YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly Reviews

terrible service and the food was stale and there were bugs in my drinks and in my bed and the room was dirty and my fan wouldn't work and there was mold everywhere

Peaceful, beautiful, clean, caring and friendly staff! Had a great visit, can't say enough good! Highly recommend :)

Really nice facility with a really nice location and cool history

I'm booked in for five days, but I'm leaving early. This place reminds me of when mothers used to wear necklaces wearing supermom when their kids were out of control.

I've been coming to YBRA for 4 years for 2 different conferences, and I love it! Rooms are a bit old but that is to be expected as the campus is over 110 years old. Meals are decent, and they always have salad and vegetarian options.

I hosted a conference on this beautiful campus this weekend. The staff was incredibly friendly and helpful. They immediately accommodated all of our requests.

The facilities are in a beautiful location and are reasonably well maintained. The staff is friendly, but the food is some of the worst stuff you will ever have to stomach. Not only did they fail to accommodate dietary restrictions on more than one occasion (even though they had been notified far in advance), but even when they did have things that the members of our group could eat, many chose to forgo it, ordering pizza or simply not eating instead. The food was reminiscent of the cafeteria food of an extremely low budget public school. It s a shame this had such a major impact on the mood and overall experience of our group. I ate what I could, but experienced stomach problems the entire time there.

I ve been coming professionally and as a volunteer for over 20 years. This a great retreat center with a caring, Christian staff.

I'm not sure who picked this location for our group, but it definitely was not suitable for a group of 250 who had several members with physical limitations and dietary considerations. If you were lucky enough to get a room in the main hall, I suppose it was OK, but if you were in one of the dormitory halls "up the mountain", the only thing positive to say is that the A/C worked. The rooms were set up dormitory style, many of them did not have private baths. The highlight/lowlight was when teens started arriving and their noise level did not mesh with the quiet needs of our group. I have no idea where their chaperones were, but they weren't chaperoning. The building I stayed in (Eureka Hall) was on the historic register and you can't make many changes to it so I guess we're luck we had A/C. No elevators, steep and dangerous stairs. We had a laugh about the ramps inside the building and the handicapped stall in the restroom. Anyone who was handicapped could not access this building as there were at least 5 steps to navigate on the most accessible side. On the whole, the place smelled musty and several areas had signs of mold.

Many of our group had diet restrictions - vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, etc. During several of our meals, there wasn't really any options available.

It was a pretty area, but you can't eat and sleep in pretty. I will say the staff was very friendly and cooperative.

My favorite place in the whole world. Spent a couple summer weeks and weekends there in my teens. Great memories.

This massive retreat center is located in the beautiful mountains near Black Mountain. They have an amazing assortment of activities available on campus for the outdoor adventurer! They have a fairly extensive network of trails ranging from easy to moderately strenuous up to the nearby peak of High Windy. The trails are well maintained. What a wonderful local gift!

Beautiful location, great facilities. There's even a Starbuck's in the lobby! Sadly the food was nothing special.

my air condising stoped working after 10 mins of stating. there was mold in the bathroom and there was leaking right above my bed. the cook said there was no meat in the food that we were eating as i ate a big piece of chicken. my friend is vegetarian. WOW
BUT THE VEIW WAS THE BEST PART.

A peaceful and caring Christian environment, Blue Ridge is a nonstop display of beauty. Sitting on the giant porch full of rocking chairs and photographing the incoming clouds over the mountains each day was not only relaxing, it has given me great memories to treasure and keep. The air is crisp and the hikes invigorating! Great place to work for over Summer Break, stay, visit, or retreat!

The view From Eureka is nothing short of jaw droping

I had a few trips here in my high school days with friends ds of a life time . Great times Awesome adventures . But in most remember the presence of God there with us it's one memory I hold close to heart . The rooms are amazing the view is breath taking . You look at a mountain on top of mountain even higher......I honestly cannot wait to take my kids here and share what God grace did for me!

READDD The food was really gross we found bugs in our dishes the cabins are very dusty and bugs are in the beds you can find stains on the walls and floor we found a lot of bugs hair and dirt in our bed if I could I would rate it 0 stars I lost 4 pounds in 3 days because the food was so terrible I couldn t eat our rice crispy treats had mold all over them so we couldn t eat that and my friend is a vegetarian and we all found meat in our chili and we showed her and so we asked the worker if they put meat in it and both of the workers looked at each other smiled and walked away and they had rust all over the chairs mold on all the furniture in the cabins and I could go on and in about how terrible it was my whole school rated it 0 stars and we all felt sick when we came home some people even threw up I even have a rash from sleeping on the bed

I came to work at Blue Ridge back in the early 2000s. I was a lost 21 year old kid with little direction. That summer changed my life. The people I met, the places we went, the experiences we had changed me. I can't say that I'm this large successful mistake-free person, but it helped me find a place in this crazy world. My love for BRA and the Asheville area continues and my family and I come at least once a year to WNC.

As for staying at BRA...you can't find a better quality for your money.

So sorry to have to give a bad review to the YMCA but...my room smelled very strongly of mold/mildew. Spent 3 days there and developed an upper respiratory infection. And, the food was below even just ok. Salad bar was fresh although very few items. Otherwise, dinners were like military rations. It is NOT hard to prepare decent, tasty, fresh food. I'm not expecting gourmet! Staff was very friendly and setting is lovely. They need to address the mold proble.!

I loved CONA! This is an amazing place and I'm so sad I can't return this summer.

this place is terrible. trashy rooms with hairs on beds, boogers smeared on the walls. nasty bathrooms. dirty rooms. mold everywhere. the food is terrible and hard. uncomfortable beds. and walking in the rain for 5 miles made everyone sick. but the people were really nice

Great retreat center in a great location. There's some hiking trails on-site and many more nearby. Unfortunately the food isn't that great; the meals were hit or miss.

