Hotel Trend: Modular Glamping

Fodor’s

We started off camping in tents. The wilderness doubled as playground and commode, and food was cooked over the fire. Then came glamping, still camping as far as we’re concerned, but glam-ed up with five-star luxuries like a king bed draped in goose down, and if you’re lucky, a personal toilet and shower. Now, camping has evolved again with “modular glamping”, a fusion of minimalist design and glamping. Curious about why mod glamping is capturing the limelight in architectural blogs and design magazines the world over? We’ve assembled three boxy flats, offering much more than a firepit and dirt floor. Once you “rough it” here, your tent may never pop up again.

Rolling Huts

There are six in the ‘herd’, and people people are flocking here every quarter. Three hours outside of Seattle in Washington’s backcountry, this herd is permanently wrangled. Technically, each hut sits atop eight large steel wheels to comply with local zoning. Built with steel, polished plywood, and a few windows, the boxy glampers are super photogenic. Inside, the minimalist aesthetic is furthered by modular, moveable pieces which double as a second sleeping platform and living room-slash-eating area. In summer, the sliding glass doors offer natural air conditioning, and in winter the wood-burning fire (and furnace if you’re really chilly) creates a cozy aesthetic.

Glamping Scale: Rustic glamping. Each hut has an attached outhouse and a full shared bathroom (with showers) is 30 steps away. The kitchen is bare-bones with a coffee maker, microwave, bar fridge, and limited utensils.

Insider Tip: BYO sheets and duvet, and if you’re a serious glamper, consider bringing an extra camping mattress to put under the thin foamy provided. For foodies, there’s a BBQ trio (two charcoal and one propane) for a salmon bake, but remember to bring wine glasses, a cheese grater, tongs, and any other kitchen utensil musts to make sure the feast is Michelin-worthy.

Jackson Hole Cabins

Jackson Hole’s Fireside Cabins represent the next frontier in glamping. There’s no roughing it here; spring, summer, fall, or winter four rustic wooden walls and an angled roof (to help with heating and cooling) blend eco-design and contemporary furnishings. Minutes from the slopes and trails of Grand Teton National Park, 20 cabins exude ski-chic without any fur-rimmed and diamond-encrusted attitude. If fact, you may not even want to hike or ski at all once you curl up in front of the fire with good book or bask in the sun on your private deck—après might just be on the agenda all day.

Glamping Scale: Cushy cabin glamping with a flat-screen TV, WiFi, gas fireplace, petit kitchen, full bathroom, and king-sized bed; in other words, worlds away from from roughing it at the campground.

Mexican Wine Country

A hop, skip, and a jump by car from San Diego, the just-opened Endemico is the uber-expression of

modular glamping. Twenty rectangular lofts sit staggered between desert brush and boulders on a hill overlooking a vine-lined landscape maturing in the heart of Mexico’s wine country. At first, the glamp-ins (glamping cabins, obviously) are hard to spot, blending into the surroundings built with a combination of steel and wood intended to wear and disappear into the eco-retreat’s 232-acre landscape over time. Don’t let the minimal, green design fool you, these modular masterpieces might be off the grid, but they pack an eco-luxury punch with a king-size bed, full bathroom, WiFi, and deck warmed at night by your personal outdoor kiva (a traditional, wood-burning clay fire bowl).

Glamping Scale: Eco-mod resort, verging more on deluxe retreat than glamping, aided and abetted by a pool carved into the landscape and on-site, artisan restaurant.