Ah, the great outdoors! A sharp rock digs into your back. Mosquitoes drone in your ears. A midnight bathroom run begins with a bleary game of find-the-eyeglasses. At dawn you find yourself in a damp, clammy sleeping bag with stiff limbs.

Second thought, hold it right there! Rewind and erase.

This is how the same film unspools inside the canvas tents at Rockwater Secret Cove Resort in Halfmoon Bay on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast: Recline in your Euro soaker tub. Hit the waterproof remote to switch on the air-massage jets. The candlelight flickers. A storm outside howls and a big gust sends notes of spicy arbutus wafting through. Step onto the heated slate tiles and into a plush robe. The fireplace crackles as you slip under a goose-down comforter on the king-size bed. Twelve hours later, you awaken to the sound of waves, songbirds and that comforting rustle of canvas. The morning sun glints off the ocean. Time for a cup of steaming Mighty Leaf rooibos on the balcony.

This isn’t technically camping, of course. It’s “glamping”—a new millennium armchair-outdoorsy trend focusing on well-heeled comfort, celebrity style and gourmet noshing in pristine wilderness settings. And all around the globe it’s catching like Norwalk virus on a cruise ship. Originally inspired by sumptuous, open-air glitterati concert affairs, glamorous safari-style “camping” replaces tarps with Persian rugs and messkits with linen and china.

Everything at Rockwater is meticulously choreographed, yet raw nature is all right here. You’ll find velvety moss-covered boulders, carpets of grayish-white Reindeer Lichen, twisted glistening-red arbutus trunks, a boardwalk some 4 m up that meanders at length through old-growth forest to a cluster of secluded, deluxe Tenthouse Suites. You may never go back to the Thermorest again.

In April ’07, Rockwater added another six tents (for 13 total) that practically skim the cliffs with views to Thormanby islands and beyond. And the resort has opened its “spa without walls” at the cove’s edge for the season.

Tranquility reigns—tent guests are asked to leave kids and dogs at home—and the renovated old-style (family-friendly) motor lodge, formerly Lord Jim’s Resort, provides just the right mix of funky nostalgia and upscale posh. That’s smoked Pacific black cod, braised baby bok choy, grilled shitakes and apple dashi, a chilled Soaring Eagle Okanagan Pinot Blanc and lulling vistas of emerald lawns, secluded coves and tethered row boats undulating in the tide. Somewhere in the background, Louis Armstrong croons “What a wonderful world…” Ain’t that the truth.

www.rockwatersecretcoveresort.com

To do at Rockwater
Aside from lounging in your dream tent and fiddling with the various remote controls (the tub comes with two pages of waterproof detailed instruction), there’s great mountain biking in the area, horseback riding, golf, scuba, the onsite spa, chartered salmon fishing and kayaking right from the cove. Rockwater is a 15-minute drive north of Sechelt, BC. Arrive via coastal highway, deep-water marina or floatplane.