SANFORD – Camping brings thoughts of sunny, relaxing days, starry nights, and campfires. For those who pitch a tent or haul an RV, it means bringing everything with you, from pots and pans to towels and sleeping bags or bed linens, personal items and much more. 

For those who desire a get away that provides a camping experience without all the baggage, there’s “glamping” – short for glamorous camping. Whether in cabins or in “tents” that are built of wood and canvas, glamping offers those who want to get away from it all a way do so, in comfortable accommodations with real beds – where you just have to bring yourself, clothes and food – though some glamping venues sport restaurants. 

Glamping is a camping option that is gaining in popularity all across the country and here in Maine as well. Maine Campground Owners Association Executive Director Kathy Dyer said there are some  glamping locations in Maine, though she didn’t have specific numbers. 

“Glamping is already up and available at many campgrounds,” she said. 

In York County, there are a couple of resorts that offer glamping. Sandy Pines Camping, which opened in the summer of 2017, offers an array of glamping options from Conestoga wagons to cabins to tents, along with traditional RV and tent sites. 

The newest glamping location, Huttopia Southern Maine, opened in early August in south Sanford on the site of the former Sand Pond Family Campground. 

Huttopia Southern Maine is solely a glamping location, according to General Manager Vanessa Orie. People can choose a cabin or an upscale tent on a wooden platform frame – with a full bath, or not. 

The Sanford venue is the second Huttopia glamping resort in the United States; the other is in Albany, New Hampshire. As well, there is one – the first Huttopia in North America – in Sutton, Quebec, Canada. Others are located in France, according to company spokeswoman Callie Gisler, where the company was founded 20 years ago by Philippe and Céline Bossanne in Lyon. Today, counting the North American locations, there are 55 properties in all, she said. 

Orie, who operated two other Huttopia glamping reports in France before arriving in Sanford three months ago, said the company’s mission is to provide comfortable accommodations where families can relax. 

“Our main goal is for families to disconnect from daily life and reconnect with each other,” said Orie in an interview at the resort last week. 

One way that happens is disconnecting from the internet – Huttopia Southern Maine does have Wifi, but only in the main lobby. 

“We want people to share time together talk, play,” she said. 

At Huttopia Southern Maine, those arriving park their cars in a central location near the lobby, reception and restaurant area and then ferry their belongings to their accommodations by cart. That means there are no vehicles parked beside the cabins and tents, and no traffic on the roadways that wind through the property down to Sand Pond. 

The accommodations currently include six cabins and 52 “tents.” The cabins and tents are furnished with beds, the cabins with tiny kitchens containing everything from a coffee pot to a refrigerator to a dish towel. The furnished cabins feature two decks. Outside, there’s a picnic table, a fire pit, and a full barbecue. Those accommodated in tents have a deck, a two burner cooker, a fire pit, and inside there’s a small kitchen area, dining table and the sleeping rooms. 

Some cabins and tents have full baths; and the accommodations come complete with bed linens and towels. 

The venue has a heated swimming pool, board games, outside games, and evening entertainment like storytellers, concerts, movies, and more. There’s also a morning kid’s club for the young ones, Orie said. 

Huttopia brochures indicate prices per night start at $85 to $150, depending on the number in the party and the accommodation style, and go up from there. 

The restaurant  – which is open to the public – offers pastries, pizza, crepes and more – and on a recent visit, the scent of baking cookies permeated the air. 

Typically, those staying at the resort explore the nearby beaches in Wells and Kennebunk during the afternoon and come back in time to relax in the evenings, Orie said. 

According to a July 10 New York Times story, a new report conducted by the market research firm Arizton projects glamping revenues will grow steadily in the next five years, reaching an estimated $1 billion by 2024. 

The report also notes that the newly founded American Glamping Association signals the industry’s migration to the mainstream, the New York Times reported. Huttopia Southern Maine is a member,  and also holds a membership with the Maine Campground Owners Association. 

Sanford Economic Growth Council Executive Director Jim Nimon began working with Huttopia’s North American CEO Nash Abdrabo in 2017. 

“We were pleased to be part of the conversation welcoming Huttopia to our community,” said Nimon. 

He pointed out that the company’s customers are seeking outdoor experiences to remember. 

“In order for Southern Maine Huttopia’s business model to be successful it must operate in quiet locations that offer solitude and very cool and unique lodging to travelers looking to escape to the woods of Maine alongside a pristine pond (in Sanford’s case),” said Nimon. “I’m confident they will run an operation we can be proud of, and honor their commitments to our community and their customers.” 

Huttopia Southern Maine will remain open through Oct. 20, Orie said. The company plans to expand for next year, she said, and hopes to begin construction on 40 to 50 more cabin and tent sites on the property this fall. Next season, Huttopia Southern Maine plans to open in May. 

Journal Tribune Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 780-9016 or twells@journaltribune.com.