The questions every host asks, answered honestly.

Cedarwick books in two stay lengths, both whole-property: four days — Thursday afternoon through Sunday — and seven days — the full week, Saturday to Saturday. We don't sell two-night weekends. A retreat needs room to land, and groups consistently tell us the fourth day is where the real work happens.

Four days from $8,500 and seven days from $14,500 in peak season; Winter Hearthside runs from $6,500 and $11,000 — the full bands are on the rates page. If your program genuinely needs a different shape, ask — the rare gap between retreats sometimes allows it.

Yes — the barn is heated with a cast-iron wood-burning stove that keeps the space genuinely warm even in January. It takes about an hour to bring the barn to a comfortable temperature; we start it before you arrive on retreat days. We also have supplemental electric baseboard heat for very cold nights.

Winter is honestly one of our favorite seasons in the barn — the fire going all day, the orchard under snow visible through the tall windows. We've hosted retreats in January and February every year and it's consistently rated as a favorite by groups who've come in multiple seasons. The winter weeks are also our most available — check January and February if you're looking for flexibility.

Yes. The fire pit is included in every booking and firewood is provided. You can have a fire any evening within quiet-hours rules — fires must be fully extinguished by 10:30 PM or before anyone goes to bed, whichever comes first.

We ask that only adults manage the fire, and that no open flames are lit anywhere other than the designated fire pit or the house and barn stoves. In very dry conditions we may ask you to hold off — we'll let you know if there's a burn advisory in effect. The fire pit is a ten-minute walk from the farmhouse through the orchard, away from any structures.

Yes — outside caterers are absolutely welcome. We ask for advance notice (at least two weeks) so we can coordinate kitchen access and timing. The kitchen is fully equipped for group cooking: double range, two full-size refrigerators, large prep island, and a full complement of cookware and bakeware.

• Preferred caterer: Harvest Table Catering — a Leelanau-based team that specializes in farm-to-table group meals and knows this kitchen well. We make the intro.
• Private chef: For groups wanting someone in the kitchen full-time, we can connect you with a private chef who handles everything from breakfast to harvest supper.
• Self-catering: Many groups cook together — the kitchen handles it beautifully. Grocery stores are 20 minutes away in Suttons Bay.

Please share dietary needs (vegan, gluten-free, nut allergies, etc.) with your caterer or chef when you book them. We can advise on what vendors are most experienced with specific accommodations.

The nearest full-service grocery store is in Suttons Bay, about 20 minutes away. For local provisions — cheese from the Leelanau Cheese Company, honey, cider, farm produce, smoked fish — there are farm stands and small markets within 10–15 minutes. We recommend a good grocery run on your way in — the first supper comes faster than you think, whether you arrive on a Thursday or a Saturday.

Wi-Fi: Fiber broadband with a dedicated access point in both the farmhouse and barn. Tested at 180+ Mbps download. Fully reliable for video calls, streaming, and large uploads.

Cell service: AT&T and Verizon are generally usable at the property. T-Mobile is spotty. The honest truth is that most guests find the mild disconnection a feature, not a bug — it's part of why you're here. That said, do download your offline maps, playlists, and key documents before you leave town.

Every room is private — there are no bunk rooms and no shared sleeping. The compound has seven farmhouse bedrooms and two garden cottages, a mix of queens and twins, and no one is asked to share a room with a stranger — that's not the kind of retreat Cedarwick is built for.

Most rooms sleep one person comfortably; the queen rooms accommodate two guests traveling as a pair, and each cottage has a queen and its own bath. The compound sleeps up to 16, and that maximum assumes a mix of solo and paired occupancy. When you inquire, let us know your group's makeup and we'll confirm the right rooming configuration.

The orchard is one of the reasons people come back. Here's what each season looks like:

• May: Blossoming — white and pink, the whole orchard fragrant. One of the most beautiful weeks in northern Michigan.
• June: Full leaves, the fruit building, a working orchard in full swing. Bees everywhere in the best way.
• July: Cherry harvest. The orchard is active, fragrant, sometimes noisy with birds. This is the reason the whole Peninsula exists.
• August–October: Apple harvest, the trees heavy, fall color beginning in late September and peaking in mid-October. Our most photographed season.
• November–March: Bare branches and snow. Quiet and beautiful in a completely different way. The structure of the orchard shows — long rows disappearing into the white.

Guests are welcome to eat fruit directly from the trees during harvest season — just ask us first and we'll tell you what's ripe. Please don't pick unripe fruit or pull branches.

We don't. Cedarwick is a retreat venue — one group, one shared purpose, immersed in this place for the duration of a working stay. We're not set up for weddings, receptions, or general-purpose celebrations, and we've made a deliberate choice not to be.

If you're planning a retreat — a writing week, a wellness immersion, a leadership offsite, a creative cohort, or a faith-based gathering — you're in exactly the right place. If you're planning a wedding, congratulations and good luck finding the right venue for your day.

Day-of coordination ($350 / day) means one of us — Tom or Claire — on-site for your full retreat day. We handle vendor arrivals and kitchen coordination, set up and break down the barn for different session formats, manage any property questions that come up, and are the point person for anything operational so that you can stay fully in your program.

Most groups that add this tell us it was worth every penny, especially for high-stakes retreats where the leader can't afford to be pulled out of the room. Groups who skip it generally do fine — the property is designed to be self-sufficient, and we're a phone call away. You can add it for some days only.

Quiet hours are 10:30 PM to 7:30 AM. We're on working orchard land with neighboring farms, so this is a real commitment in your rental agreement, not a suggestion. Indoor conversation and activities can continue at any hour. What needs to wrap by 10:30: music and amplified sound in the barn, group activities outside, fire pit use.

Most retreat groups find this completely natural — people are genuinely tired by 10:30 after a full day of work. We don't want to be the owners who knock on the barn door at 11 PM, and in our experience, we haven't needed to be.

Yes — a $750 refundable security deposit is collected with your booking balance. We do a property walk-through with you on departure day, and as long as there's no damage beyond normal use, the deposit is returned within five business days via the same payment method.

We're reasonable people — we understand that 16 guests across a working farm compound will leave some marks. We're looking for damage, not cleaning fees (final cleaning is included in your booking).

Yes, for any group operating commercially — meaning any retreat that sells tickets, collects registration fees, or operates under an organization name. These groups must provide a Certificate of Insurance (COI) naming Cedarwick Farmhouse as an additionally insured party before your arrival date.

We'll send you the exact coverage language with your rental agreement — it's standard event liability language and your insurance provider will know exactly what to issue. Individual private groups (a friend circle, a team retreat paid by one employer) who are not collecting fees do not need a COI, though we strongly recommend personal event cancellation insurance for any retreat of significant cost.