Yay glamping! (camping, cost, rent, hotel)

[Jill_Schramm]

I’m putting this in the main travel form and not the camping and RV’ing forum because we didn’t just get back from camping, but from glamping.

We rented a “luxury yurt” in the Smoky Mountains. And it was amazing. Imagine the best parts of camping (being out in nature, cooking your own food, the campfire, waking up to birds singing, etc.) combined with the luxury of a 4-star hotel.

Have you ever glamped? What was your experience like?

[StealthRabbit]

Glamping sounds spendy... so... I keep homes in recreation sites (with nice view and countryside). But... I have to buy and maintain them. (They were not expensive when I bought them)

60+ yrs of living / working in / near National Parks (not a bad gig).

So,
How did you find your Glamping? (Referral / ads, Airline magazine?)
What is price range?
How long did you stay?
Can you add other locations along the way? (series of Glamping locations)

Our friends did similar via horseback on Wales coast, stayed different place every night for a week of travel.

[Jill_Schramm]

Actually, we thought the price-quality ratio was very good. We stayed 5 days and paid $120/night. However, our yurt had two bedrooms and was clearly meant for 4 people, not 2. So, if you can get another couple to spit the cost, it would be even less expensive.

I found the place on glampinghub.com. We wanted to spend a long 4th of July weekend in the Smoky Mountains, but by the time I got around to making reservations, I couldn’t find anything that suit us for a reasonable price. Since I have major dietary issues, I more or less have to prepare all of my meals myself even on vacation, so I need someplace with a kitchen. Everything available on Orbitz or AirBnB at that point was over $250/night. Too much for us. So, I found glampinghub.com, then the yurt out of desperation.

We have travelled a lot all over the world and I would say that it was in our top 3 best lodging experiences. Not the top 3 fanciest, but the top 3 most memorable (in a good way) and top 3 for value.

I have been cooking my own meals when we travel for about two years now and this was by far the best kitchen I have had. It was absolutely beautiful with great appliances, tasteful countertops, etc. The stove was large and included 5 gas burners. It had an oven too! And the kitchen was fully equipped with really every gadget and utensil you could want. In addition to things you would expect, like a can opener, they had not 1, but 3 cutting boards of different sizes, not 1 but 4 whisks of different sizes, 4 high quality mixing bowls of different sizes, an electric mixer, two different coffee makers, a whole set of high-quality kitchen knives, a garlic press, etc. etc.

The bathroom shower was huge, tastefully decorated and highly functional.

Great internet access & plus 3 flat screens TVs (which we didn’t use).

The beds were extremely comfy.

The setting was stunning — by a swift-flowing creek shaded by a forest with an understory of blossoming rhododendrons. That was out back. Out front, we had our own little garden.

You could choose to open all the windows for a more natural feel or you could close everything up and turn on the AC/heat.

[StealthRabbit]

Sounds like a bargain,

Glad you had a good time (memorable).

That is really important on vacations and will be a lasting memory. (I still remember nearly every place we have stayed in 40+ yrs of marriage, the unique ones are 'treasures'.)

Thanks for the details (You have set a high expectation!)

[Jill_Schramm]

Yeah — my husband loved it and kept asking: “How are they even making money on this place?”

However, if you wanted daily cleaning you had to pay $50 extra per day. There was also the option for one mid-stay cleaning for $75, but we opted out and just did our own cleaning and bed-making. Not a big deal.

One reason I chose it is because it had a lot of 5-stars reviews both on glampinghub and elsewhere on-line and no reviews that were not 5-star.

[evening sun]

That sounds great, & a reasonable price too. I have never done it, but you are tempting me We have rented out small cabins, which has been fun, & I will do that again.

[pikabike]

Originally Posted by Jill_Schramm

I’m putting this in the main travel form and not the camping and RV’ing forum because we didn’t just get back from camping, but from glamping.

We rented a “luxury yurt” in the Smoky Mountains. And it was amazing. Imagine the best parts of camping (being out in nature, cooking your own food, the campfire, waking up to birds singing, etc.) combined with the luxury of a 4-star hotel.

Have you ever glamped? What was your experience like?

We did it once, before it was called glamping. Although we had rented a yurt in a state park once before that and I did later on in a different park, those were not the glamping trips. They were just sleeping in a yurt.

The time we “glamped,” the yurt had a hotel-worthy bed and some furniture, an incredible view (we saw whales), lots of space and total visual privacy between it and the next yurt, all three hot meals included plus shuttle rides to any of the company’s other areas, guided mountain biking rides several times a day if desired, and half day of kayaking at a private ocean beach. The bathroom was an open-air structure on the same raised wood platform but a few steps away from the yurt. Each yurt had its own bathroom and complete privacy. It had been intended as a honeymoon camp—NO children allowed. It was gorgeous, reasonably priced, and we would love to go again. But that yurt camp was shut down. Sheraton bought the entire property and “restructured” the system to cater to the same old same old...families with kids, average tourons, no more intense outdoor activities for couples.

Normally, luxury vacations don’t interest me. But that one combined the freedom of being able to grab a shuttle to other beaches when desired, choose which of three restaurants to eat in, biking several times a day (one day we rode morning, afternoon, and evening), AND privacy. There was one other couple staying on the premises, whom we got along with well. Food was excellent.

If the place opened again and revived the old adults-only outdoor paradise, we’d definitely return.

[Dd714]

I don't get it - What is the benefit of a "yurt"? Why not just rent a cabin?
I've rented a cabin before, out in the middle of nowhere. It's amazing how modern technology can extend this technology to the remote.

[athena53]

I stayed in something like this last year in India for one night. Don't ask me where- somewhere between Ranthambore and Agra. The tops of the structures looked like tents but they were built into a cement foundation and included indoor plumbing and A/C. At night, you could zip everything shut like a traditional tent but could still hear the noises of the wild animals. There was a separate building where they cooked our meals and that night they built a campfire and a troupe of native men entertained us with music and dancing. I loved it!

[pikabike]

Originally Posted by Dd714

I don't get it - What is the benefit of a "yurt"? Why not just rent a cabin?
I've rented a cabin before, out in the middle of nowhere. It's amazing how modern technology can extend this technology to the remote.

The OP was about glamping, not yurts specifically. You can glamp in a cabin, and you can stay in a yurt but not be glamping (as I have done in three state parks).

Yurts are appealing because they are a circular structure with a diffuser cap on top that acts like a soft skylight. They are one room, unlike some cabins, and very open in feel. They feel more like a very nice tent on a raised wooden platform. If you don’t like tent camping, you should probably stick with the solid-walled cabins.