Under Canvas Lake Powell - Grand Staircase — Hotel in Big Water

Who would have thought a place so fun and adventurous to stay would be born out of the instagram crazed world we live in? My partner is a humbly competent, fairly seasoned hiker/camper, and I grew up running around in the woods and streams of rural PA, so we were outright suspicious of Under Canvas from the get go, imagining it might be a monstrously fake, insta-fueled theme park. But we were ready for a much-needed vacation - theme: rest and relaxation, so we set out to GLAMP. If you want glamp, UC is THE preeminent group to glamp with! And thankfully our fears of nature and recreation being compressed into a square box with heavy X-pro II filter were oh so unfounded.

The service here is reminiscent of a luxury boutique resort but laidback and warm. Kind greetings, knowledgable activities recommendations, and rides to get your luggage to the tent abound. The amenities are simple but generous, including all of the small touches in the tent (lanterns, batteries, blankets). Our stargazer tent was a dream and we truly did stay up all night chatting and gazing at the stars! The toilet and bath facilities would make anyone comfortable, though there's no blocking noises or smells for the ultra-private among us. The shower had a pull mechanism so it didn't constantly run to conserve water, which I appreciated. The warm water did go out the second day of our stay, but they sent someone promptly to fix it.

The main tent is so nice and large, feeling open but protected from the elements. The food is great with good variety (I had green coconut curry that was delish!), but somewhat expensive. It is Utah, so the alcohol policy is a bit Puritanical (i.e. you must purchase food with alcohol, they have to walk it to you and open it for you), which is no fault of the resort. But pro tip, I recommend crossing briefly over into Arizona nearby where there is a well positioned liquor store just across the border. The views from the patio are phenomenal; we enjoyed watching the clouds mist rain over the far-off plateaus and mesas while sitting around the fire pit at night (free smores!). And I even know the difference between a plateau and a mesa because we attended the chat with a local geologist, arranged by UC. Highly recommend! The included activities set this place apart. There is also a nice slot canyon on site where you can have a 30 min-2 hr hike depending on your preference.

Besides activities on site (we also loved the live music on the patio, too!), we visited the toadstool hoodoos on the way in (super cute and scenic, about a mile easy hike each way) and a day of kayaking at Lake Powell. Some kayak options for Lake Powell are Lower Antelope Canyon (kayak into the slot from the lake until the water ends and just keep walking until it gets narrow, and by narrow, I mean you are not there until you can barely fit through the slot!) and Horseshoe Bend (usually need a boat-tow up the river, then it's an almost all day affair kayaking back with the current). Of course, there's motorsports, too! We considered Monument Valley and/or Bryce Canyon from the UC location, maybe doable but we wanted to enjoy the resort.

Overall, we are impressed with UC and can't wait to try another park, especially one of the newer ones like the Smokies or Acadia!!

I wish I could give a 4.5 star review because 4 seems too low. But I did have to knock off some points for a few things. There was the trouble with the hot water. Also, though this is quite a luxurious tent, it is still a tent (i.e. it is quite loud at night with all the flapping and creaking) and critters (don't forget to check your shoes!). Even though the staff kindly warned us and gave out earplugs, it is a bit unsettling the first night. If you are a super fussy sleeper, this may not be the place for you. Also, unfortunately you can't control the weather, our second night was completely overcast so we didn't get to enjoy the beautiful night skies. One thing you can plan on though is the moon - the stargazer tents are especially grand during the new moon when the...

The best thing I can say about this place is that it brought back long-repressed memories of the most excruciating and pained nights I've endured in nearly 50 years on this planet. Since we didn't make it through the night, it'd be unfair of me to slot it into that list, but I suspect it would've beat out the rodent-infested youth hostel in central China.

Look, I understand this isn't supposed to be a luxury hotel. I've had my share of traditional camping experiences, and figured it couldn't be worse than sleeping on a thin air mattress on the cold rocky ground. I was wrong. Why? Well, a few highlights (far from exhaustive):

The wind was relentless and fierce, which wouldn't be so bad if the tent didn't creak, bang, and pop like being next to the boiler room in the hold of a hundred-year old ship. Given that they provide complementary earplugs, they clearly know this is a problem. But even the those plugs were no match for the incessant skin-crawling noise (horror movies would do well to mic this place for their sound effects).

