Glamping was once a controversial word. When it first entered the lexicon, it provoked reactions that ranged from happiness to hostility. A portmanteau that means “glamorous camping,” as travel enthusiasts, we tried not to use it too often. For one thing, formalists would argue that glamping was not really even camping. On the other end of the spectrum, camps that fit the definition thought the term reductive, as it trivialized an experience that, at many sites, was still designed to get you up close and personal with the natural world.
These days, the controversy has largely simmered away. Glamping is simply part of today's travel vocabulary, and as the form has only advanced in popularity, so have the degrees of glamour and luxury to be found at canvas-covered accommodations in the MICHELIN selection.
You preference will depend on the kind of guest you are. For some, it’s glamorous just not having to pitch your own tent or bring your own supplies. To show up and have everything be there for you — and all in good nick — is downright decadent. For others, the glamour begins with a butler, an excellent menu and a safari setup that would make Hemingway jealous. And for hardcore camping purists, well, glamping is your personal nightmare — but have we mentioned the experience comes with a bathroom?
Call these tent hotels and luxury camps whatever term you’d like. They’re all supremely stylish, and they offer guests a smoother way to rough it. Whatever your preference, there’s a wide range of variations on the theme, and the MICHELIN Guide selection has options that run the gamut.
We’ve singled out some of the most stylish tent hotels below, ordered not by gradients of glamour, of course, but by rungs of roughing it.
Zannier Hotels Sonop
Namib Desert, NamibiaSonop places as little as possible between you and the picturesque Namib Desert. Fear not: Sonop’s ten luxurious tents, on platforms elevated above the rocky desert floor, are uninteresting to the leopards, hyenas, jackals and foxes that you’ll be sharing the landscape with. And given the plushness of the accommodations — they’re inspired by Twenties-vintage British colonial style — the experience here is a long way from ordinary camping.
Inara Camp
Agafay Desert, MoroccoInara Camp is less than an hour’s drive from Marrakech, in the Agafay desert at the foot of the Atlas Mountains. It’s a collection of impressively plush safari-style tents surrounding a swimming-pool oasis in what feels like the exact middle of nowhere. The aesthetic is tailored to its location and its Berber inspiration, but the concept is the same as any luxury tented camp: provide as much comfort as possible while still fully immersing guests in the natural environment.
Book Inara Camp with The MICHELIN Guide →
Parador Casa da Montanha
Cambará do Sul, BrazilParador Casa da Montanha is built into the hillside beside the largest series of canyons in South America. The main lodge has a stone fireplace and cozy cocktail bar, a terrace with a firepit, and a sunny dining area hosting a traditional breakfast buffet, plus a L’Occitane spa. Guest rooms are housed in free-standing wooden chalets connected by a series of outdoor walkways. Some are tent-like cottages, others actual tents, but all are packed with high-end comforts.
Honeyguide Tented Safari Camps
Kruger National Park, South AfricaAt the edge of South Africa’s famed Kruger National Park is the private Manyeleti Game Reserve — nearly a hundred square miles of wild bush, populated by all manner of game. The land is owned and managed by the Mnisi tribe, who’ve opened it up to a select few visitors: guests of the Honeyguide Tented Safari Camps.
Book Honeyguide Tented Safari Camps with The MICHELIN Guide →
El Cosmico
Texas, USAIn addition to the vintage Airstream trailers they’re known for, there are tepees, yurts and safari tents at El Cosmico. They’re sparsely furnished, but what decoration there is is impeccably curated, exceedingly cozy and oozing with character — which more than makes up for the fact that the bathrooms are not attached.
Autocamp Yosemite
California, USAAs stunning as Yosemite National Park is, it’s never been served by accommodations you would describe as stylish. AutoCamp changes that all at once, with its luxury tents, cabins and fleet of custom-designed Airstream trailers (plus a Clubhouse, indoor and outdoor lounge, swimming pool, firepits and general store. You’ve got all the comfort you need, on the doorstep of one of America’s most spectacular national parks. Also check out:
Autocamp Cape Cod
Autocamp Catskills
Autocamp Joshua Tree
Autocamp Russian River
Autocamp Zion
Nomade Tulum
Tulum, MexicoLocated right on a white-sand beach, Nomade Tulum is a rustic-chic enclave that brands itself as a temporary habitat for, well, nomads. And what true nomad wouldn’t feel at home in a deluxe tent, especially one that’s been designed with the natural elements of the surrounding jungle and pitched only steps away from the Caribbean? Those with a wandering spirit will also enjoy the sense of community here, with workshops and retreats designed to “awaken the soul, shake the body, and free the mind.” Read one Inspector's experience with the latter, here.
