'Glamping' planned for Suffolk County park in East Hampton

Suffolk County officials plan to launch the luxury camping craze “glamping” as soon as next month at Cedar Point County Park in East Hampton, county officials said Wednesday.

Brooklyn-based Terra Glamping won a county bid to construct and rent up to 40 canvas tents on wooden platforms overlooking Gardiners Bay.

The rentals, starting at $250 a night, offer tents with king- or queen-sized memory foam beds, Turkish towels and robes, cellphone chargers, dressers, access to their own yoga facility, and a “luxury” bathroom and shower trailer, according to the successful bid.

There are also nightly campfires with s’mores.

“It’s exciting we have creative ways to bring new park users to Suffolk County parks,” said Legis. Kara Hahn (D-Setauket), who chairs the park committee.

A contract with Terra Glamping has not been signed yet, but 26 sites are expected to be available beginning in August, Parks Commissioner Philip Berdolt said.

David Levine, co-founder of Terra Glamping, said in a brief phone interview, “We’re excited to bring glamping to East Hampton and Suffolk County.”

Use of Cedar Point has been declining since the camp store on the site closed a few years ago, Berdolt said.

The glamping will take up a grassy field area overlooking the bay and won’t affect the park’s more traditional tent and trailer campsites.

The county will receive 10 percent of the revenue, plus a fixed fee of $21,000 in 2018, rising to $50,000 by 2022, according to the bid.

Berdolt said the county took in about $137,000 in fees at the park last year.

The bid said Terra Glamping plans to sell “branded items and upscale food and beverage.” In 2019 and beyond, it would operate April through Veterans Day, weather permitting. The sites will be staffed around the clock with an employee.

Reservations would be made through the company’s website or on sites like Airbnb.com.

CORRECTION

Due to incorrect information provided by the county, an earlier version of this story had an incorrect number for last year's revenue at Cedar Point County Park. The campground collected $136,666 in 2017.