Roughing It But Not Really - AKA "Glamping"

It's time to plan your next vacation. The children have come up with the brilliant idea of going camping. You, on the other hand, had visions of spas, room service and a general atmosphere of luxury. You are, it would seem, at an impasse.

Au contraire. Welcome to the growing trend of "glamping", which we first read about via Gadling. Coming from the term "glamorous camping", glamping is putting style and pampering into camping. This is something we find to be totally agreeable, and the only question is, what took so long?

It's really not that new of an idea: people have been going on safari like this for years. Now, the concept has come out of Africa, so to speak, and has really taken off with our friends across the pond. England is rife with companies offering "glamping" supplies, from white Indian-style tents made in Pakistan to jute carpets that will protect pedicured feet from the earthy floor. It seems that someone got wind of Kate Moss glamping, and now the world has run amok with copycats who, of course, need to be similarly accoutred.

In the US & Canada, the movement has gone beyond the bespoke tent to offer full-fledged vacations that include pampering previously unheard of while camping. The oft-mentioned Clayoquot Wilderness Resorts & Spa in British Columbia offers camping the way it should be done (see their lovely tents above and below). Especially enticing are the family suite tents, which come with queen-bed, convertible chesterfield with queen mattress, and a lounge area with a game table. Add in luxurious down duvets and area rugs you'd happily grace your floors with, and this really isn't so bad, now is it?

But wait, you say. It's all fine and good to speak of sleeping in luxury, but will I emerge from the woods looking like something out of a horror movie? Have no fear - here you'll find hot water for showers as well as power for hair dryers. Even wireless internet is doable here, should you find the need to be less connected to the outdoors and more connected to, say, this blog. (And yes, they have modern composting toilets that we are sure will not require the use of anything so rustic as a page from the NY Times.)

We have already decided that we must go glamping, if only for the sheer fun of indulging in something with such a ridiculous name. And we must admit, at Clayoquot the activities offered are fun for both us and the children: kayaking, biking, and bear watching are just a few, and how much better to retreat to a downy mattress in a luxurious tent when you're done? Whatever you call it and wherever you do it, camping "in the manner to which we've become accustomed" is an idea whose time has come, and we'll be looking for more places to pursue this new trend in travel.