Glamping what the heck is that

[DavidC]

KOA to open new park: RVs not welcome
February 15, 2020
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Glamping in Bar Harbor. Leave your RV at home.

By Chuck Woodbury
EDITORIAL
Jumping on the new, hot trend of “glamping,” a new KOA park in Maine will open in June without a single RV site for rent. The entire park will be composed of luxury canvas tents on wood platforms, each with hot and cold water, bathrooms and other luxurious amenities. They’re gorgeous!

Before its new life as a “glampground” it had up to 130 spaces for RVs, tents and some cabins. It was first opened in 1970.

https://www.rvtravel.com/linkout/120519


Now, the same land is dubbed Terramor Outdoor Resort. It offers a “luxury experience in the woods,” which those of us with RVs would likely say we already have. The difference is, I suspect, that most RVers won’t pay $218 to $315 a night, which is what you’ll pay at Terramor for your experience with nature. So leave your RV at home, even though since 1962 KOA has been a welcoming stop for RVers and tenters for a night or a week (or longer).

A little bit of lingo from the website:
“At Terramor, we made a promise to offer travelers the chance to breathe in nature and at the same time have their breath taken away. More than a backdrop to everything we do, our stunning Bar Harbor location provides space to think, to dream, to relax and restore.

“Wake every morning to the sights and sounds of nature beckoning you from just beyond your front deck. Grab a fishing pole, a hiking pole or even a picnic lunch at the lodge. Too energetic? Head to Hammock Grove and take some time. Our guests seek out the Terramor Outdoor Resort experience for all the variety it provides. … This is the outdoors done right.”

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Comfort in the woods for $218 to $315 a night.
No mention of RVs, in case you didn’t notice.

KOA is a for-profit company and it can do whatever it wants to build an ever-successful business. But we are sad to see the company depart from its core focus of accommodating RVers and other campers. With this new “resort”, an important place for you and me to stay on the doorstep of Acadia National Park is gone, and that’s a big deal because there aren’t many places to begin with.

This might not be such a big deal except it comes at a time when RVs are experiencing near-record sales. You can bet that if this “glamping” park succeeds, others will follow, and more RV sites will be sacrificed.

So where will you and I stay? Hey, there’s always Walmart, perhaps the largest chain of “campgrounds” in America, and it doesn’t cost even a single penny!

 

[AHutson]

Looks impressive, but basically a hotel room that you will be able to hear everything in. Pretty steep price too. Be interesting to see how it works out for them.

 

[Jim W]

Will I do know that some KOA are struggling to get campers into their parks and other's are not. Also KOA's did have three levels of campgrounds the last I check, they are Journey, Holidays and Resorts. I have stayed in all three types and the resorts are over price when compared to other campground resorts prices that I have stayed in.

 

[CEppinger]

KOA's are often to close to the highway and enjoy more traffic noise as a result. One big reason they are not my first choice, and I'm usually just traveling through.

 

[mwilson]

Bar Harbor is just not MAINE anymore...

Tourist trap, crowded and noisy...

Real Maine coastline is just North and beyond...

 

[Dan_69GTX]

Hmmmm.... something tells me you would definitely know that!

I guess the real question to prove if it is Maine or not is can you find Moxie in Bar Harbor?

 

[Jim W]

No; you know you are in Maine when you see the sign's about LENNY the MOOSE.

 

[jgillott]

Will I do know that some KOA are struggling to get campers into their parks and other's are not. Also KOA's did have three levels of campgrounds the last I check, they are Journey, Holidays and Resorts. I have stayed in all three types and the resorts are over price when compared to other campground resorts prices that I have stayed in.

Our local KOA was named KOA of the Year for 2020.

https://koa.com/blog/uniontown-koa-holiday-is-named-2020-campground-of-the-year/

I've stayed there on a promotional weekend. Great Allegheny Passage bike trial runs right through it as well as the Yough River. Very nice setup. But, as with typical commercial KOA's it is very tight between spots and somewhat of a tourist zoo on the weekends.

I do use KOA's along the highway when traveling as others have mentioned. Usually very easy in and out for a quick overnight stay.

