Glamorous Camping: Where Wild Meets Refined
Glamorous camping is a new approach to exploring the great outdoors.
June 19, 2007— -- For most people, camping is the ultimate cheap getaway. A road trip in the minivan, sleeping bags, tents, a campfire and of course hot dogs on a stick.
But not all camping trips are created equal and chances are you've never been on one that could be described as "glamorous." But glamorous camping is exactly what a growing number of well-heeled vacationers are doing. They even have a word for it: glamping.
To find out how the "other half" do it, we boarded a floatplane in Vancouver, British Columbia, for the hourlong flight to an exclusive campsite on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
It's not really a campsite -- but you'll get the idea in a minute. Flying over lush, pristine forestland and mountains carved up by rivers, the destination is marked by a smattering of white tents buried deep in this vast rain forest.
The Clayoquot Wilderness Resort is hidden deep in bear country -- seemingly in the middle of nowhere. It is as beautiful as it is remote.
"What we truly are is a soft adventure holiday," said resort director and co-owner John Caton. "And the soft part is the food and beds. And the adventure is just the same thing as you'd get if you were out there doing it on a sleeping pad in a two man pup tent."
He said his resort is to the wilderness what the Four Seasons hotel chain is to cities. Gourmet chef -- check. Wi-fi and laptops outside by the fire -- check. $75 cigars, expensive liquor and wine -- check.
What you won't find are noisy, obnoxious families drinking beer in the next tent over.
And what would a fancy outdoor resort be without fancy tents? At Clayoquot the tents are adorned with Persian rugs, antiques and fine furniture. They have electricity, heat and a thermostat right next to the bed.
"It's very unique. The whole concept of camping is nothing we'd ever experienced before," said Colette Sayre from Long Island, N.Y. "And when you get here to have antiques in your tents, I mean, it's really a lovely, very relaxing experience."
