Glamping!

Do they have this in Starved Rock?

NEW YORK (AP) — Did a bad experience turn you off to camping? Maybe your tent leaked in a rainstorm or you shivered all night in a borrowed, smelly sleeping bag. Or that thin foam pad you were trying to sleep on didn't do much to protect your back from the rocky, uneven ground beneath your tent.
It doesn't have to be that way. Tour companies and resorts now offer luxury camping, and the term "glamping" — shorthand for glamorous camping — is starting to turn up in reports from the United Kingdom and Canada. The New York Post recently mentioned "glamping" in an article on a new website for luxury travel, www.globorati.com. (The story also referred to "jetrosexuals" as a globetrotting jetsetter who thinks nothing of hopping on a plane to Asia for a shopping spree.)

In British Columbia, Canada, the Clayoquot Wilderness Resort, a 30-minute boat ride from the town of Tofino, is offering "glamping" on a fjord on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Tents have Persian carpets, down duvets and even electricity. There's a sauna and hot tubs on site, and activities including fishing, horseback riding, kayaking, hikes and wildlife-watching.

But if you thought camping was a budget vacation option, you'll have to readjust your expectations for glamping. Three-night packages at the Clayoquot resort begin at $4,100 a person, double occupancy. Details at 888-333-5405 or www.wildretreat.com.

Other tour companies offer luxury tent accommodations as well. Abercrombie & Kent has several trips to Africa that include high-end camping, such as guided tours of Botswana that include game drives and accommodations in "walk-in tents with extra length beds, crisp sheets and warm blankets," plus a "mess tent" for what's described as "bush-style haute cuisine" served on china and linen tablecloths. Details at www.abercrombiekent.com or 800-554-7016.

Vstan