Carry on Glamping

Glamping down under? There are endless options from Karijini Eco Retreat (take a look here) to El Questro's Emma Gorge (pictured here), however the Australian travel media seems largely to have missed the glamping trend. Except Lissa Christopher who in Carry on Glamping for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald writes: “Glamping is about exploring your positive feelings about nature at the same time as your fondness for linen napkins and turn-down services.” Unfortunately Christopher's story is little more than a cut-and-paste of others cited in previous posts. The result of a trip courtesy of Voyages Hotels and Resorts to Longitude 131 (at least we know she's been there), like the writers of other glamping pieces, Christopher also recommends Paws Up, Montana and Clayoquot Wilderness Resort, Canada. (Which makes me wonder which of the resorts issued the press release that started the trend.) Christopher quotes the much-quoted Bondick family: “Gigi Bondick and her family, from Massa- chusetts, are glampers. "We're just not the camping kind of people," she says on a US-based blog.” There's no link to the US-based blog. Perhaps because the interview source is a Los Angeles Times/ Seattle Times story by Kimi Yoshino reporting from Greenough, Montana: “When 6-year-old Ethan Bondick told his mom and dad he wanted to go fly-fishing in Montana, his well-heeled parents were stumped. "We looked at each other and said, 'Oh, god, now what?' " said Gigi Bondick, 37, a "reformed" attorney whose husband works as a private-equity partner in Massa- chusetts. "We're just not the camping kind of people. We don't pitch tents. We don't cook outdoors. We don't share a bathroom. It's just not going to happen. This is a kid who has never flown anything but first class or stayed anywhere other than a Four Seasons." Sound familiar? Yoshino continues: "After typing "luxury" into a Google search along with "camping" and "Montana," the couple settled on The Resort at Paws Up... The Bondicks... shelled out $595 a night plus an additional $110 per person per day for food.” Christopher's story continues: “"We don't pitch tents. We don't cook outdoors. We don't share a bathroom. It's just not going to happen." The Bondicks pay about $1000 a night to holiday at Paws Up in Montana...” Stories 'researched' this way raise interesting questions for travellers. If the writer has misled readers here, where else has she done so? How can we trust her recommendations? And if you're about to shell out $1000 a night you want to be able to trust the writer, to know that she's been there or at least done her own research. I guess, at least we know her math's okay.

Pictured here? Our luxury tent interior at the Four Seasons Golden Triangle where we stayed while researching hotels for DK's Thailand guide last October - not nearly as expensive as the Paws Up by the sounds of it!