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Governors Island’s glamping retreat gets new tiny cabins from $595/night

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Collective Retreats is bringing five plush tiny cabins to its campsite on the island

A tiny home with a black and wood exterior, with a small door and two windows. There is a porch connected to the house, with a man sitting in a chair on it. The house is parked on an island, with tall buildings in the background.
Land Ark RV’s tiny house, known as “Outlook Shelter,” is now bookable on Governors Island.
Photos by Sara Fox for Collective Retreats

The glamping experience on Governors Island is about to get a whole lot fancier.

Collective Retreats, which operates the island’s luxury campground (glampground?), will debut a new type of accommodation, which it calls the Outlook Shelter, over Labor Day weekend. Five stylish tiny cabins, which were created by Land Ark RV, will be parked within the campsite, offering a stylish retreat with some of luxury trappings you’d expect from a high-end hotel (including two decks, a deep soaking tub, and chic toiletries).

Previously, the only accommodations available on the Governors Island site were two different types of tents, which are hardly bare-bones; they come with down comforters, Turkish towels, and other plush perks. But the Outlook Shelter kicks it up a notch with lodgings that are more like a well-appointed hotel room plopped onto a campsite than what’s typically associated with glamping.

A woman in a bathrobe sits inside a tiny house that is decorated with stylish furniture. There is a bed with a patterned quilt and a couch. The tiny house has large windows and a black chandelier with exposed light bulbs.
Inside one of Collective Retreats’ new Outlook Shelters.

The cabins were designed in what Collective Retreats calls “nautical Scandinavian” style, with clean lines, minimalist interiors, and furniture from Danish design brand Hay. The exterior of each cabin is made from corrugated metal and Brazilian hardwood, while the interiors are kitted out with light pine. And thanks to their size—400 square feet, which is larger than a typical New York City hotel room—high ceilings, and oversized windows, the cabins don’t feel too cramped. Each one also has two decks (also outfitted with Hay furniture), an especially nice perk given the campsite’s views of the Statue of Liberty and New York Harbor.

The cabins also have some sweet perks not offered with the other Collective Retreats tents, including a mini fridge, a Bose sound system, and a “beauty bar” with products from the eco-conscious brand Primally Pure.

A deck attached to a tiny house that is parked on an island. A chair with a fuzzy white throw blanket is on the deck, which is painted black. A white bicycle is parked next to the house.
One of two private decks on the Outlook Shelter glamping accommodations.

But the experience won’t come cheap: Rates for the Outlook Shelters on Governors Island start at $595/night, a significant jump in price from the standard $151 for the most basic tent on-site. (You can also book even more luxurious packages, including ones that come with a champagne breakfast or a one-hour massage.) They’ll be available beginning Labor Day weekend until the island closes up shop for the season on October 31.

A tiny house with a private deck is parked on an island. Tall buildings are in the background.
The Outlook Shelters have views of the New York Harbor.