My affinity for hotels is no secret. I’ve babbled endlessly about my affection for them, particularly in my post about the Alt Hotel in St. John’s, but for our first wedding anniversary last September I wanted a different experience. After a particularly busy summer moving home to Newfoundland, setting up a garden, patio drinks, family BBQs and weddings, I yearned for some good old fashioned peace and quiet. While perusing ‘historic saltbox homes near the ocean’ on AirBnb I stumbled upon a series of small cabins cloaked in canvas. “There’s Glamping in Newfoundland?” I thought to myself, quickly scanning the photos of pillow top mattresses, bright quilts and ocean views. One phone call to Adam later and I had booked Ome Sweet Ome for our anniversary escape.

Shaun Majumder (yes, of This Hour has 22 Minutes) also happens to be the innkeeper of the nine glamourous tents dotting Burlington’s coastline. His hometown on the northern coast of Newfoundland, 45 minutes off the TCH, is also home to glamping, several pod cabins and The Gathering, a must-attend event full of food and song. Adam and I opted to stay a week after the traditional music died away, blissfully cut off from the Instagram and busy Labour Day activities. This place is seriously cut off — the local teenagers have to make the trek to the cell tower by the town hall to send a text.

Glamping in Newfoundland

The tents are named after local wildlife and ours, the Fox, was a little off on its own…just the way we wanted it. Some tents are grouped together in the woods, others grip the rocky coastline with unobstructed views of Northwest Arm, and while this may make for a great Instagram photo, I was happy on the windier nights to be tucked away from the breezes. We could still hear the ocean on the calmer evenings.

Like a hotel…but in nature

Inside the tents it’s as cozy as sleeping inside a marshmallow. The pillow top mattresses are piled with bright homemade quilts and you don’t even need to bring your own towels. Some tents have two queen beds, others have one, but all have plenty of room for families. All the tents have propane heaters so you can stay warm during cool Newfoundland evenings — we were there the first weekend of September and it was chilly at night. Solar power is very much appreciated in the mornings when the little coffee percolator brews hot coffee steps away from bed; no waiting for the campfire to heat up!

The bathroom facilities are not close to all of the tents, but the compostable toilets are clean (and good for the planet). The showers are located in the community building behind the town hall a ten-minute walk down a main road, so there’s a bit of a hike. While I appreciated this camping aspect of glamping, this girl would have appreciated a shower within closer proximity to my room.

Dinner for two, rain or shine

I’ve been camping many times, and when it comes to cooking on the open flame I’ve always played it safe. But because it was the big anniversary weekend and all, I had to go big! We planned meals based around our favourite foods and I combed all my fellow bloggers’ posts about campfire cooking — man where have I been? You guys all have some amazing eats. Glamping in Newfoundland, never was so delicious! Charcuterie, pasta, steaks, fresh corn-on-the-cob and of course a whole lot of Champagne. As if you needed to ask: yes I do have shatter-proof camping flutes for all the delicious bubbly.

Some of the time we were there it rained…but it didn’t stop us from making Aimee’s Campfire One-Pot Macaroni & Cheese from her blog, Simple Bites. It took no time to make, and it was the perfect (and shockingly easy) meal to have under our bright red pop tent as the rain softly fell around us. Cozy and cheesy is all a girl needs when it rains (oh, and her husband). All of the tents have their own picnic table and fire pit so cooking over an open flame is easy, and between the omelettes for breakfast and s’mores for midnight snacks we had the fire going the whole four days! Ome even has little tents for the firewood, which can be bought for almost nothing at the house where you check-in.

On top of old chippy

The last day of our anniversary vacation was the warmest, and despite enjoying laying in bed reading for days, we took full advantage. Taking Shaun’s advice we hiked up Chipp’s Hill. From the top you can see all of Burlington as well as neighbouring Middle Arm and Smiths Harbour. Afterwards we went for a swim in the local swimming hole to cool off and finished the day with a warm sunset (and more Champagne, of course).

Feeling right at ‘Ome

We felt right at home at Ome and I would recommend this to anyone who wants to escape…anything. It’s a great spot for a couple to enjoy some time together, or for a family to enjoy late night campfire songs and gorgeous hikes. There’s not a whole lot to do in the area, but it makes Ome all the more special really. Glamping in Newfoundland gives you the best of both worlds: gorgeous natural surroundings to explore during the day and all the comforts of a hotel to keep you sleeping like a baby through the night, rocked to sleep by the sound of the ocean.

What I loved about the whole experience is that Ome is part of a social enterprise spearheaded by Majumder in an effort to bring more dollars into his hometown. All the profits from Ome go right back into Burlington and help with the maintenance of the glamping, pods and even a community greenhouse! You can book our tent, the Fox, on AirBnb directly through this link (no affiliates, just helping a fellow glamper find their way).

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