The floor of the tent was springy and flimsy, which left the entire structure shaking and shuddering under each step. (Lest you think we're just heavy-set, the heaviest person in our party tips the scale at roughly 180 pounds.) This might not be a problem during the day, but at night it made sleeping impossible, with sleep-deprived tent-mates trying to tiptoe around yet further compounding the misery already being brought by the wind.

The shoddy pillows and bedding left me yearning for that bony air mattress of yore. The pillowcases were like sandpaper and filled with what appeared to be packing foam. I'd taken the pull-out sofa to give my wife's parents the main bed and thus a better chance at actually sleeping, and the bars and internal guts from the sofa were digging into my spine like a torture device. In a fit of desperation, I also tried the main bed, and after flopping around like a fish on what felt like sound deadening insulation, I dejectedly scurried back to the sofa.

Speaking of the pull-out sofa: the room's misting system (crucial since temperatures were still hovering in the mid-90's at bedtime) was clearly designed without any thought for the pull-out sofa, with water dripping down and pooling at the mid-point of the sofa. Forced to choose between the oppressive heat and a constant "just wet the bed" sensation, I opted for the heat - tossing and turning for an hour until my wife finally waved the white flag and booked a nearby hotel.

Again, I understand this isn't intended to be a luxury hotel. But it is supposed to be an elevated camping experience, and it's a fraud. It seems the effort was put into things that will garner interest on social media, rather than things that actually improve the quality of the experience. For example, It doesn't matter a whit to me if the bathroom sink made out of fancy stone - a simple porcelain (or even plastic) sink will do just fine. But soft sheets, a comfortable mattress, and an assortment of pillows with different firmness levels? Those actually matter.

And don't get me started on the contradictions of the place. For example, the shower requires that you hold down a pull lever for the water to continue to be dispensed. This is incredibly awkward - it's hard enough to shower properly with two hands, but the dance moves required to keep the lever pulled with one hand while lathering and scrubbing with the other are next-level. But let's suppose that this is all justified to conserve water. Then why does the sink faucet have no auto-shutoff?

The only rational explanation I can arrive at for all of this is that the people who built this place simply don't care. Which is further evidenced by the fact that while they apologized for our inability to survive a single night, they pointed to a "weather" clause to justify not giving us a refund for this unspeakably miserable experience. Downright predatory.

Do yourself and your loved ones a favor - avoid this place...

I have been wanting to stay at Under Canvas for almost 2 years now and while the concept is amazing and the setting and location beautiful, I found it to be missing the mark in many things especially in the tents itself and came away with mixed feelings. It feels like it’s a poor value for the cost and it’s not as luxe and glam as pictures would have you think. ||First, the pros were the actual setting and the stars were out of the world and have to be seen to be believed. We ate breakfast and dinner the entire stay and food ranged from good to outstanding especially the salmon and the roasted carrots with a heavenly ricotta sauce. Service throughout was prompt and responsive. ||Unfortunately we found many issues with the tent itself and this definitely affected the overall experience. First, the chimney/chute was clogged resulting in the smoke alarm going off the first time we lit the stove. Not a good impression. We talked to another family who also had the same issue and said they were very cold during the night. My first shower the pull chain mechanism broke mid shower and my boyfriend had to try to fix the mechanism while I was wet and shivering. Hot water was sporadic. It lasted 15-20 seconds before it got cold. Showering was not pleasant at all and it’s definitely not a normal hot shower like they make you think. The body wash was very hard to dispense and provided zero lather. Toilet paper and tissue felt like the cheapest one ply sandpaper they have in cheap motels and didn’t help my sinus issues in the dry air. Lamps went out within an hour so they were put into the tent not fully charged. The luggage rack collapsed with on my carry on on top of it. Bed was incredibly loud and creaky if you even sat down or shifted position in your sleep resulting in poor sleep. I feel like robes and slippers should be provided in the tent and also it should have actual outlets. I’m a woman with long hair and need to style it with electric tools and this was the sole reason I only booked for two nights and not four. ||Overall I feel like this is a very average accommodation with a luxury price and not as glam as I was expecting. I’m aware of their ULUM property which would probably be more up my alley but still feel for some of the things I was expecting it should still be provided given Under Canvas is still charging a premium price for a not that premium experience considering basic features of the tent were not in proper working order. Unfortunately I was not able to communicate any of these concerns to anyone since we were not even asked how our stay was upon checkout. I was very eager to stay at some more locations in the future but now I’m...