To feel like I'm being fleeced - glamping

[SaffronYellow]

£1,000 plus, to stay in a TENT for 1 week in Devon?
Some are £1,200 for 1 week.
Just seen one for £1,500 for 1 week.
This is to stay in a bell tent in a field.
To me, these are insane prices!!
AIBU to think over £1,000 to stay in a tent for a week is absurd?
I can't afford to stay in a holiday cottage.
Air BnB prices are out of my price range.
So I thought camping might be an affordable alternative.
I just want to go away for a week in this country in the school summer hols with my 2 DC, I want to give them a week away. Devon is my favourite place, used to go there as a child.
I'm not well enough to take my own tent and put it all up by myself, I've got ME and fibromyalgia and long Covid, so I really need a tent that's already erected and one that has a few more comforts to it than sleeping on an air mattress on the floor.
I thought a tent in a field would be a financially viable way to go away with my DC, who really deserve a week away, but the prices are eye watering and completely unaffordable.
I'm not asking to go abroad anywhere....just a week in my own country! But I'm priced out of this! I can't believe it, feel so sad for DC.😥

When I've done glamping abroad there's heaters

How old are your kids? Could they put up the tent with your guidance?

Good shout out!

we’ve recently stayed in a youth hostel in Edinburgh. It obviously wasn’t particularly luxurious but we had double room with a private bathroom for about half the price of most even remotely central hotels.

and it would have cost (even) less if we had taken one with a shared bathroom iirc.

clean towels and bedding was included and there was a small restaurant / bar area like most regular hotels.

Heating a tent? How does that work, surely the heat would continuously go out through the walls and you'd be heating the outside?

The Sun (newspaper)Holidays, 3/4 nights for between £80/200

If you look on Air bnb there are plenty of tents in fields for a lot less than that. 'Air bnb prices' vary a lot. There is one near me in Cornwall that is half that for a week, but it won't be luxury like the one you're looking at.

https://www.westkellowyurts.com/tariff.html

How about a house swap? Used to be a thing, don’t know if they still are.

Drawback of the premier inn is no kitchen so you are eating out for every meal.

We house swapped for years when kids younget. It can be amazing but it’s doing my head in this year. You need a nice house in a place others may want to visit.

Well, if they have 'futon style beds' that got to be worth £1,000 of anybodies money. I'd pay a pound just to sit on one of those in a shop.

Try the local tourist board site for holiday let? I did this rather than AIRBNB, saved a rake of cash.

I have been glamping and I can see why it’s expensive. It’s fully cleaned between uses, had proper bedding and towels which would need to be laundered just like in a hotel room. There was heating and electricity and we had our own fire pit. There was quite a lot of private space, you weren’t up close to other pitches. £1000 is probably too much but I can see how it’s quite different to having just a space in the field and a dodgy shower block.

Also businesses will charge as much as they can get people to pay. That’s basically the point! Clearly people are paying that so that’s the going rate.

Imagine trying to live here 🥴

Glamping is extraordinarily expensive everywhere. I'm in Australia and we've always loved camping. We are getting older and didn't want the hassle of putting up a tent or drive with a trailer, so we looked for a glamping holiday this year. I found some great places but so bloody expensive I had to double-check the price to make sure I didn't make a mistake.

Ended up booking a week to Hamilton Island in the Great Barrier Reef. Air fares (2.5 hour flight) plus deluxe apartment accommodation overlooking the Coral Sea, was cheaper than glamping 4 hours drive from home.

Glamping is posh camping! I’ve only been twice glamping and liked it. But I went camping a lot with DM and the family as a child (cost reasons!) until I was 9 and we came into money, then we got a campervan (Fiat) but also went on package holidays.

The campervan was our version of glamping because sleeping in a van with cushioned beds was far superior to sleeping in a tent on a blow up mattress!

Definitely Youth Hostel. If you share a bathroom you can get a private room in the Okehampton one posted upthread for less than £500 for a week
https://www.yha.org.uk/hostels?startDate=05/08/2024&endDate=11/08/2024&females=1&malesChild=1&femalesChild=1&under26=1&guests_text=1%20adult%2C%202%20under%2018s&text_search=Devon&selection_text=Devon&selection_type=google_place&selection_id=ChIJRwLA2qv4a0gR_Vicygy6xhI&malesChildAges=10&femalesChildAges=12&lat=50.7155591&lng=-3.530875&page=0

The week you quote runs into the start of the school term.

It's only cheaper on the starting on 31st August into the first week of September. Lots of schools would have gone back by then and therefore OP would need to go the week before when the price is almost doubled!

Choose an alternative, caravan may be an option of you.

Yeah you'll need a caravan. We always do at least one caravan holiday a year and the kids absolutely love it.

Have you looked at Premier Inns, £450 Torquay for a week in August. Get a good hearty breakfast, buy pack lunch stuff, and then it's just dinner you need to worry about either in the hotrl or eating out.

Unfortunately that's about the right price in school holidays now, we tend to go scotland or northumberland ways in most half terms simply because there holidays run differently and are a lot cheaper. We've managed to get 7 days in may half term next year in scotland for £300. Which is fab for us and an absolute bargain as we love scotland so much. But when we booked our August holiday in Wales that's over £800 for 5 days nearly the same price we paid for 7 in scotland last August

It's crazy seeing as I just booked a all inclusive holiday to Greece for £350 pp flights included

It's a lovely hotel with a big pool and entertainment in the sun

But then I also live in Devon so I know the crazy prices 🤣

Last year I stayed on these one 5 people for 376 a weekend In August. They’ve more in this caravan place.

https://www.airbnb.com/slink/zkNJIDst

this year I was looking at sandy bay in exmouth and found a few as well