter here for years to come. I have seen such amazing changes at the end of each summer. She comes home happy, self assured, and with a solid sense of self and moral values. She can't stop talking her friends, counselors, activities, and adventures.
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4/18/13 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
This camp was horrible! I sent my daughter here for 3 weeks and she came home with lice and half of her things were stolen! I asked some other parents, and their kids had the same issue. I was shocked. I spent thousands of dollars to send my daughter to camp, and all she got was lice, stolen items, and on top of that, her medicines went missing! The camp directors did nothing to help me, and the counselor blamed my daughter! I would never send my child here again, I pray that no one else would do the same.
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1/20/13 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
Alford Lake Camp is the best thing that happend to me. Obviously, showers are only three minutes but, I don't think anyone has said that we go in the lake almost every day. It's a great experience for ALL girls. If you like to live a pampered kind of life, this might not be the best fit. But ALC has taught me so many things and has made my summers 10000 times more enjoyable then they would have If I stayed home. I could go on and on about how amazing alford lake is, but I won't and I think you should DEFFINETLY sign up.
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12/18/12 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
First off the camp is extremely expensive. It's not worth it for what the camp provides. Second, this is my own personal experience. One of my friends from school that was a counselor was there and I liked to hang out with her. My counselor told me that I was not allowed to talk to her because I wasn't truly experiencing camp. Third, the showers. You would think that for a couple grand, you would get a shower everyday at least. Nope. 2-3 showers a week, 3 min each. And you are not allowed to bring your own shampoo. On top of all this, most of the kids that go there are rich. Like fancy boat, mansions, multiple maids rich. And they treat you horribly if you aren't rich. So advice to parents, don't send your kids here, don't waste your money. Instead of shipping them off to camp, I suggest going sight-seeing, or just choose another camp.
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9/15/12 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
Alford Lake Camp is truly a place of excitement, of caring, of exploration and of learning. The atmosphere is genuine - in the leaders, the counselors and the campers. The idea is to be close to nature - and that is achieved in living in big white tents with wooden floors and cozy cots. Campers are friendly and fun. Best of all there are no best camper awards. Competition is in a tennis match or sailing race - not in camp spirit. Everyone has spirit that lasts long after camp is over.
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6/22/12 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
Alford Lake Camp is truly a phenomenal place. I cannot recommend it highly enough to parents and campers alike. It has an unbelievably highly trained, compassionate, responsible, committed, lovely staff. The campers are genuinely happy and excited to be at ALC. The camp instills wonderful values in their campers and allows them be themselves and find who they truly are and whom they strive to be. As a parent, I was overwhelmed by the level of growth and maturity that my daughter returned home with after simply one summer at camp. Counselors and campers alike return for many years over and over again. While living in tents and without other activities that other camps may offer, ALC is superior in its field because of the community and traditions that it has created for 106 summers.
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6/18/12 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
To everyone that just looks at bad comments: I speak truthfully, and hopefully not too harshly, when I say that ALC is not somewhere for girls used to being pampered. I live in NYC and am happy to say that ALC has taught me everything I couldn't learn here or anywhere else. Alford Lake Camp is most defenitly the best place in the world. I love Alford Lake and suggest it to anyone!
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6/14/12 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
I can not recommend this camp enough. If you are looking for a place with solid values and a warm environment, ALC is the place for you. There is a reason this camp has been around for 106, because it WORKS. The directors and staff are amazing and act like a family. Every campers is valued for who they are not what they have or what they look like. The activities are run by amazing staff members and living in tents is just awesome. Each tent has one counselor and 4 or 5 girls so there is a lot of individual attention and time to make great friends. Some of my best friends are from ALC. This is not a snotty posh camp that caters to spoiled little girls, this is a camp that turns these girls into strong, kind, and independent women. They also do great trips all over the world!
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6/13/12 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
Alford Lake Camp is an amazing camp with wonderful staff and campers. They instill girls with a great sense of self worth and stress important values. I spent 5 amazing summers at this camp and can honestly say I will send my own daughter there. The warmth, kindness, and sense of community allow this camp to foster confidence and friendship. The activities are traditional (since ALC is one of the oldest summer camps in the world). The lake is clear and sandy, the tennis courts are lovely, the food is delicious, and the riding rings and staff are incredible. ALC brings girls back to the basics and is not a fussy camp. This camp teaches girls to contribute to their community and peers. I feel the horrible reviews are from girls who are used to getting pampered; ALC pampers your soul.