 

[DavidC]

I use to stay away from KOA because of the price but heck they are all getting out of control now. I am basically renting a little piece of ground not the whole park.

 

[Tuesdak]

The click bait fake news over the "RV not welcome" needs to be put to bed. Wasn't a big RV only resort in the first place with another RV park down the road. The trend is however troubling for those who have seen how constantly full all RV spots are getting everywhere.

The headline should have been "KOA turns overpriced RV spots into an even higher priced resort destination in the absolutely cheapest way possible while skirting expensive traditional problems encountered when building a resort hotel!" Somewhere in the shareholder value notes "Using a inexpensive quick to set up tent instead of costly to build cabins or resort style hotel building saved us a pile of cash and we still can charge a profitable premium price..." Besides it would have taken us years to build a resort hotel with non-stop NIMBY, other permit delays, and like expensive problems. A risky investment in a hotel or new cabins is simply avoided. Also we are noting we feel the scarce land in this area is now simply too valuable to leave as just an RV campground/resort. Soon we will be raising the price of the remaining RV spots in the area...

They’re gorgeous! Yea in a "isn't that cute, but you are not even trying" sort of way... Guess KOA folks haven't been in an luxury RV in awhile because some of them are way nicer than the laughable misuse of the word luxury tent they are betting on. Recliners and my own personalized comfortable bed isn't even a start for some 6-7 figure rigs. The forgotten left behind toothbrush is always in the cabinet to the left in my RV. Thank you, no: I have slept on enough frozen rocks tent camping in the BSA and I aint that young and stupid anymore. However don't let me stand in your way to experience real camping so you can one day understand how nice an RV really is. The bed of a pickup after all has the word BED in it for a reason!!!

Start with all the disadvantages of a hotel, cabin (bedbugs), and tent. Then light it up so every flying bug in the surrounding line of sight lands on it. Make sure to use white for the tent to help with the real outdoor bug experience. Am I the only one who laughs at the "outdoor TV" while watching the "Going RV" infomercials thinking "good luck using it after dark while covered in flying insects"?

 

[KATOOM]

I remember when RV camping was wherever you could find a place to park it and actually enjoy being outdoors...

 

[snadamo]

we’ve used koa for overnight stays on the way tour final destination. Stuff for little ones to do, breaks up the monotony for them. A little pricey but for one night it ain’t bad. We usually travel in a group so it’s fun

not surprised at this model. My generation is dumb enough to shell out money for this and thing they’re getting “the outdoor experience” and throw it on social media for attention. I think they’ll make money off of it but hopefully not at the expense of their loyal user base. Millennials will eat that up though.
Time will tell if it’s a successful model.

 

[Tuesdak]

I remember when RV camping was wherever you could find a place to park it and actually enjoy being outdoors...

In some ways this is still true, but, it's a challenge to find a place even with the modern internet. I am still figuring it out.

How to figure out where to camp an RV outside of "RV Resort Hell" that leaves one wondering "I actually paid good money for this?". Hell: Free range children, long term residents, crowded spaces you can't even put the slides out, minimum stays for the entire weekend, and dog poo everywhere. Nothing wrong with LTR's, but, pretty bad experience with a nearly full place mixed in with mobile homes moving 6 cars just to try and get the 5er in without hitting the wall across from the space. Yet, same trip a good experience in a tumbleweed middle of nowhere Arizona LTR place that had dedicated pull through spaces for overnight RV stays. It helped it was nearly abandoned at the time being the summer and north of 110 degrees. The said San Diego trip wasn't a vacation trip and bluntly is now high on the $#!t list not the bucket list.

Some known better places would be the National Park Service, BLM land, and other camping sites. Even then some are not well known. Try and find an RV site in the 4 corners area. Not just for the 4 corners, but, in that area of the USA. RV length can be a real show stopper. For example Navajo National Monument, free, and a max of 28' RV length. In the larger area a Casino like Ute Mountain Casino tend to have nice RV spots, but, a day's drive away from the Navajo National Monument at lazy RV touring speed.

