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Tags: Valentine's Day Hotels / Morocco Hotels / Luxury Camping / → All Tags

Pitch a Tent on Valentine's Day in Morocco

Where: Dar Tounsi Km5, Route de Fez, Palmeraie, Marrakesh, Morocco

Marrakesh's exclusive Le Palais Rhoul is offering a romantic getaway package that eclipses (supposedly) exclusive dinner reservations at hotspots like Nobu or Tao. Boutique Souk, a specialized travel service in Morocco, has designed a Moroccan love package at the hotel in their six luxury tents set up in their backyard at Palace Gardens (there are proper rooms here too.)

For just £1260 or roughly $1,866.90, they're offering three nights of pampered tent love for couples vying for some authentic lux. Included in the package is a hamman spa experience where you lay on hot tiles and your massage therapist exfoliates you with Moroccan black soap and someone else rubs you down with Argan oils.

Take advantage of that 24-hour "tent service"(get it, like, room service) with yummy plates of tajines and organic salads to devour with just a bong of your tent-side gong. Tents at Le Palais Rhoul have all the amenities you would never get camping, but will probably ignore come Valentine's night. (Cuz you'll be screaming "inshallah, baby" in the name of love!)

Tents have fireplaces, plasma TV's, DVD collections and lucky lovers get private massage tables. The bathroom alone is super spiffy with a fireplace and a wooden elephant head hook to slip off your robes for some romance. Think of those caidal tents that nobleman and their court rocked in the photos of your old history books. The coolest item in the tent suites still, however, has to be the gong.

Do use it sparingly. Remember, it's only fun and funny to the person banging the gong.

Tags: Luxury Camping / Wilderness Resorts / Montana Hotels / Hotel Closings / → All Tags

Paws Up Resort in Montana Closes for the Winter

Where: 40060 Paws Up Road [map], Greenough, MT, United States, 59823

We just read on Luxist today that the luxury wilderness resort in Montana, Paws Up, will be closing for the winter and slashing 70 jobs.

Paws Up, which has been a four-season resort, plans to close for the next several months during the winter season, opening up only for the Christmas and New Year holiday period but then closing down until the snow melts around mid-April. The resort says they had a record summer but can't afford to stay open in the winter months.

This is some sad news but the resort is taking reservations for the holidays from December 21st to Jan. 2nd.

Paws Up may sound like a place to stash your dog for the weekend but it is quite the opposite. Accommodations consist of small lodges, making it the perfect place for a family getaway. Unfortunately, the winter rates were much more doable than the spring/summer which top out at around $3,460.

Of course, you can still have the hotel pitch you a luxury tent by the river for $595 a night (three meals included.)

Tags: Australia Hotels / Luxury Camping / → All Tags

Five-Star Camping: Paperbark Camp, Australia

Where: 571 Woollamia Rd, Woollamia , Australia, 2540

Say the word "camping" and many of us will run a mile. Alter this to "five-star camping" and it starts to get intriguing. On the south coast of New South Wales, Australia, the Paperbark Camp is anything but a humble campsite: it's a bushland collection of twelve luxury safari tents with verandahs and private ensuites (including outside bath tubs to get you close to nature--if you want).

The tents are all anchored above the ground so the threat of unwanted animal or insect visitors is low. After a peaceful night's sleep "in nature", you can go hiking or head to the beach, or just hang out in the tent. There is a restaurant on site, too.

Quite sensibly, Paperbark Camp closes over winter and this week it has reopened for the new camping season. That means it has some September specials going from A$270-$330 (US$230-280) a night, including breakfast--but you can see on their website that they're pretty heavily booked already, so everyone must be relying on winter definitely being over.

Tags: VIP Hotel Reviewer Series / Johnny Jet / Luxury Tents / Luxury Camping / → All Tags

Johnny Jet Goes Luxury Camping Down Under

Where: Yulara Drive Ayers Rock Resort, Yulara, Australia

We now present you with our VIP Hotel Reviewer Series in which we hand-pick experts in the travel and media worlds and beyond to tell us what are their favorite hotels and why. Once a week, we'll feature a hotel review from said VIPs about their favorite leisure or business hotels. Pay attention: These VIPs are experts at what they do and they don't mess around when it comes to their hotels.

The next VIP in the series is Johnny Jet, aka John DiScala, the man behind the extremely popular travel website and newsletter JohnnyJet.com. If there's ever a question you have about airlines, airfares, hotels, resorts and travel in general, Johnny Jet is the man to ask. And that's probably because he's been there. Twice. Enjoy.

It's an honor to be writing for HotelChatter.com and when they asked me to pick my favorite hotel - I had to think about it. It's been over 10 days and I'm still thinking about it. Seriously, reflecting back, I realize I might be one of the most spoiled or luckiest S.O.B.'s on earth as I have been fortunate to stay at some incredible places over the years.

However, to pick one that’s totally unique and definitely in my top 10 has to be Longitude 131. It’s far far away in Australia’s Red Center in the town of Uluru/Ayers Rock. The 15 luxury "tents" resort is built on a sand dune. It’s for adults-only (over 12) so forget about bringing the kids. It has won many awards, including The Robb Report’s Top Ten Haute Hotels in the World, and is eco-friendly.

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Tags: Luxury Tents / Luxury Camping / Luxury Safari / Namibia Hotels / → All Tags

'Chalets on Stilts': Wolwedans' Luxury Tents

Where: P.O. Box 5048 , Windhoek, Namibia

If you're headed for Namibia's NamibRand Desert, make sure you have a reservation at the luxury camps of Wolwedans.

There's a reason celebrities like Charlize Theron and the couple known as "Brangelina" have come here (with Maddox and Zahara in tow). Surrounded by striking red sand dunes and mountain ranges, the vast complex features all manner of accomodations, from private chalets to a lodge big enough for a party of 12 -- it's desert camping in high style.

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