{"id":1534,"date":"2013-03-11T09:25:30","date_gmt":"2013-03-11T09:25:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theduanewells.com\/?p=1534"},"modified":"2018-07-29T02:25:07","modified_gmt":"2018-07-29T02:25:07","slug":"lets-glamp-urban-camping-comes-to-dtla","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/lets-glamp-urban-camping-comes-to-dtla\/","title":{"rendered":"Let’s Glamp! Urban Camping Comes to DTLA"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Urban-Camping-Me\"<\/a> I\u2019ve never been a big fan of camping. In fact, I\u2019ve never quite gotten the whole idea of \u201croughing it,\u201d\u00a0 because it has always seemed a contrary notion to me. Sacrificing modern conveniences that have been designed to make life easier in order to return to some vaguely romanticized idea of a simpler life has never quite jived with my own reality. But glamping, on the other hand, is an entirely different story.<\/p>\n

Unlike camping, glamping brings the outdoorsindoors<\/em>, which makes infinitely more sense, because rather than taking something away, it actually brings more to the party. So a few weeks ago, when I was invited to do a bit of glamping in Downtown Los Angeles at the Los Angeles Athletic Club (LAAC), I was mildly frightened but absolutely amenable to the idea.<\/p>\n

At LAAC, the glamping experience is called \u201cUrban Camping,\u201d and it is pretty fabulously over-the-top, particularly given that it is set smack-dab in the middle of the hustle, bustle and grit of Downtown Los Angeles. My glamping experience began the minute I first set foot in my suite, where the smell of warming chocolate permeated the air. Immediately, I eyed a number of fresh floral arrangements, a bottle of chilled champagne and all sorts of goodies that inspired a desire in me to camp that had never existed before.\u00a0This kind of camping could work for me, I thought to myself.<\/p>\n

\"Urban-Camping-2\"<\/a>As promised, the specialty package gives \u201ccity folks the chance to answer a different type of call of the wild\u201d by offering a taste of camping with all the amenities of a sophisticated, contemporary hotel. Set in a perfectly lovely two-room suite, the package includes a luxury campsite with a designer tented bed complete with ornate, remote-controlled light fixtures that resemble flickering candles. There\u2019s kitschy camp d\u00e9cor at every turn, including a rocking horse, old leather saddles, animal throws, custom cowpoke art and a teepee draped with lace and plush pillows that is so luxe, I dare anyone not to be enticed into it.<\/p>\n

Urban Campers at the LAAC are also spoiled with an assortment of goodies, from gourmet s\u2019mores via an electric fondue set (hence that intoxicating scent of warm chocolate at the door), chocolate-covered strawberries and a luxury survival kit (including trail mix and beef jerky) to city bird guide books, L.A. hiking maps and a selection of iconic camping DVDs ranging from\u00a0Friday the 13th<\/em>\u00a0to\u00a0Brokeback Mountain<\/em>. There\u2019s even a popcorn popper in the room so guests can make fresh popcorn to enjoy with movie night. Overnight parking, complimentary WiFi, a buffet breakfast and full use of the LAAC\u2019s 80,000 square foot athletic facility is also included in the package. Now, I ask you, what\u2019s wrong with that picture? If loving glamping is wrong, then I don\u2019t want to be right!<\/p>\n

When you can check into a hotel, hop on WiFi without a hitch, check your email while sipping champagne and nibbling strawberries, walk two blocks to a fab dinner (I recommend Bottega Louie, a Downtown classic) and then come back to your \u201ccampsite,\u201d make a s\u2019more, have more champagne and watchBrokeback Mountain<\/em>\u00a0before settling into your glamorously tented bed to view the latest episode of the\u00a0Real Housewives of Beverly Hills<\/em>, I\u2019d say you might have had a pretty stellar afternoon and evening. In fact, I might even say, you\u2019d experienced the art of Living Wells.<\/p>\n

\"Urban-Camping-Chocolate\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Urban Camping Package is being offered from March 1 to Aug. 31 for $429 per night. (Use rate code \u201cCAMP\u201d when booking in order to receive the special discount rate).<\/p>\n

To book a room reservation at the historic hotel at the LAAC now, please call (800) 421-8777 or visitlaac.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Until next time\u2026be well\u2026live Wells!<\/p>\n

Follow Duane on Twitter @theduanewells.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve never been a big fan of camping. In fact, I\u2019ve never quite gotten the whole idea of \u201croughing it,\u201d\u00a0 because it has always seemed a contrary notion to me. Sacrificing modern conveniences that have been designed to make life easier in order to return to some vaguely romanticized idea of a simpler life has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88889,"featured_media":1539,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1555],"tags":[1178,1180,1208,1134],"class_list":["post-1534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel","tag-los-angeles","tag-luxury","tag-hotels","tag-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88889"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1534"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1534\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1547,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1534\/revisions\/1547"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}