I officially lost my glamping virginity! I would definitely go glamping again, I'm sad that I only spent 3 days, I could have stayed longer.
If you're not familiar with the term glamping, it's "glam(orous) camping so you're not in a typical tent, sleeping bag environment. The glamping I did was in a dome in Northern Ontario in a small town called Lake of Bays. We stayed for 3 days and two nights and the cost of just the dome was $947. This price is typical for glamping, as even Glen Oro Farms the popular glamping location is around the same price.
The dome we stayed in was super cute and much bigger inside than it looked from the outside. I booked it through Airbnb. The dome was on the property of the hosts, but we still felt like we had our privacy. The bathroom was an outhouse but it was very modern. It had a toilet, bathtub and a sink and it had hot water. We couldn't get the door to lock, so I'm thankful I had my portable door lock with me.
Due to Covid, we were advised we had to bring our own towels, pillows, sheets and firewood. The firewood was definitely needed to get heat in the dome since there was only a firewood stove. We didn't bring firewood and the first night was very cold. Luckily, there was a store 5 minutes away that sold firewood by the bag for $12.99.
The first night there we didn't leave the dome. We set up our bed with sheets and our pillows. We sanitized everything, sprayed raid in all the corners and got comfortable. There was a mini fridge that also had a freezer. They provided water and there were some lights in the dome. It had a couch and table which was perfect. The dome also had an electrical heater that brought zero heat.
The thing I loved about this place is that I didn't even feel like I was camping, or "glamping" it just felt like a regular getaway. There was no tv and wifi either so you can't really stream anything. The bed was positioned right by the opening of the dome so you can view the sunset from the comfort of the bed. I brought my blackout eyemask so the daylight wouldn't disturb my sleep. The downside is that the dome and the outhouse echoed, so the hosts could hear our conversations.
There aren't many restaurants in the area so we opted to have the hosts make dinner for us both nights. It was $35 per person, per night, so it was $140 total. The first night we had Trio Mushroom Lasagna with roasted potatoes and spinach dip. It was amazing, we could have went for seconds and thirds. We had dinner in a tent that was candle lit. We didn't do much the first night except try to find heat and eat a bunch of snacks and drink tequila.
The next day we decided to go hiking. I made breakfast with a mini pancake maker that I made pancakes and eggs in. We went hiking 30 minutes away at Arrowhead Provincial Park. We did an 8km hike that took about 2 hours. Tip: Put an Apple Airtag in your car to help you find your way back in case you get lost. After our hike we got back to the dome, had a bath and then ate dinner. The second night we had gnocchi, roasted potatoes and spinach dip. This meal wasn't as tasty as the lasagna but it was still good. We were supposed to put on a fire at the firepit and do water activities but most of our day was spent hiking since we started our day late. We went back to the dome to drink and eat some more snacks.
There were quite a bit of things we could do on the hosts' property. There was a hammock for watching the sun rise and set, water activities, a bench to watch the sun rise and set, and a fire pit.
We didn't do much on this short glamping trip but it was so worth the relaxation and chill time we got to have. The views on the lake were so beautiful you can just sit and watch the lake for hours. If you're looking for a place to reset and get away from the city, this place is definitely worth it.
You can watch the glamping vlog here.