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5 New Shades of Glamping

Latest luxury camping alternatives for your outdoor getaway

Once it was only celebrities at festivals who could afford to go ‘glamping’. Now though everyone seems to be getting in on the trend of posh camping.

Whether you feel like slumbering underneath the stars in luxury yurts, or getting close to nature with wooded tree-top hideaways, the new designs in camping alternatives are coming in thick and fast.

So for those of you who don’t like to spend nights atop damp ground proof sheets on rocky floors, why not take a look at some of these recent innovations designed to revamp the peg-up tent into a relaxation station?

Stackable sleeping cells
stackable cells

‘Did you ever live in a beehive before?’ says co-inventor designer Barbara Vandhorre.

These honeycomb-shaped wooden cells were designed by a team of Belgian designers called B-and-Bee, who were fed up with sleeping in tents at music festivals. The separate capsules are great for avoiding the muddy or flooded floor beneath: plus everyone gets their own individual pod (so no disturbance from all the other sweaty bodies around you after a night of dancing!)

Each pod contains a king sized bed, which can be transformed by day into a comfortable seating area. And the best bit is locks, lights and power are all included, meaning you’ll still be able to keep your gadgets buzzing throughout the trip!

The QUQUQ camping box
QUQUQ-instant-camper-van

With one of these European-designed camping boxes, you can transform your van into a two-person camper in under one minute. Crack open the top to find a miniature kitchen inside, complete with a 2-flame stove, a freshwater sink and storage space, as well as a comfy bed for two.

When compared to other campers-in-boxes, the QUQUQ is not only more fun to say, it also appears to be simpler to transport and transform. It’s effectively a home in one, and means you can switch that mouldy old tent for a cool, compact camping compartment.

De Markies mobile home
de markies

For the laid back roadtripper, the De Markies (Danish for ‘The Awning’) is a perfect way to live and breathe those wide, open roads. When driving along it measures just 2.00 metres by 4.50 metres, but once you’ve arrived at your destination, it opens up and the space can increase threefold in a matter of seconds.

One side of the Dr Markies hosts a private boudoir, whilst the canvas on the other side is completely transparent, allowing for breath-taking views of the countryside from the comfort and warmth of your cosy camper.

Orange, stainless steel, and crisp white complete the vintage-looking design, which is both stylish and contemporary.

Glisten Camping
glisten-camping

Glisten Camping brings a truly unique glamping experience to the south-west of France. The brainchild of Cornish-based camper Simon Thomason, Glisten selects the best locations in south-west France then sets up the distinctively stylish geodesic domes. Each dome sleeps a family of up to six.

These camping pods have hanging beds for kids, tonnes of head room, partitioned bedrooms and luxurious king-sized beds and are the true essence of glamping. As Simon puts it, “the great outdoors deserve a beautiful indoors”.

Indoor Caravanning
indoor caravanning

Although combining indoor and outdoor is usually the worst design faux-paz known to man, bringing the outdoors inside has proved fabulously popular in Germany.

The Huttenpalast (meaning ‘caravan palace’) in Berlin provides quirkily decorated vans within the comfort of an old vacuum factory. They even provide AstroTurf flooring for makeshift gardens, and hanging baskets galore, so you still get a healthy fill of the fresh outdoors without actually having to step outside. This is an ideal for the novelty-seeking glamper.

Have you noted any other glamping designs or trends in other countries? Let us know in your comments below!

All photos curtesy of Salop Leisure

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Eolo Glamping Review

Arriving to Eolo in Patagonia’s La Anita valley is unlike any other hotel approach experience out there. Surrounded with nothing but windswept pampas and the peaks of the region’s iconic mountains as far as the eye can see, it’s hard to imagine that a luxurious property even exists round these parts. Surprising guests is part of what makes Eolo so alluring.

Eolo outdoor1

After driving around, seeing nothing but the natural glory of Argentine Patagonia, Eolo appears as if out of nowhere, this low-lying lodge modeled after a classic sheep farm, an unexpected refuge in a desolate yet beautiful locale.

Eolo inside2

Located 30 kilometers west of El Calafate, the touristy nucleus of this pocket of Patagonia where there are meaty restaurants and shops for souvenirs or whatever you may have forgotten to pack for the trip, Eolo really does act like a tucked away retreat. Set on a private 4,000-hectare estate with virtually no visible neighbor, you can’t dream up more reclusive accommodations in a region known for providing travelers with space, especially in the luxury market. And with only 17 private suites, things don’t ever get crowded at this property.

