All of us have some fond camping memories from our childhood – snuggling into sleeping bags, roasting and munching on marshmallows, and giggling with our friends as we give someone a toothpaste mustache! Although times have changed since then, and camping has received a massive makeover and a new ferocious nickname – Glamping! Glamping is the new, improved and dazzling version of camping. Gone are the basic little tents and sleeping bags that we spent our nights in – luxurious tents, glamping pods, glamping cabins, and innovative campsites are all a result of the Glamping movement. So, we’ve curated a collection of super comfy, cozy, and advanced camping options that’ll have you itching to make your next getaway a Glamping one!
You can find these unique tents in the Borgloon forest in Belgium if you are looking for a safer alternative to the usual touristy destinations post the pandemic. In fact, it has gained attention only now when people are looking to camp outdoors because it is safer, won’t require you to fly, budget-friendly and avoids the crowds. Designed by the Dutch artist Dre Wapenaar, these ‘Tranendreef’ tree tents blend architecture and sculpture into one functional structure. The tent is suspended above the ground and basically hangs on the tree like fruit. The guests use a ladder to get inside/outside. It can host two adults and two small children. Originally installed as part of a public art project called ‘Pit’ (hence the avocado shape we assume) organized by Z33, it brought art into the public space of Borgloon. The designer also created ‘field furniture’ – seating, washing, toilet, and BBQ units to complete the camping site with the tents.
Camping and caravanning have always been about getting down to the bare necessities of life, living life on the road and at the mercy of the elements. However, New Zealand-based design and architecture firm W2 has decided to help amp up the experience! Their revolutionary trailer design, ‘Romotow’, the name an amalgamation of ‘room to move’ contains all the usual RV features but with an innovative 90-degree twist. With the press of a simple electric button, it swivels open, rotating at 90 degrees, to reveal an open synthetic teak deck. With this, it increases the living space by 70 percent, and the area can also be used as a party deck! Measuring 30 feet by 8.5 feet and offering 290 square feet of living space (the same as a lot of tiny apartments these days), the caravan comes along with a living area, bedroom, kitchenette, and bathroom, all with stylish fixtures and spacious interiors.
Get ready to take a beautiful virtual tour of the O2 Treehouse by Treewalkers that blend the best of our childhood imagination with glamping reality while keeping it all an eco-friendly experience! Treewalkers is one of the leading players in the world of treetop construction – they actually make treehouses that adults cannot reason out of. The treehouses have unique geodesic domes and can be connected to create entire villages. The houses are modular so it enables franchisees to start their own village setups with one or more units – this can be a sustainable hotel, unusual Airbnb getaway, or simply a camping site that offers a different kind of stay. The innovative modular lattice design is what makes this a flexible accommodation — while catering to the individual’s needs and it also allows them to customize details. The units come with a standard bug-proof outer socket, interior furniture, and canvas canopy roofing. As part of the franchise program, hosts have the option to open up their Treewalker to other hosts in exchange for points that can be used towards other stays – sustainable community tourism! There are many intriguing shapes but the most iconic one has to be the A-shaped floating tent because that is something we have all tried to create with a blanket in our living rooms.
Jupe is a portable off-grid shelter that flatpacks so you can pick any spot on the planet and pitch your tent. The futuristic silhouette is inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: Space Odyssey which explains the aluminum pole frame and glowing Firesist fabric exterior which also make it suitable to withstand different climate conditions. The mission was not to make a quick place to stay but to create a gateway to the outside world. It can be assembled in hours and gives you a 111-square foot space featuring tall ceilings, finished Baltic birch wood floors, a queen bed, and a storage area – think something right in the middle of a tiny home and glamping pod. The large entryway doubles up as a window for your chosen scenery which you can endlessly gaze at from your queen-sized bed. The shelter also includes a 200 amp hour battery and solar array with electrical outlets, USB charging stations, dimmable LED lighting system, and a private wi-fi network if you cannot be completely off the grid.
While looking at interesting campsites I found Culture Campsite which was designed by architects to be an urban oasis filled with quirky pods that will give you the escape you’re craving while not ‘wasting’ any resources or time! A team of Dutch designers and artists transformed a concrete parking lot in Rotterdam’s Delfshaven area into a sustainable urban camping ground making it more accessible for people. There is a range of cool architectural cabins to choose from and they are all built using upcycled and waste stream materials. The idea was to show not tell – this way people could experience living in a sustainable structure themselves and find that it can be incorporated into their lifestyle! The pods are all smaller than a tiny house but way more exciting than a tent because of their unique builds and each of them showcases innovative sustainable elements. Every cabin offers a special experience and my favorite one is the Val Ross cabin because it reminds me of the rocket emoji.