Other is the challenge. For example Arches National Park in Utah. Modern internet tells you the Park Service campground is full. KOA, the subject of this thread, is down the road in Moab and internet says expensive rates. Not sure they even answered the phone to see if any spots were open as most RV parks we called also did not answer that day. The said road is backed up nearly to the park entrance going into Moab and through town is best described as: "You pointy heads have no more idea of traffic control than a gooney bird!" So I wind up backtracking north of the park and stop in a site known as Seven Mile Parking. That place wasn't easy to find info on let alone in advance. BLM land that one could use in the area is unclear esp. being a one tire fire open diff 2WD at the time. Couple other similar places in the area are closed for good. Seven Mile Parking itself is a oddity between a commercial and free thus not well listed on any "camping in the area you are looking at websites" unless you search it's exact name. We pulled in to figure out why all the RV's were there and if we could join em. Found the $35 in the couch cushions for a improved camping spot across the tracks further from the busy road and boondocked. Fees had recently gone up due to required improvements to the rail road crossing by the BLM and railroad. Would could have used a $5 parking spot close by the road if we had too.

But, yeah, still figuring out the "secret" of BLM usable lands for RV Boondocking.

 

[GrantP]

I remember when RV camping was wherever you could find a place to park it and actually enjoy being outdoors...

And preferably far from anyone else...

 

[KATOOM]

And preferably far from anyone else...

We actually laugh when we stay at these RV parks because "camping" today means hearing your neighbors in their trailer and breathing their camp fire smoke from ten feet away. I live on acreage and in a country setting where you cant hear anything but actual nature and the occasional car coming down the road. I'm not sure why I even take my kids camping...

 

[GAmes]

We use out RV for travel because we like to sleep in out own bed and cook our own food. I've avoided KOAs for years because of price and the attitudes of most KOA park owners. Only when traveling with the grandkids do we use them because they all have pools.

 

[kthaxton]

There's been a "glamping" site in Moab for several years now. They seem to be doing well.

 

[Dan_69GTX]

We actually laugh when we stay at these RV parks because "camping" today means hearing your neighbors in their trailer and breathing their camp fire smoke from ten feet away. I live on acreage and in a country setting where you cant hear anything but actual nature and the occasional car coming down the road. I'm not sure why I even take my kids camping...

Same here, but camping means I CAN'T work on: cars, house, fix fence, garden, etc..... So, I actually relax - sorta..... We prefer state parks and the such where you still hear other people, and sometimes their pathetic generators, but at least you are 50+ feet away from them.

 

[Tuesdak]

@KATOOM for us it's the journey itself and seeing The U.S.A. Photos we have taken with the RV reminded us of this. (Always looking for a that TDR calendar worthy shot.)

The actual overnight spot isn't as important unless it's a quick get away from it all trip. Fire and said campfires are something mankind has enjoyed since before the dawn of recorded history. However in modern times stop on in at a "smoke free" National Park in Arizona and the only smoke will be from wildfires as Campfires, charcoal, and even outdoor cigarette smoking are banned at times due to the "fire danger". The fire ban can be a good part of the camping season. We do enjoy a campfire and grilling over one to the point that this fire ban caught us unexpectedly using the RV's oven to cook vs. the grilling plan.

Yeah, the other map we check while taking the RV about: the current wildfire map and locations of active wildfires. Recently some of AZ's campgrounds were burned in wildfires.

 

[KATOOM]

The actual overnight spot isn't as important unless it's a quick get away from it all trip.

Agreed...except its no longer legal for just park and camp for a day or two at random locations or on the side of roadways. You have to be in a designated overnight "camp" location, a rest stop, or on private property who allows you to be there (ie, some Walmart parking lots).
So what that does, or has done, is removed the fun and excitement of the RV experience whereby your travels are truly "mobile", other than you're driving your temporary home to and from these designated camping locations. Lets be honest, I dont need an RV to see the sights along the way. A car and hotel works just as good...

That said, yes there are some amazing boondock locations that offers some amazing camping adventures away from most everyone else...but they're far and few between and can be difficult to get too or access with everyday RV type vehicles.

Point is, camping has been a part of my life since I was a tot but the overall camping experience is nothing like it was back when the concept of an RV was introduced to society.