Traditionally, sleepaway summer camps have been places to connect with nature, make boondoggle bracelets, and shower in your swimsuit. But that’s not all that they have to be, especially if your parents can afford to send you to a luxury camp.
Amenity now: Luxury camps can run as much as $17,000 for the summer, so they don’t scrimp on the nice-to-haves. For example, Brant Lake Camp in upstate New York offers:
- Fifteen tennis courts (11 of which are clay), 11 basketball courts, and a covered roller hockey rink.
- A fully stocked weight room, a 30-foot climbing wall, and a ninja course.
- A woodshop, a clay studio, a ceramics room, and podcasting classes.
Hello Muddah, hello Fadduh. We need more sushi, for the grotto
Don’t expect today’s luxury campers to get by on just gorp and Eggs Erroneous. They’re eating farm-to-table, scratch-made meals. Sometimes, they even help grow the produce in on-site, organic gardens.
But if omelets, daily salad bars, and fresh-baked cakes aren’t enough, there’s always visiting day, which many parents use to sneak in giant candy balls, sushi platters, and steak. Some families even bring their housekeepers, presumably to clean up all of the empty soy sauce packets.
There are benefits for the counselors, too. In a bid to set their teenage staffers on the right career course, some summer camps offer job-hunting lessons, internship-style programs, and connections to successful camp alumni.—BC
This report was originally published by Morning Brew.