Under Canvas Acadia
Maine, USAAcadia is Maine’s spectacular coastal national park, and Under Canvas is a Montana-based purveyor of luxury tented camps. Put the two together and you get this: an array of tented accommodations set on raised platforms, all decked out with furniture by the modernist-inspired West Elm brand, from the shared-bathhouse Safari tents to the mid-range options with private en-suite baths and the double-size Suite, which sleeps four. Also check out:
Under Canvas Zion
Under Canvas Yellowstone
Under Canvas Mount Rushmore
Under Canvas Moab
Under Canvas Grand Canyon
Under Canvas Great Smoky Mountains
Under Canvas Glacier
Under Canvas Lake Powell – Grand Staircase
Collective Governors Island
New York, USAOne of the most well-hidden hotels in New York City, Governors Island isn’t quite typical of New York neighborhoods — set between Brooklyn and the Statue of Liberty, a short water-taxi ride from lower Manhattan, it’s a park that enjoys unparalleled views and an inimitable atmosphere. Collective’s tents and shelters offer a unique urban camp experience, accompanied by cooking classes, meditation and yoga sessions, live entertainment and cocktails on the Sunset Terrace. Check out more Collective camps:
Collective Hill Country
Collective Vail
The Resort at Paws Up
Greenough, MontanaThe Resort at Paws Up is for the traveler who wants their wilderness escape to include all the comforts of civilization. You’ll be out in the elements, but in the most luxurious manner imaginable. The tents here feature just about every comfort you could want, from hardwood floors, en suite bath, air conditioning, and heat, to internet, cell service and a camping butler. If you’re looking to combine mountain-West ruggedness with white-glove service, this is the place.
Shamwari Sindile
Paterson, South AfricaThe second of the Shamwari Private Game Reserve’s tented lodges is Shamwari Sindile, whose nine freestanding tents are slightly elevated above the veld along the side of the Bushman’s River, each one minimizing its environmental footprint while also paying tribute to the habitat of the solitary leopard. Tents or not, these are luxe accommodations, with indoor fireplaces, plunge pools and outdoor showers. From here you’ve got a front-row view of the Eastern Cape wildlife.
Wild Coast Tented Lodge
Yala, Sri LankaSometimes a hotel’s appeal is as simple as the sum of its parts. The Sri Lankan coast is an extraordinary place for a holiday, and the luxury-tent safari camps of southern Africa offer an unforgettable immersion in nature. Put the two together and you’ve got Wild Coast Tented Lodge, on the southeast coast of Sri Lanka, sandwiched between a gorgeous beach and the utterly wild Yala National Park, home to elephants, leopards, monkeys and much more.
Dunton River Camp
Dolores, ColoradoFour miles downriver from the much-lauded Dunton Hot Springs resort, this summer-only retreat is made up of eight freestanding tents — four at river’s edge, perfect for fishing, and four more up the hill, surrounded by aspen trees. Each comes with private porch, king bed, and en-suite bathroom with soaking tub and shower, and they’re heated by gas stoves. Guests also have access to all manner of mountain sports in Dunton’s 1,600 acres of awe-inspiring wilderness.
Aman-i-Khás
Ranthambhore, IndiaStaying at Aman-i-Khás means staying in Rajasthan’s Ranthambore National Park, surrounded by acres of wilderness and wildlife, including one of India’s top tiger reserves. The hotel is little more than an encampment of tents, each one heated and air conditioned, but minimally decorated in a combination Mughal/British colonial style, with simple, spare furnishings. As much as it can be, this is a modest form of luxury — the local wildlife is the main attraction.
Open Sky Zion
Utah, USAOpen Sky Zion might be the most luxurious glamping option near Zion National Park, with safari-style canvas tents crafted in South Africa, an upscale restaurant and 80 acres of wilderness to explore. Accessible via a long dirt road, the resort is dwarfed by a spectacular landscape of red rocky cliffs, canyons, and plateaus.
