Under Canvas Review: Glamping with Hyatt

If you love the sounds of nature but hate hauling gear, the “glamping” (glamorous camping) brand Under Canvas might be for you. The boutique chain offers safari-style tents near more than a dozen national parks across the country, allowing you to disconnect in some of the country’s best landscapes. And as a World of Hyatt member, staying with Under Canvas can earn you points and elite night credits.

Unlike a traditional campsite, you’ll have a real bed, and in some cases, even a bathroom in your tent. But you still won’t find Wi-Fi or air conditioning. There’s minimal power in the tents, preserving the rustic feel. Under Canvas calls these “intentional inconveniences,” intended to encourage guests to gather for games, meals and events in the common areas.

NerdWallet was recently invited to check out Under Canvas, so we turned it into a road trip! Caitlin Mims headed to Bryce Canyon, Utah, while Craig Joseph trekked to the Great Smoky Mountains of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. While Under Canvas paid for our stays, the opinions and content herein are our own.

Under Canvas has more than a dozen locations across the country, mostly near national parks. You’ll find the same style tents at each property, although the size of each encampment varies.

The Bryce Canyon campus is situated on 700 acres of high-alpine forest, approximately 15 minutes from Bryce Canyon National Park, while the Pigeon Forge property is just miles from both the entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Dollywood.

Under Canvas is bookable like a hotel, but it’s definitely more akin to tent camping. The walls of each tent are canvas (hence the name Under Canvas), so you won’t have full climate control or overhead lights.

Small battery packs and low-voltage USB plugs are provided in each tent to charge phones and devices, but don’t expect traditional outlets or fast charging. Depending on which tent you pick, you may also hear your neighbors at times, although every property has quiet hours between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Each tent comes with small, rechargeable fans and lanterns. Those fans were fine for Caitlin in the dry Utah air, but they didn’t keep up with the summer heat and humidity Craig experienced in Tennessee.

Under Canvas is dog friendly and charges a non-refundable $35 fee per dog, per night. You’ll also pay a resort fee that varies based on the tent you book. From what we see, that resort fee tacks on approximately 9% to the cost of your stay. Under Canvas says the fee covers “complimentary parking; guest services; experiential programming including yoga classes, kids’ arts and crafts and evening s’mores.” Being charged for something “complimentary” is pretty cringe-worthy.

The common areas are unique to each property, but all contain on-site dining, outdoor fireplaces, games and organized activities throughout the day. Food is not permitted in the tents due to wildlife concerns, but leftovers and beverages can be left in the lobby area for refrigeration.

Under Canvas offers multiple types of tents that can house anywhere from two kids to a family of four.

Both Craig and Caitlin stayed in Deluxe tents, which are designed for two adults and usually cost $300 or more per night, depending on the location. The tents had similar amenities, including the handheld fans, wood-burning stove and bathrooms. Just don’t expect too much privacy in the bathroom; there’s a partition with a barn door, but it’s still a tent.

At Bryce Canyon, which sits at 8,000 feet and has an average low of 45 degrees Fahrenheit in June, the thick canvas and stove was perfect for keeping the tent at a comfortable temperature at night. However, the minimal air flow and lack of fans kept the tent at the Smoky Mountain location overly humid and damp. Keep in mind there aren’t many outlets, so bringing your own plug-in fan likely isn’t an option.

The bathroom is an especially big upgrade from tent camping and features a sink, flushing toilet and a shower with a pull chain. Hot water was readily available from the on-demand water heater, and although having to hold down a pull-chain for water to come out was a little annoying, it was workable for a couple of days.

The tent also had a small seating area inside and another seating area on the deck. The Bryce Canyon property is an International Dark Sky Association approved location, meaning the property is designed to produce as little light pollution as possible. Caitlin found perfect stargazing opportunities from the deck of the tent.

In the Smokies, Craig was literally in the trees, falling asleep and waking up to the sound of birds.

All tents (with the exception of kids’ tents) have a wood burning stove, along with firewood, a fire starter and matches. Caitlin used the stove in Bryce Canyon, and while it wasn’t that hard to use, getting the fire started was a little bit of a pain. The wood and fire starter needed to be at the very back of the stove beneath the vent, and the matches were just too short to reach. If the matches were longer, building a fire would have been much easier.

Families can add an additional kids’ tent next to their main tent with no additional cost for various standard tent types.

The kids’ tent has two twin-size beds, bean bag chairs and fans, but no wood stove.

Some Under Canvas locations also offer more basic safari tents with up to three beds and no bathroom. These tents began at $179 per night at the Great Smoky Mountain location during Craig’s stay. The Bryce Canvas location doesn’t offer these tents.

If you book a tent without a bathroom, you’ll use the communal (but private) showers and bathrooms in a nearby building.

The public facilities in Pigeon Forge were clean and easily accessible near the lobby and common areas.

All Under Canvas locations have on-site dining, but the actual experience will vary. Some have full sit-down restaurants, while other locations just have grab-and-go options. Both the Bryce Canyon and Smoky Mountain locations have counter-service restaurants with indoor and outdoor seating.

The food at both locations was very good — especially compared to what you might normally eat on a camping trip.

At Bryce Canyon, Caitlin had a burger with fries and burrata with peppers and corn as an appetizer. Both dishes were a definite step-up from average camp food.

In the Smokies, Craig had a cauliflower Caesar salad, crispy Brussels sprouts and pork tacos with fries.

There is also a grab-and-go station with drinks and basic snacks at the Smokies location.

Additionally, both properties have a 24-hour tea and coffee station in the lobby.

Under Canvas offers activities for both kids and adults, including yoga, scavenger hunts, movie nights and crafts. Caitlin really enjoyed the yoga class at the Bryce Canyon location. It was accessible for both experienced practitioners and beginners and involved very little cardio, which could have been hard for some people at 8,000 feet.

Meanwhile in the Smokies, they organized a nightly themed trivia session with prizes. Craig earned a free dessert by winning the national park trivia session, but fell flat when the theme changed to Dolly Parton. There were also cornhole boards, horseshoes, a stack of board games in the lobby and a small stream for kids (and adults!) to root for salamanders and crawdads.

You can pay for a stay at Under Canvas with cash or book it with Hyatt points. But Under Canvas is a Mr. & Mrs. Smith property within the World of Hyatt and doesn’t follow Hyatt’s point chart, so you probably won’t get as much value out of your points with Under Canvas as you might with another Hyatt brand, like Hyatt Place or Hyatt Regency.

Purchasing a two-night stay at the Bryce Canyon location in August will cost you $741 or 52,500 points. That’s a value of roughly 1.4 cents per point. NerdWallet values Hyatt points at 2.2 cents, so you could get significantly more value out of your Hyatt points by booking a different brand. Still, it’s not a terrible redemption rate. If you’re set on staying at Under Canvas and don’t want to pay cash, it’s not a bad option.

Admittedly, $300 is a lot to spend on a room that doesn’t have four solid walls. But Under Canvas offers a great way to experience the outdoors with a little more convenience than tent camping can offer.

Staying with Under Canvas could be a good choice if you don’t want to drop money on expensive new outdoor gear, or if you’re flying and don’t want to travel with camping supplies. It’s an especially good option if you’re visiting a remote national park with very few accommodation options, as those options are likely just as expensive.

But keep in mind that the brand’s tents definitely function better in cooler, drier climates. If you’re visiting the Smokies or another warm or humid spot, the tent might get a little toasty.

Headline photo by Craig Joseph.