You Can Rent Your Own Luxury Airstream on Cape Cod This Summer

Photo by Matt Kisiday

Remember summer camp when basically the biggest thing to worry about was accidentally burning the marshmallow for your s’mores? As the weather warms up and the idea of traveling in the near-ish future seems like a lifeline, Cape Cod’s newest hospitality destination nods towards that back-to-nature nostalgia but with a luxe twist. On April 1, AutoCamp Cape Cod opens the doors (and, well, tent flaps) to its 108 guest accommodations—from custom Airstream suites to posh tents—spread across its 14-acre property in Falmouth.

It’s not quite glamping. That conjures images of running the AC in a gas-guzzling RV and ignoring nature. Here, the digs are more like a basecamp for all of your outdoor adventures, if your kind of basecamp comes with Tempur-Pedic beds, plush robes, and rain showers. And while travel—alright, basically everything—is complicated right now, AutoCamp’s outdoor focus is a breath of fresh air. The Falmouth spot is the San Fransico-based brand’s first foray into the east coast, joining properties by Yosemite National Park and Russian River Valley in California. They honed in on outdoor hospitality even before the pandemic, and the Falmouth grounds are tailor-made for social distancing. All the accommodations are spread out at least 15 feet apart and guests can enjoy a contactless check-in and food and beverage ordering experience. The clubhouse, the two-story common hub of the property, is a completely open-air space thanks to copious sliding glass doors—or you can just avoid it all together and stick to your travel pod.

Photo by Matt Kisiday

But enough about restrictions. It’s time for the romance: Waking up in the sleek time capsule of your Airstream and exploring the stunning vistas of Sippewissett Marsh. Hanging out—literally—in the hammock grove after swapping stories by the campfire. Hopping on your bike and breezing down the paved Shining Sea Bikeway, which basically cuts right through the property.

“What makes AutoCamp different from any other type of lodging option is really three things,” says the brand’s co-founder and chief brand officer, Ryan Miller. “Nature, design, and community.”

All of the locations boast a similar mid-century modern mindset with sleek lines and finishes in the clubhouses and year-round suites and Airstreams. As for community, while it’ll be a bit before guests can gather with adventurers outside of their travel pods for drinks by the communal fire pit or engage in-person with the staff, AutoCamp still keys into Cape Cod life. Guests can hit the waves with kayak and paddleboard rentals and tours offered by Cape-based RideAway Adventures, and sip coffee roasted at Pie in the Sky Bakery & Cafe in Woods Hole, with custom keychains by local maker Nantucket Knotworks in the general store.

AutoCamp tapped New York City-based architecture and design firm Workshop/APD to plan the site and to design the 8,100 square-foot clubhouse. With board form concrete, charred and natural Japanese cedar, and swathes of steel and glass, the two-story building takes its cue from the Bauhaus beach house beauties designed by modernist Walter Gropius elsewhere on the Cape. The grounds feature 108 accommodations in total: 10 luxury tents, 5 accessible suites, 5 vista-focused “X suites,” and 88 Airstreams. Frills include walk-in showers, flat-screens in the suite lounge areas, spa-like bathrooms and more. For guests looking for a more pared-back pad, the seasonal luxury tents feature king-sized memory foam mattresses, electricity, and access to the clubhouse’s spa-like bathrooms among their amenities.

Photo by Matt Kisiday

But if you find yourself especially drawn to those Airstreams, you’re certainly not alone. “When we founded AutoCamp in 2013, we were really inspired by that iconic midcentury modern American design that Airstreams represent,” Miller says. “There’s this magical quality in what we offer and what the Airstream symbolizes, which is this bringing together of the roughness of exploration and the great outdoors, with the refinement, comfort, and the luxury of an Airstream.”

The 31-foot Airstreams hone in on beauty of bygone days with a five-star focus on the here-and-now: Flat-screens and Bluetooth audio systems, the luxe linens that swathe the beds tucked under panoramic windows, and the Ursa Major bath products in the spa-inspired bathrooms with walk-in showers. If you miss those summer camp days, unwind on the private patio with for some arts and crafts. Or better yet, cocktails by your private fire pit while you drink in the sweeping starlit views.

Rates start at $179 a night and increase later into the summer. Visit autocamp.com for details.

Photo by Matt Kisiday