Beautiful view, but had to shower in cold water.
Great service.

Blue Ridge is a truly amazing place. I went there for last years (2015) Christian Values Conference, and my god, it was a truly amazing experience. I had some great times, made some great friends, and you can almost FEEL..... SOMETHING that seems to hover over the grounds. The place has lingering pleasant memories and you just cant help but smile. It was the best week of my entire summer. Between morning devotion in the outdoor amphitheater, to hiking up Black Mountain, to experiencing the utter CHAOS of "The Wrekening", it was an amazing time and you really feel closer to God while your there. I would recommend it to anyone. The rooms are great, the views are breathtaking, and I can't find a single negative thing to say about it. It gave me memories that I don't think I'll ever forget, and I fully plan on going back next year. 1,000,000 out of 10, any day!

came here on a school trip. bedrooms where NASTY!!! most of our peers were scared to even sleep in the beds! would not recommend !!!

What not to like here, everything you need in one spot. Lodging, quality food, miles of hiking, vistas, adventure, cold streams for wading, wildlife, and love from staff.

THIS PLACE IS TERRIBLE! I had goldfish and hair in my bed! The food wasn't great, but it wasn't that bad because I was expecting worse. I didn't sleep for 3 days straight. The air vents also didn't work. I put the air conditioning to 40 degrees fahrenheit and it was still hot.

We come every year for FCA Girls' Camp. No place like the front porch in the rocking chairs.

Worst place ever my friend is a vegetarian and there was meat in a item they the workers said had no meat in it the beds were almost broken and the the bunk beds were not attached the food was terrible I felt sick every day I lost 5 pounds in 3 days they made jokes about Cheerio which is the best place ever the cereal was sticky the bathroom smelled when we got there my friend found bugs in her bed and in her cup one of my friends threw up and one of our tour guides seemed high the whole time if I could give it 0 stars I would

Went here on a school trip. Beautiful views and great staff. The food was decent. We stayed in the Eureka hall and the rooms were kinda bad, but its probably because it's so old and they really cant change it. If you want to go here prepare for a lot of walking and stairs,because most of the things to do are downhill.Overall, I had a great time here.

I once attended a several days seminar here. Most restful several days of my life. AND I learned something.

Attended a conference at this location in early June. It pains me to give such a negative review, but this was our experience. While the staff is lovely, the establishment itself is falling apart. We rented a cabin, which had a ton of bugs crawling around, the windows are getting ready to fall out and are difficult to open and close. There is no AC, so we did request extra fans. Kitchen had nothing to cook in and we had to request silverware. And the cabin did not seem sturdy on its footing because it moved every time a car went by. Not to mention it is in need of a power wash.

The food was bad, just like everybody says. I don't know why it is so difficult to achieve in a place like Asheville with so many amazing culinary options.

The entire establishment is on a side of a mountain, which requires people to hike up and down to the main building and beyond. It is very difficult to move about on a hot day, with a toddler on a hip, and forget pushing a stroller around.

It seems to me that the entire place should be torn down and allow nature to reclaim this beautiful site. Or it must be built more in harmony with nature. Too much pavement and disturbance. The entire site is surrounded by all types of invasive plants which keep this site contained, the way it seems.

Sigh.

The Blue Ridge hosts the Conference in National Affairs every year. I had the pleasure of attending it this past summer for the 50th anniversary.
The setting envelops you like a warm hug from a longtime friend. It definitely sets a caring mood for conferences- the beauty radiates and there is a sense of peace.
Staff is incredibly friendly, especially when accomodating 750 teenagers.
Facilities were well kept and functional with AC.

I love Blue Ridge.

Our group had a fantastic time at the Assembly. The staff was amazing and always willing to help make our event the very best it could be. We'll definitely be returning for years to come. Can't recommend them highly enough.

Stayed at Weatherford Hall this weekend for a church retreat. There is no AC in the building. The building is damp and a mold breeding ground. Mold is on all tile, wood doors and furniture. The windows and screens were full of spider webs, years of yuck. Windows need cleaning. The kitchen hood was full of grease. The whole place needs a Clorox bath.

The accommodations are quite basic. If that's your thing, enjoy

I began working at Blue Ridge right out of college and learned so much from the experience! All the staff there are wonderful and always willing to help both guest and staff. The grounds are beautiful and well maintained, and the variety of guest is extensive! The mission of the YMCA is kept in the front of everyone's mind, as well a service leadership mentality. I made lifelong friends, meet the love of my life, and made countless memories. Blue Ridge is truly a very special place that anyone can enjoy and find peace at!

We went here on a class trip we had an amazing time.The only problems we had was the place we were staying and the food. The place we were staying was eureka hall,The bed sheets looked like they had not been washed for months.ever-thing else was fine they had free WiFi and Ever-thing else was nice I just recommend to bring your own sheets especially if u have sensitive skin. The other problem was the food it was a buffet the chicken was not seasoned at all but the dinner rolls were nice but a lot of people kept on eating them so they tried to bring them out quickly and that s when the bread was ice cold in the middle.They also were HIDING THE STRAWS or lying and saying they did not have any even after some had gave us some before even had to Ask their MANAGER IF THEY COULD GIVE US STRAWS. The best food was the hamburgers. breakfast was ok.conner , nick and Kiki were my favorite tour guides . Overall I had fun.

Utopia with a twist...It has been many years since my Blue ridge days, but just saying Blue Ridge still puts a smile on my face and a warmth in my heart. Way back in 1991, Tracy Sullivan was my psychology teacher at Lake Brantley HS, she mentored me and invited me to this wonderful place. I will forever be in her debt.
If anyone needs me I'll be rocking on the porch at Lee Hall!