Glamping with Wanderland Pop-Up Means Roughing It Without The Rough

Wanderland Pop-Up in Asbury Park provides luxury tents for people who love the outdoors, but also love being fabulous.

A fully furnished Lotus Belle tent from Wanderland Pop-Up includes queen bed with Peruvian blankets, Moroccan rugs, bedsides tables and soft lighting.
A fully furnished Lotus Belle tent from Wanderland Pop-Up includes queen bed with Peruvian blankets, Moroccan rugs, bedsides tables and soft lighting.
Photo courtesy of Wanderland Pop-Up

Are you excited about sleeping under the stars, but disinclined to crawl into a sleeping bag? Consider Wanderland Pop-Up, an Asbury Park-based start-up in the trendy new hospitality segment called glamping—as in glamorous camping.

Couple Jason Thomson, 36, and Sonia Jozajtis, 31, founded Wanderland in 2016 after discovering luxury amenities at campsites in Texas,  California and Utah, says Thomson, who lived as a kid in his parents’ Spring Lake bed and breakfast. “We wanted to bring the vibe and style to the East Coast.”

Wanderland Pop-Up will set up and outfit a luxury tent at the campsite of your choosing. There are three options: the Lotus Belle, a 16-foot tent handmade in New Zealand or the 13- or 16-foot military-style Sibley field tent. Each can be equipped with a queen-size bed with Peruvian blankets, animal-skin rugs,  a bedside table and soft lighting. Other accessories include a charging station, bluetooth speakers and a record player—all battery powered.

“We’re trying to do something a little more upscale, but not pretentious,” says Thomson. The bohemian design motif uses antiques and products from the American Southwest and South America, with an emphasis on patterned textiles. The tent’s frazadas, or versatile rug-blankets, are made in Morocco.

Some of the furnishings are available for purchase through Nomad Asbury, the company’s affiliated lifestyle brand, which is carried by Storehouse on the Asbury Park boardwalk.

Customers rent the tents for weddings, backyard parties and weekend getaways. Prices range from $349 to $499 for the first night, including full setup and amenities. Additional nights are $50. Contact wanderlandpopup.com.

Thomson and Jozajtis are looking to establish semipermanent locations—including seasonal rentals—in Asbury Park this summer. “The city denied [our proposal] three to two,” laments Thomson. “It’s such a new concept, town governments don’t get it.”

For now, Jerseyans can glamp on the beach at one of Sandy Hook’s 20 primitive campsites or on special full-moon camping nights in Seaside Heights. You can camp on the beach in Asbury Park during the annual Indian Summer Festival in September. Wanderland has four tents for rent during the festival. There’s already a waiting list.

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