I'll be the first to admit that when it comes to lodging, I'm a five-star, sophisticated hotel brat.
I can rough it, and I have roughed it before, but for me to really feel satisfied and enjoy a vacation, the hotel experience usually has to be elevated. Which is why I was so pleasantly surprised the first time I went glamping.
The best experiences, I quickly learned, aren’t that far off from my high-end favorites, offering so much more than just a bed and a tent. Think en suite bathrooms, rain showers, and a private chef who knows their way around a wood fire. It’s not unlike a fancy hotel, just with closer proximity to nature.
A couple of practical notes before you book, though. Temperatures swing more than you'd expect, cool in the morning, warm by midday and chilly again at night. Many tents now run in-tent air conditioning or heating, but pack layers either way.
And at one place I stayed, Wi-Fi was intentionally limited to the main lodge, which I fought for about 15 minutes and then actually loved. These are the five properties that officially converted me to a glamp-er.
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ULUM Moab in Utah
Twenty-five minutes south of Moab, ULUM spreads 50 safari-style suite tents across 200 acres of red rock, each framed by views of Looking Glass Arch, which I also hiked around one perfect sunny morning.
This is the luxe end of the spectrum where accommodations come with Parachute linens, Aesop products in a rain-shower bathroom, a wood-burning stove, and a private deck under one of the darkest sky preserves in the country.
The convert-the-snob details are everywhere, from a massage cave carved into the stone to the trio of hot and cool dipping pools and live music on select nights (when I visited, the singer even took requests and played ABBA songs acoustic).
If you want adventure by day and a genuinely good bed by night, with the added ability to have a quality dinner each night, or the unique experience of a massage in a cave, this is where I'd start.
Pro tip: A highlight of my stay at ULUM and Moab in general was a private tour of Arches National Park and rock art tour with the expert guide from Deep Desert Expeditions.
Alila Ventana Big Sur in California
Tucked into a redwood canyon off Highway 1, Alila Ventana Big Sur's glamping setup includes 15 safari-style canvas tents and, crucially, the full run of the Alila resort a short walk away. That means pools, a luxe spa and onsen, dinner at Sur House, the works.
You sleep among the redwoods and still get the five-star feel since each tent has hot and cold running water with a sink, though toilets and showers are located in a separate shared bathhouse a short walk away. It’s much more luxe than that sounds though, with heated floors, private showers, and fine toiletries. It’s more akin to a shared spa bathroom than your college dorm shared experience.
Collective Governors Island in New York
Proof you don't have to leave the city to disconnect from it: Collective's 29 canvas tents that sit on a 6-acre stretch of Governors Island. It’s just an eight-minute ferry from Lower Manhattan, with views of the Statue of Liberty and the New York City skyline filling your front deck.
The tents are air-conditioned and handsomely furnished with chevron patterned wood bed frames, small indoor dining tables, outdoor Adirondack chairs, and lush plant life.
Dinner at Three Peaks Lodge is genuinely good, and the whole thing feels worlds away from the city even though you get to watch the lights of the buzzing urban core you just left.
For a snob like me who balks at the word "camping," this is a gateway into glamping, complete with a million dollar view and none of the roughing it.
Paws Up Montana in Montana
Paws Up Montana more or less invented luxury glamping as we know it today, and with some 37,000 acres along the Blackfoot River, it still sets the bar extremely high.
Lodgings include 36 tents that are spread across six intimate camps, and each comes with a private chef and a camp butler who lights your fire and brings coffee to the tent at dawn.
Inside, find the custom Last Best Bed, which is the comfiest camp bed you’ll ever experience, plus en suite bathrooms with heated floors, air conditioning and a private deck.
This is the one I'd point the biggest skeptic to, because between the butler, the grilled bison, and the morning quiet, it's impossible to call it roughing it. Remote enough, too, that the unplugging naturally happens on its own.
Angama Mara in Kenya
For the trip of a lifetime, Angama Mara hangs on the edge of the Great Rift Valley, 1,000 feet above Kenya's Maasai Mara, which is famed for its up-close-and-personal views of The Great Migration.
Its 30 glass-front tented suites are split between two camps of 15, each opening to a view you might otherwise recognize from “Out of Africa.” These are "tents" only in the most technical sense. They have parquet floors, a soaking tub, a butler's lobby, and a deck built for sunrise viewings as the safari hot air balloons glide past.
Your days should be focused on the safari draw of this particular experience, either with an early game drive, a balloon flight, or a lingering lunch in the garden. It’s worth the flight and the price of entry alone because it might be the most luxurious roughing-it experience I’ve ever seen on the planet.
The Shortcut
You won't be disappointed in the food. ULUM Moab and Paws Up Montana both include a private chef, and Collective Governors Island and Alila Ventana Big Sur serve excellent sit-down dinners on-site.
Room amenities go well beyond a sleeping bag. Think en suite rain showers, heated floors, Parachute linens, and private decks, plus butler service at Paws Up and Angama Mara.
A few things are different from a hotel stay. Alila Ventana's tents use a shared bathhouse instead of in-room toilets, some properties limit Wi-Fi to the main lodge, and temperatures can swing from cold mornings to warm afternoons to chilly nights even with in-tent climate control. Arrive prepared and you'll have a great time.
For a different experience, try sleeping amongst the vines at one of these 4 Vineyard Glamping Stays That Are Even More Charming Than a Boutique Hotel
