Imagine sleeping under the stars, the gentle hum of crickets lulling you to sleep. Sounds nice, right? The W Hotel in Manhattan is attempting to channel the charm of camping with what it calls the "Extreme Wow Outdoor Glamping Suite," which offers guests the chance to doze off under the glow of skyscrapers and to the tune of Midtown's symphony of horns, sirens, and droning traffic—all for a $2,000-per-night sticker price.
Glamping—a portmanteau of glamorous and camping—is a tony way to enjoy the outdoors. Think beds in lieu of sleeping bags; cabins instead of tents; fashionable furniture in lieu of rickety folding chairs; artisanal charcuterie, not hot dogs. The W suite, which opened July 13 and is available for reservations through November, embodies this ethos.
The suite is kitted out with all the luxurious amenities you'd come to expect from a swanky hotel; it's about as far from roughing it as you can get. Laurel & Wolf, an online interior design service, decorated the suite, which has a couple of hanging lounge chairs, a sizable sofa, fire pit, and a 12-foot-wide yurt on the turf-lined rooftop terrace adjacent to the penthouse suite (which guests can retreat to if the cacophony of Midtown moves from endearing to ear-splitting). Naturally, room service is available and the price tag includes a bottle of Veuve (unfortunately, no caviar to go with the champagne, though).
Companies like Airbnb, El Cosmico, and Getaway—not to mention independent designers—have all capitalized on this trend. It was only a matter of time before a hotel chain for city slickers got into the game.
The suite is bookable for $2,000 a night at the W Hotel's Lexington Avenue outpost.