By Hamptons standards, it is a good deal. Bookings opened this week for new luxury tent accommodations at Cedar Point County Park in East Hampton, starting at $300 a night, and, from where we sit, there is every reason to think the venture will be successful.
They call it glamping, a mash-up of “glamour” and “camping.” Starting Memorial Day weekend, 30 safari-style tents, as the vendor, Terra Glamping, calls them, will be erected in the park overlooking Northwest Harbor and Shelter Island. Amenities will include not only water views, but separate tents for lounging, a grilling area, use of kayaks and paddleboards, hammocks, continental breakfasts, and evening campfires with s’mores. As swanky as the organizers make it, they have pointed out that theirs is an outdoors experience. As such, “an insect” could creep into a tent — and they disavow any responsibility for the weather.
Scoff as one might, high-end camping appears to be perfectly suited to the affluent Hamptons. Guest rooms at Main Street, East Hampton, inns begin at around $300 a night in high season and top out at nearly $1,000. In summer, hotels are booked solid most weeks. Many short-term rentals, at least in East Hampton Town, often are of questionable legality and generally no less expensive for a comparable view, but with fewer perks. Do-it-yourself campers, of course, can spend the night for far less coin with a base price at Cedar Point of about $14 per site per night for Suffolk residents, and at Hither Hills State Park of about $35 for New York residents.
In a place where wild excess dominates the summer scene, luxury camping under the sun and stars counts as a middle of the road option. Where do we sign up?