Explorer Glamping at Chessington Resort

Any good experience starts by building anticipation and excitement of what’s to come. With a five-year-old debut camper this wasn’t difficult to achieve. For the two of us more seasoned to under canvas adventures we hoped it would live up to our expectations and bring back some fond memories of family holidays.

On arrival we parked where all self-respecting outdoors people would, in the Explorer car park, and crossed the road to the gates of the Explorer Glamping enclosure which look a bit like a scaled down version of the huge barriers keeping the inhabitants of the mysterious island safe from King Kong. Our most recent tent based activity prior to this included a surfing trip to the Gower Peninsula and a week in Biarritz, both of which were notable for their torrential downpours, lack of sleep, long journeys home in damp clothes with bags full of saturated belongings and self-made promises never to repeat the experience.

This is so not that.

Our Chessington Explorer Glamping began with check in at reception ala any good hotel experience, although reception is in this case also a tent.

The Glamping site is neatly laid out with hessian-carpeted pathways that take you up to the ‘door’ of your accommodation – no wading up to your ankles in mud for these campers. Having gratefully accepted a delicious cupcake beautifully designed with inch thick icing to reflect the occasion and sipped from cocktails and mock-tail respectively we joined the path and trekked the two minutes to our tent.

There are two tent options available, the Standard Glamping tent and the Premium Glamping tent. Our standard tent came with a double bed and two single beds, a wicker chair, floor mirror and electricity. Two traditional oil-lamps hanging from the ceiling were sprung into life by the magic flick of a switch and essentially the iphone charger was slotted into one of the two available plug sockets.

When we first heard of the opportunity to go Explorer Glamping at Chessington we made a checklist of what would make it a true Glamping experience for us.

A real bed, fresh bed linen, a duvet, lighting, plug sockets and an ensuite. Ok, perhaps we were getting a bit carried away with an Ensuite but other than that our list was well and truly checked. The facilities are in fact available in portacabin style blocks positioned on one side of the site. Again no more than two minutes walk from any of the pitches. These were clean and practical. The showers the next morning delivered a very welcome high- pressure hot shower to prepare us for a day on the park.

Having deposited our bags and allocated beds for the night – POD had a decision to make which of the two singles to make her own. We headed back outside to partake in some of the activities on offer including giant connect four and giant jenga, face painting, glitter tattoos and a very impressive juggler. POD also got to meet one of the parks newest residents Rosie, a beautiful Asian Brown Owl.

One of the unique selling points of the Explorer Glamping package is the opportunity to enjoy part of the park after hours with exclusive access to Wild Asia. We arrived at 5pm, as most of the day’s visitors were making their way home, the adjacent Wild Asia was open to us giving us the chance to experience queue free Tuk Tuk Turmoil dodgems, the Kobra ride spinning rollercoaster, the Monkey Swinger high swings and my favourite the more leisurely but equally as exciting Jungle Bus.

Our theme park ride needs satiated and with bellies grumbling we were then treated to a buffet style dinner in the new Explorer’s Outpost restaurant. Good hearty food and plenty of it with signature dishes including BBQ beef with chilli and maple glaze and Malaysian vegetable curry.

After dinner the festivities continued with a live band who took the lead with a barn dance, those less fleet of foot were able to enjoy the craft activities on offer or the bar, age permitting. When it was time to get POD to bed we were ready and grateful for the cosy beds and as this was only May in England the protection our thick canvas tepee style tent provided against the elements. It did rain.

After a very comfortable nights sleep – we were worried POD may be up with the birds but she slumbered happily until our alarm went off, we took full use of the aforementioned showers before returning to the restaurant for a hot buffet breakfast with continental options. Breakfast didn’t disappoint and a guest appearance by the one and only King Julian of Madagascar fame made for a very happy five year old.

Another bonus feature of our visit were Gold wristbands allowing us Fast track access to all rides on the park for the first hour of the day, more than enough time to take in busy favourites for POD’s age group like the Scorpion Express.

All in all the Explorer Glamping at Chessington delivered everything we’d hoped for. For those with young children and especially those for whom a night under the stars on the ground is now much less appealing this is very welcome and enjoyable family fun in a unique setting.

Prices start from just £149 for a family of four to stay overnight in one tent. Families can opt for an additional dinner package at the new Explorer Outpost Restaurant. This buffet style dining experience is only £50 for a family of four. You can book Explorer Glamping at Chessington World of Adventures from today.