Arizona Foothills Magazine

So, when I learned of a phenomenon called “glamping” (glamour plus camping equals glamping), I was all ears. Glamping is for people like me, who like the outdoors, but just can’t stomach the real deal. It

incorporates all the positive aspects of camping (the tent, the wilderness, the fresh air) but leaves behind the negatives (the bugs, the manual labor, the less-than-ideal bathroom facilities). Then, it adds a heaping dose of luxury and comfort—think Wi-Fi connections, feather down beds, and even heating and air-conditioning.

Mind you, purists will recoil at this new trend. And admittedly, this isn’t “camping” in the traditional sense. Rest assured, glamping isn’t meant to replace the time-honored practice of “roughing it.” Just think of it as something else altogether—a combination of wilderness and luxury—for those of us who want to put our toe in, but not the whole foot.

Making you at Home

While many campgrounds in the United States are “upgrading,” which tends to mean adding hot showers and perhaps coffee at the camp check-in, the true glamping experience is offered in select few places. One of the most revered of those places, nationally, is The Resort at Paws Up near Missoula, Mont.

This resort, in addition to its luxe lodge accommodations, offers soft (O.K., very soft) adventurers the option to sleep in one of its six luxurious tents from May through September. These immovable tents, decked out in Western-chic furniture and accessories, include hardwood floors, rugs, down comforters, 300-thread-count sheets and even electricity! Every glamper receives a key to their own private master bathroom with heated floors. In effect, guests can feel close to nature, but not as if they are part of it.

However, a personal butler, assigned to each glampground, pushes this experience above and beyond. The butler will bring you fresh hot coffee in the morning, build your campfire, clean your fish, cook you a gourmet meal and even stack your marshmallows on a stick. Also, he doubles as a guide, showing visitors the surrounding natural wilderness. “One of our guests said once we offer ‘nature on a silver platter,’” says Terre Short, general manager for The Resort at Paws Up, “and that was a good way to explain it.”

When not relaxing under heated blankets, guests can explore the surrounding 37,000 acres of wilderness and embark on all sorts of less-pamper-driven adventures offered by the resort: whitewater rafting, fly fishing, kayaking, hiking and clay shooting.

Adventures Abroad

Traveling abroad ups the ante for glamping. Our neighbors in Canada offer several top-of-the line luxury camping resorts that grant the V.I.P. treatment. Located in the Clayoquot Sound Biosphere reserve near Tofino, British Columbia, Canada, the Clayoquot Wilderness Resort runs on the tagline “Remote. Refined. Remarkable.” The resort is accessible directly from Vancouver, B.C., by seaplane, and guests land on the water in front of the resort.

The safari tents at Clayoquot come equipped with queen-size beds with down duvets, Persian carpets and hand-selected antiques. The resort also incorporates unique touches that enhance the distinct experience of nature combined with luxury. “They do have electricity, but they’re lit with candlelight at bedtime, so the staff comes in at turndown-service time and [they] light just hundreds of little tea lights, so it’s really romantic,” says Sue Besdot, director of sales and marketing at Clayoquot Wilderness Resort. “Each tent is linked with a cedar boardwalk that is lit by tiki torches at night, so the whole camp is lit up—it’s just beautiful.”

While some might argue that glamping has nothing in common with actual camping, some similarities undoubtedly remain, like opportunities for adventure and nature experiences. At Clayoquot, visitors can enjoy horseback riding in old-grove forests; go whale watching or bear watching (due to the resort’s proximity to both forest and sea); practice archery or rock climbing; or take private cooking lessons, yoga classes and more.

Another resort on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast takes glamping up another whole level—into the trees. Enter the tenthouse suites at Rockwater Secret Cove Resort, nestled among the trees overlooking the cove, and accessible by walking along their treetop boardwalk. Each private tenthouse suite offers an unobstructed view of the Pacific Ocean from the private veranda as well as heated slate floors, a hydrotherapy tub, a fireplace and a king-size bed. When visitors tire of living in the lap of luxury in their own quarters, they head out and enjoy the heated swimming pool, kayak rentals, fishing, horseback riding and, for the lovebirds, catered oceanside picnics. Glamp-happy guests weary of adventure can relax at their private “Spa Without Walls,” tucked away next to the ocean in a serene and secluded cove.

To the Moon

But to truly ramp up the glamp, there is no place like the Four Seasons. And no, this is not some final attempt on my part to shirk camping altogether and check into a hotel. Rather, this illustrates the luxuries of all luxuries in the glamping niche—the Four Seasons Tented Camp in the Golden Triangle, Thailand, which has the only

five-star glamping destination in the world.

Accessible by riverboat through the bamboo jungles on the Ruak River in northern Thailand, the tented camp has 15 “tents” (so what if these canvas structures double as five-star suites?). Here, no luxury is left behind. Imagine hand-hammered copper bathtubs, hardwood floors, objects d’art, handcrafted furniture and a private sun deck with an outdoor rain-shower. Other tent amenities include air-conditioning, housekeeping services, high-speed Internet, robes, down pillows, binoculars and more. Dining is to the nines: think formal campfire dinners; riverside drinks set amid the sounds and sights of a tropical jungle; or private white-glove service in the thatched-roof wine cellar.

Adventurers can take the Elephant Mahout Training (the camp owns six Asian elephants) or the Mekong River Excursion. The smarty pants of the bunch might want to check out the library or attend a lecture on the history of the opium trade. Guests could also take a day trip to Laos and Burma. Rejuvenation-seekers may enjoy the yoga or spa treatments, or relaxing by the free-form pool.

“People are now looking for ‘experience-driven’ vacations,” says Jason Friedman, camp manager at the Tented Camp. “People want to have a full sensory experience that provides challenges, excitement and adrenaline, but still [with] the comfort and luxury that they enjoy.”

And I can definitely raise my glass to that. While I might not be cut out as a camper, one thing I know for sure—I’m a talented glamper.

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