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7/20/11 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
i completely agree with the person that gave all 1's. Awful, waste of money and time, the activities were limited and awful. There are so many other camps with nicer cabins, longer showers, better landsports and waterfront activities. there is no anything!!! tapawingo is alot better. they offer water skiing tubing wakeboarding windsurfing... and just overall better activities as well as better evening activities
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7/5/11 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
ok, let me tell you. this is the worst camp i have ever been to. i had the worst time. first of all, they made my mom buy thousands of dollars of clothes that i wore for a mounth of my 15 year life and never looked at again. also, some /of the girls think theyre better than others because they were related to the camp directers, and they kept going around and bragging about it. the staff were awful! all i wanted to do was go home, yet they could not seem to accomadate my one small request. also i got picked to go on a out of camp trip that i did not even sign up for, someone else put my name on that list. and they like yelled at me when i said i didnt want to go. and at the end? it was awful. oh yeah did i mention, all you pampered girls out there like me? yah the showers are 3 minutes only. overall, i regret making my parents spend thousands of dollars on this camp.
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2/27/11 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
ALC was a good camp to go to when i was there, it was a relaxing and the people were pretty nice. Although, it was a bit too traditional for me and it was not sporty or competitive at all. I thought the activities were lame as well as some of the facilities. some of the counslors were nice though
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11/16/10 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
Alford Lake Camp is my favorite place on earth. I went there for 6 summers and loved every day of it. I met my best friends there, friends that I know I will have for the rest of my life. The community at ALC is the most amazing one I have ever been apart of. I cannot recommend this camp enough.
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1/3/09 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
I had the best time of my life at this camp. The people you meet are truely amazing. People that didn't have a positive experience at this camp are probaly used to have everything given to them. At this camp you learn to be a strong indivual and some may not be ready to embrace that. I suggest comig to this camp! It's so much func!
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10/20/07 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
This camp is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I would NEVER go to ANY camp after having lived ALC (alford lake camp) for 7 weeks. If someone is looking at these ratings for reference to go to a summer camp, I cannot recommend this AMAZING camp more. It has changed my life so much in such an amazing way, and i would never trade each of the 5 (soon to be 6) summers that I have gone there.
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8/18/07 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
I really like ALC. The first year I was homesick a lot, but then I gave it another chance this year and really, really liked it. Some days it can be really boring and the staff seem like annoyed with you and don't really seem to have much patience, but most days its fun. I really like the people there and you have so many choices to choose from- or at least most of the time. All and all, it is a pretty fun camp anf I would definitely reccomend it.
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8/15/07 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
This camp is the most amazing camp with the greatest people I have ever met. The great thing about this camp is that you get a way from it all and get to know people for who they are not what they have or who they're friends with. The camp directors are the silliest funniest people. If you want a camp with a million pointless activies and you are spoiled and can't handle the outdoors then this camp isn't for you. The camp has an amazing sense of community that you will never forget. Also the food is sooooo good. I eat soo much there. The weather is also gorgeous in Maine. With some of the most beautiful sunsets you will ever see. And when you've comppleted 8th , 9th and 10th grade the trips offered to you are absolutely amazing. Come to ALC!
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5/22/07 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
I htink the head counselors Jean and Sue were nice but there was just too many strict rules. Also it's highly competitive. The nurse didn't really check on me when I had so many bug bites and was sick. I grew alot from that place it just had too many strict rules and my counselor wasn't nice.
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5/9/07 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
I was a camper and a counselor at ALC and I think it's one of the greatest places in the world. It's not perfect... nothing is. But it made me a better person, offered me opportunities I would have never had otherwise, and introduced me to role models I'm still inspired by today. It's not a posh place. But it's very real and wonderful. The directors, Sue and Jean, are amazing at what they do.
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4/23/07 |
5 |
3 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
I LOVE ALC!!!! IVE GONE FOR 5 YEARS, AND IM GOING AGAIN!!!! IT IS SO FUN!!! I WILL ADMIT THAT THE BATHROOMS ARE PRETTY GROSS, BUT ALL OF THE PEOPLE ARE SO NICE! I LOVE ALC! DO THE ALC WADDLE, GET THE TUNE IN YOU NODDLE!
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3/22/07 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
i hated ALC! the girls were so snotty to me! the weather was horrible and the bathrooms were disgusting! the activities were so bad and boring! i am never going back there again! i learned nothing new at all! i didn't even have fun! DO NOT GO 2 ALC!
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3/17/07 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
5 |
This camp has a good sense of community, but it is not for the otherwise pampered girl. Be prepared to eat camp food, sleep in tents, deal with horrible mosquitoes, and work. Some of the activities can get a little boring (art, gymnastics, swimming etc)but the out of camp trips are amazing. We also cry a lot, but it's a good cry, one you feel good about afterwards. The facilities are a little old (the camp is now celebrating it's 101st year) but that's what makes it ALC. Overall, the camp was fun, but it does have room for improvement. But when you are there, you always know someone is caring about you. The food is good, too.
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