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Glamping 101: What is "glamorous camping," exactly?
While all travel experiences have a purpose – business, pleasure, relaxation, a show or specific attraction – all travel, at least for this writer, has the draw of a new home away from home.
Not every hotel or lodging experience can be, or should be expected to be, five-star. But if you're going to get this writer out into the wilderness, there had better at least be hot water and a functional bathroom.
This explains how I first heard about the term "glamping," or "glamorous camping." It turns out, there was such a thing, and it didn't involve an RV or high heels, Paris Hilton in The Simple Life-style.
Simply put, glamping is a term coined that encompasses outdoor wilderness experiences that are somewhere between a hotel and a traditional campsite. Sure, you'll sleep in tents, tipis or yurts, but they often have real beds with plush mattresses and en-suite running water.
Although glamping has been derided by hardcore campers and snubbed by some luxury travelers who say they'd "never camp," the idea has been embraced by many who see the eco-friendly benefits of camping and the budgetary advantages to mixing a traditionally free activity with a more luxe vacation.
Glamping can take place anywhere in the world – usually the more picturesque, the better. Campsites and lodges have opened around the world, usually in locations that have natural attractions to recommend them, including Africa, Australia, and my own recent experience, on the edge of Montana's Blackfoot River in the newly-opened Pinnacle Camp at Paws Up Resort (shown above).
Gallery: Glamping
Here, tents came complete with heated slate floors, towel and sheet warmers, Wi-Fi and a camping butler who served dishes like seared sirloin in Romanesco sauce and huckleberry French Toast. The only cooking I was doing involved roasting some s'mores over a fire (built by our handy butler) ... but getting closer to the wilds of nature might not have been possible.
Just feet outside the tent, birds chattered, gophers and marmots frolicked, and fawns sprang around the pasture like overeager rabbits. An eagle soared overhead, trout jumped in the river below, and the air took on a crisp, still quality sweetened with meadow grasses and the fresh, clean smell of unpolluted air.
It may be luxe but it was still nature in its purest, finest form, respected by guests who spent evenings bonding around a campfire, swapping stories while their children ran and played below.
What does one do while glamping? The same thing they'd do while camping or at summer camp. In Africa, the activity of choice is often a safari, but at Paws Up, guests can choose from activities like cattle drives, clay shooting, nature hikes and fly fishing. The emphasis is on family togetherness (most all activities can be done by children 12 and over, and nearly all guests were families) and on learning experiences that take place in the outdoors. Guides for all activities focused equally on fun and education.
Despite the glamorous title, I still felt like I was camping ... albeit a lot more comfortably. There wasn't anything cheap about it - rates for camps start at $820 per night in peak season at Paws Up - but that rate did include airport transfers and three gourmet, multi-course meals for two adults daily.
Stay tuned ... I'll be bringing dispatches in the coming days about cattle driving, the best places for you to get your "glamp" on and more.
The author's stay was provided courtesy of Paws Up Resort, but her opinions are solely her own.
Just feet outside the tent, birds chattered, gophers and marmots frolicked, and fawns sprang around the pasture like overeager rabbits. An eagle soared overhead, trout jumped in the river below, and the air took on a crisp, still quality sweetened with meadow grasses and the fresh, clean smell of unpolluted air.
It may be luxe but it was still nature in its purest, finest form, respected by guests who spent evenings bonding around a campfire, swapping stories while their children ran and played below.
What does one do while glamping? The same thing they'd do while camping or at summer camp. In Africa, the activity of choice is often a safari, but at Paws Up, guests can choose from activities like cattle drives, clay shooting, nature hikes and fly fishing. The emphasis is on family togetherness (most all activities can be done by children 12 and over, and nearly all guests were families) and on learning experiences that take place in the outdoors. Guides for all activities focused equally on fun and education.
Despite the glamorous title, I still felt like I was camping ... albeit a lot more comfortably. There wasn't anything cheap about it - rates for camps start at $820 per night in peak season at Paws Up - but that rate did include airport transfers and three gourmet, multi-course meals for two adults daily.
Stay tuned ... I'll be bringing dispatches in the coming days about cattle driving, the best places for you to get your "glamp" on and more.
The author's stay was provided courtesy of Paws Up Resort, but her opinions are solely her own.
Filed under: Stories, North America, Hotels and Accommodations, Luxury Travel
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Chris Aug 2nd 2011 3:46PM
This may quite possibly be the most 'MURRICA thing I have ever read.
GlampingSite Aug 3rd 2011 10:03AM
Not sure what "MURRICA" means, but I did enjoy the article! "Nature served on a silver platter" - nice!
STL
www.GlampingSite.com
suzyQ Aug 4th 2011 2:42PM
I have enjoyed nature comfortably, many times, without "glamping" as it is defined here. I personally find the term sad.
Whitney Aug 3rd 2011 9:56AM
Great piece, McLean. Glamorous camping is a great way for people to enjoy the outdoors. I'm so glad that there are places like this that enable people to experience nature comfortably. Hopefully it will give them a deeper appreciation for the land beyond their backdoors and make them want to come back!
Fiznatty Aug 4th 2011 12:09PM
I've done this type of thing in Africa, and as mentioned it certainly isn't cheap. It was very, very nice, but I'm not sure that the experience was necessarily made a lot special just by the fact that the walls were made of canvas... unless you count the shrew scuttling about in the middle of the night pulling off bits of thread for nesting materials, the dik dik urinating on our doorstep and the hippo running into our front porch in the middle of the night.
Max
McLean Aug 4th 2011 3:43PM
Mark,
That's quite the experience. Thankfully there were no wild animals attempting to break into my "glamp" ... although your experience sounds quite interesting!
Best,
McLean
Fiznatty Aug 4th 2011 2:42PM
"...a lot MORE special..." I see my morning proofreading skills still need work. :P
exoticdoc2 Aug 4th 2011 4:51PM
As a climber and backpacker, I will say I will not fault those with physical disabilities who can enjoy the wilderness in this fashion when they perhaps otherwise could not. The rest of you are pansies.
Wayne Roberts Aug 4th 2011 5:31PM
Susyq, is this susyq from bartow. If so, get in touch with me on facebook.Had a bear chase me in yosemite while camping. had to hit the showers and had to hold the door from the inside to keep him from getting in. It was actually hillarious.
sara parmley Aug 8th 2011 3:20PM
Thank you for your enticing video. As it happens, my husband is about to celebrate his 65th birthday, and we are taking our three children and eight grandchildren to Paws Up at the end of this month to celebrate - we'll be staying in Creekside. We are all very excited!
Sara
McLean Aug 8th 2011 3:22PM
Sara,
Enjoy! Definitely do the cattle drive with Mike if you like to ride- it was a great experience. And if you dine in Pomp any of the nights and Huckleberry Cheesecake is on the menu ... order it. Best dessert I've ever had.
Have fun!
McLean