Glamping in New York Harbor offers summer respite from outside world

Jul 14 , 2018

Glowing Journey Tents at night in the foreground with the Statue of Liberty and Staten Island Ferry behind. Photo: David Gray/Bloomberg

Collective Governors Island – an eco-friendly establishment – offers luxurious tents for rent (some costing US$500 for one night) to give New Yorkers a laid-back retreat

This article was originally written by Nic McCormack for Bloomberg.

Governors Island is a mere eight-minute ferry from the southern tip of Manhattan (five minutes if you are travelling from Brooklyn’s Pier 6) and already a favourite summer respite for harried New Yorkers. Before you have had time to stow your bike and collect your thoughts, you have been transported to a 172-acre, car-free green space with playing fields and historic buildings, art installations and a grove of hammocks, plus an altogether slower pace.

Now you can sleep there, too.

After opening on June 29, with a grand opening event on July 11, Collective Governors Island is a “glamping” camp from Collective Retreats that offers guests the kind of limited experience that is trending in travel right now.

‘Never Comes Tomorrow’ by Jacob Hashimoto, constructed from hundreds of wooden cubes and two steel funnels in the soaring Liggett Hall archway. Photo: David Gray/Bloomberg

“Collective Retreats was born out of the belief that the travel experience doesn’t need to be confined to physical buildings that inevitably start to depreciate and become outdated very quickly after opening,” says Peter Mack, Collective Retreats’ CEO and co-founder. Its mission, he explains, is to connect guests with the land, people and themselves. “We don’t pave roads, pour foundation, or build any permanent structures to protect and respect the land we operate on.”

The company already offers seasonal luxury accommodation under canvas in other destinations where it would be difficult to build a hotel without affecting the beauty of the place, from 1,000 acres of ranch land in Vail, Colorado, and Big Sky, Montana, near Yellowstone National Park, to an organic farm in New York’s Hudson Valley and a 225-acre ranch in Texas Hill Country.

Collective Retreats aims to connect guests with the land, people and themselves. Photo: David Gray/Bloomberg

“With this retreat, we are excited to offer an oasis for New Yorkers and visitors to escape the concrete and grind of the city, reconnect with nature, and recharge,” Mack says.