Featured Review

April 2009

St. Joseph Institute Resort and Spa Gets Top Rating for Its Gluten Free Kitchen, Spa Services, and Affordability

Welcome to GlutenFreeTravelSite.com! Each month we'll highlight an especially useful travel review as the Featured Review of the Month. The winning reviewer receives four of Triumph Dining's Restaurant Dining Cards (one each for American, Chinese, Italian, and Mexican cuisines).  Don't miss our past Featured Reviews found in our Archives.

5.0 Palms	St. Joseph's Institute Resort and Spa
Review Type:	Resort
Location:	State College, Pennsylvania, USA
Phone:	(814) 692-4954
Website:	http://www.stjosephinstitute.com
Contact:	Jenny Sheetz
Trip Type:	Family vacation
Travel Dates:	January 2009
Review Posted:	February 2009

The St. Joseph Institute Resort and Spa is a great place for someone who wants to have a spa and resort experience with NO food worries. This beautiful mountain facility near State College in central Pennsylvania has a great spa and wellness center. My friends and I spent three days receiving treatments that left us feeling renewed and rested.

The Institute has a very strong emphasis on wellness and many of the treatments are designed for their healing power.  I especially liked the neuromuscular massage for my sore back and theWhole Body Balancing that stripped away stress and other emotional issues.

The log and stone lodges where guests are accommodated were very warm and confortable. The atmosphere was like a home, not an instituttion, and the beds were great.

Best of all, the kitchen is 100% gluten-free. Every meal is safe, nutritious and very tasty. The owner, Jenny Sheetz, and her daughter have celiac disease and they wanted to create a dining room where gluten-free food would be appreciated by everyone. They spent a year in a test kitchen creating the gluten-free recipe book that is used by the chef.

All of the meals were good, but my favorites were the spinach pie and the gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. It was great to have cookies, cakes, waffles, gravy, and all sorts of other foods without having to pick through the menu and hope that the cooks really knew what they are doing.

The staff of the Institute believe they operate the only gluten-free commercial kitchen in that part of the country.

I will be back and I encourage others to visit.

(Note: The St. Joseph Institute Resort and Spa was rated the #1 Most Affordable Destination Spa in the Northeast. Their staff takes a holistic appoach to healing and includes fitness experts, massage therapists, estheticians, counselors, nutritionists, physical therapists, and associates in chiropractic and medical care. Rooms are available in three different lodges and range in size and price. Some suites include full kitchens or kitchenettes. Breakfast is included with all stays, and other meals are included with their specially priced packages.)

** GlutenFreeTravelSite.com suggests you always contact hotels and resorts directly to verify the availability of gluten-free meals before booking your stay.