The minimal circular cabin is a luxurious treat we deserve! One of Lara’s most exclusive features is a round patio complete with a jacuzzi and a lounging area. While the cabin is envisioned to be set amidst trees to provide privacy, the designer has added a handful of plants to brighten up the woody design of the patio. The white exterior contrasts elegantly with the lush natural location. The tiny cabin’s ground level hosts a sem-circular room with a modern fireplace – the ones where there is a slit in the stone for the flames! It also has a fully functioning bathroom, however, the provisions for a pantry or a small cooking space are missing for now. There is another small seating area just outside the room and the fireplace built inside is also shared by this space through the glass encasement. Even though the glamping pod is small, the sweeping floor-to-ceiling windows make the space look bigger while allowing for natural sunlight and ventilation.
Designed to be portable, adjustable, and modular too, the Beluga easily transforms based on your needs. The tent accommodates two people, although its modular nature allows you to attach multiple tents to each other to create a large camping community. The tent comes with an inner enclosure, held in place using aluminum rods, and covered with an outer cover that helps properly shield you from elements like the rain or even the sun. To help extend the tent’s footprint, the Beluga even comes with an awning that attaches to the entrance, giving you a nice shaded ‘patio’ of sorts right outside your tent. The magic, however, lies in the fact that all these components, the enclosure, clad, and the awning can be used in a variety of ways. The awning and outer clad easily double up as two individual hammocks when you want, or a hammock with its own cover when you’re looking for some shade. You could even set them up as a roofed shelter away from your tent, or even use them as awnings outside your RV or caravan. No matter your camping setup, the Beluga adjusts to give you just the shelter you need… and even if you’re faced with inclement weather or a damp/muddy campsite, the tent itself comes with an elevated entrance, so water or mud never seeps into your enclosure.
This will sound lame but the Hanging Shelter (Hængende Ly in Danish) is actually the literal meaning of hanging out – you see it? It is a lot more than a hammock strung up on trees, in fact, it is a very unique accommodation that has been custom designed using traditional shipbuilding techniques. The enclosed treehouse is nestled 2.5 meters above the ground that offers 360-degree views of the lush green Genner area in Denmark. The only way to get in and out of the Hanging Shelter is via a basic ladder. The structure is constructed with steam-bent oak which forms the curved walls and floor – something that sets it apart from similar tents and is hard to miss! To give it a height there are eight additional arched wood frames that continue to shape the rounded walls vertically. The design team has used a thin, clear membrane to wrap the entire shelter in so that you are protected from different weather conditions and are still able to soak in all the natural greenery Genner has to offer.
The O’Reilly’s campground is nestled in Queensland’s lush Lamington National Park and is an example of how glamping can be eco-friendly if we make the right design choices! The project shines a light on architecture-inspired ecotourism with a fully functioning campsite equipped with all amenities. O’Reilly is different because it was created keeping sustainable building practices at its core so as to not disturb the pristine landscape but at the same time let guests be immersed in it. The campground includes buildings featuring a kitchen, common gathering spaces, a fire pit, and more. All the facilities were carefully constructed by consciously choosing to make it environmentally friendly – lightweight structures used sustainably sourced timber, an on-site sewer treatment to avoid adding waste to natural water bodies, collecting rainwater, having passive solar access, cross-ventilation to reduce power consumption, growing and preserving vegetation and more.
We all like a comfortable camping experience once in a while, or to be more millennial, a comfortable glamping experience once in a while! But what about our feline friends? Wouldn’t they like a warm tent to cozy up into? I mean maybe they haven’t ever thought of it…but I’m sure they would enjoy it! Well, the Cat Camp is here! And it’s a mini indoor tent, especially for our cats. It’s quite similar to the mini display tents seen in outdoor shops, and it’s exactly like the larger tents for humans except its tiny…and cuter! 21.5 x 21.5 x 14 inches in size, the Cat Camp is spacious enough to accommodate almost all breeds of cats. A side-zip makes it extremely easy to enter, and it pitches just like a normal tent. Durable and high-quality materials were used to create the tent, ensuring it can withstand your pet’s sharp claws and teeth! Layered with microfiber fleece, the tent is fluffy and warm. You can easily remove the lining whenever it needs cleaning.