Eolo living1

Once you get inside, it’s all about subtle design touches, giving Eolo the warm intimacy of a private home. Worn-but-refined leather furniture, complementary antiques, carved wood, crisp linen, patterned area rugs and plush animal hide combine to create an atmosphere that honors the destination in a luxurious and relaxing way. There’s never too much to look but everything works together to deliver one design narrative: that there’s harmony between what’s inside and out.

Eolo room1

Private rooms are spacious and chic with beds facing floor-to-ceiling windows. (And the corner rooms get two!) There’s no hiding of Patagonia here. Same in the bathrooms, which are simple and rustic-looking. The showers come equipped with eye-level windows so there’s really no getting away from glorious views of the outdoors. And depending on which room you have, you could be peeking at Lago Argentino, La Anita valley, the Torres del Paine or the Rico branch.

Eolo restaurant2

This is a Relais & Chateaux property so you know that food is going to be exceptional. Breakfast is a wonderful start to the day with a ton of sun usually flooding the dining room as you while away on fresh juices and flakey pastries.

Eolo act10

Your day will likely be spent on a excursion so Eolo can prepare a gourmet picnic lunch, which you’ve selected the day before, ticking little boxes to say you want sun-dried tomatoes in your sandwich and a brownie for dessert. You may not be at the hotel when you enjoy these treats, but the meticulously prepared boxes is one of the best examples of how exceptional the service is at Eolo. You feel like you’re being taken care of, even when you’re miles away from the staff.

Eolo restaurant7

Dinner service is when Eolo’s full culinary prowess is unleashed when a menu of locally sourced deliciousness will be on offer. Each course provides a handful of choices – if you’re staying a few days you can sample them all – that will satisfy even picky eaters among us.

Eolo restaurant8

A starter could be grilled local vegetables or soup while Patagonian lamb is usually among the options for a main course; but you are in Argentina, perhaps a perfectly seasoned cut of steak is the unbeatable choice. And don’t forget the wine. Eolo boasts a selection of vintages sourced from all over the great wine-making regions of the country.

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Glamping Man-cation: Guys Do it Differently

Ask a woman to go on a camping trip and her most likely response will be, “will I have to sleep on the ground?” Ask a guy the same question, and he will say, “when do we go?” The idea of glamping is more about the accommodation for women, and more about the activity for men. Tell her she’s going glamping, and she’ll be excited about deluxe accommodations and spa treatments in the splendor of the great outdoors. Tell him he’s glamping and, well, he might not want to call it glamping (but he’ll still want to go).

The mention of a “glamping mancation” to a red-blooded American male may make him wince. It isn’t that guys are against hanging out with friends on a camping trip and having a few extra creature comforts- that sounds like a great idea. Chances are the kinds of comforts that spring to mind are flat screen TVs, a mini fridge loaded with beer, and a king-sized grill or maybe a smoker for some barbecue. The real trouble comes from the word “glamping,” a combination of the words glamor and camping. No dude wants glamor associated with his camping.

If you peruse Glamping.com, here’s a description you will find on a typical listing:

Great for: Families, Couples, Honeymooners, Corporate Groups

Notice it doesn’t say, “guys on a fishing trip”? So with that in mind, here are some things that could drive a successful glamping mancation:

paws up resort exterior
• Guys won’t be as concerned with the accommodations like fussing over thread counts and turn down service. Guys will usually focus on the activity, as in what is offered at The Resort at Paws Up in Montana, which includes fishing, sporting clays, and snowmobiling.


• Take the activity up a notch by offering something out of the ordinary, like bungee jumping or airboat rides at Westgate River Ranch in Florida, or a sports car/off road experience like the Driven Experience at Gateway Canyons Resort in Colorado.

living airstream interior
• Speaking of driving, another way to get a guy to go on a glamping mancation is to say, “road trip!” The guys will love hitting the road with an airstream rental, like those offered by Living Airstream (Denver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Scottsdale, AZ).

Guys can do most things like fishing and canoeing on a regular camping trip. But what makes a camping trip a “glamping mancation” is enjoying great outdoor activities and having someone else prepare camp at the end of the day. Coming back after a long day of fishing to a place where the wood is chopped, the fire is made, the beer is on ice and the steak is already on the grill- now that ‘s luxury a man can appreciate, so he can attend to more important things like bragging about the day’s catch.

It’s an old cliché that guys don’t like to talk about their problems with each other, and likewise they don’t like to jabber about “glamping.” But that doesn’t mean they don’t like it. After a long day fishing, hunting, or bungee jumping with his pals, a guy can’t say no to chowing down on some great man food, then kicking back with an ice cold beer by the fire (and maybe sleeping on thousand thread count sheets. Just once. Shhhh!!)