Every once in a while a place comes along that rewrites what glamping can be. Camp Sarika by Amangiri is that place. Tucked into the rust-red desert of Southern Utah near the Arizona line, it takes the safari-camp idea — canvas walls, open fire, the smell of dry earth — and adds the kind of private luxury most five-star resorts can only approximate. The result is less a hotel and more a very personal claim on one of the most beautiful corners of the American Southwest.
Amangiri itself is famous for its minimalist concrete architecture rising out of the desert. Camp Sarika, which opened in April 2020 about a mile from the main resort, is its softer, more adventurous sibling: ten tented pavilions scattered across a 900-acre landscape of mesas and sand, built for travelers who want the Aman experience with the tent flaps open.
The Setting: Southern Utah's Desert Heart
Camp Sarika sits in Canyon Point, Utah, on the Colorado Plateau near Lake Powell and the town of Page, Arizona. The landscape is what sells the place before you ever check in: layered mesas, deep canyons, and the kind of wide-open silence that makes city noise feel like a distant memory. This is the same dramatic country that draws travelers to Grand Staircase-Escalante and the slot canyons around Page, yet the camp itself feels utterly isolated.
That isolation is intentional. The pavilions are spaced so far apart that from your terrace you will not see — or likely hear — another guest. Birds, lizards, and the occasional cricket are your only company, along with sunrises that paint the sandstone in shades of pink and copper.
The Stay: Ten Pavilions, Ten Private Worlds
Each of the ten pavilions is a one- or two-bedroom canvas-topped structure that manages to feel both rugged and ridiculously comfortable. Think safari lodge, not camping: temperature-controlled interiors, spacious living and dining areas, and a design language of natural textures that keeps the outdoors present without sacrificing any comfort.
The real stars live outside. Every pavilion has a private terrace with a heated plunge pool and a fire pit, set up so the mesas are your view and your neighbors are invisible. In cooler months, the pool stays warm enough to enjoy while the desert air turns crisp, and the fire pit makes sunset an event rather than an afterthought.
Inside, the level of finish is unmistakably Aman — the same quiet, understated luxury the brand is known for, translated into canvas and timber. If you have ever wondered what it would feel like to be a very pampered explorer, this is the answer.
The Experience: Stargazing, Dining, and Endless Desert
Sarika has its own main pavilion with a restaurant, so guests rarely need to leave the camp. The menu leans into the Southwest — think pozole rojo and wild-game chili — with fish and meats sourced from the region. Meals can be arranged around your own fire or in the main dining room, and the service carries the effortless attentiveness Aman is known for.
When the sun goes down, the desert puts on its second show. Nights here are spectacularly dark, and the camp will happily set up a telescope on your terrace for midnight stargazing. For photographers, it is a dream location — our night sky photography guide covers the basics of capturing skies like these.
One of the quiet joys of staying in a place this private is that you make the days whatever you want them to be. Some guests fill every hour with guided hikes and canyon runs; others barely leave their terrace, rotating between pool, fire pit, and a good book. Both approaches are entirely respectable, and the staff never makes you feel guilty for choosing the latter. Days are for exploring. The Amangiri property offers guided desert excursions, and the surrounding country is full of hiking, canyoneering, and scenic drives through some of the most photographed landscapes in America. If you prefer to simply not move, the main pavilion also has a swimming pool and spa suites for the times you want the full resort treatment.
What Guests Love
Ask people who have stayed, and the same themes come up again and again. The privacy is the headline — guests consistently rave about having an entire mesa-lined horizon to themselves, with nothing between them and the landscape except a plunge pool. The heated pools get almost as much love, especially at dusk when the water glows against the cooling sand. And the service, in true Aman fashion, anticipates rather than reacts: telescopes appear, fires are laid, and dinner shows up exactly when you want it.
We think the camp is best appreciated by travelers who have done the luxury-hotel circuit and want something with more soul. It is romantic without trying hard, adventurous without requiring any actual hardship, and quiet in a way that money rarely buys. For a similar but far more attainable taste of Utah's desert glamping scene, our roundup of covered-wagon glamping at Conestoga Ranch on Bear Lake is a worthy contrast, and for red-rock country closer to Zion, glamping near Zion offers its own version of the desert dream.
Practical Notes
Camp Sarika operates year-round, but the sweet spots are spring and fall, when days are warm and nights are cool enough to make the fire pit essential. Summers are genuinely hot in this part of Utah, and winters bring cold nights — though the heated pools and climate-controlled pavilions make either season workable.
Getting there means committing to the desert. Page, Arizona, is the closest gateway, with Las Vegas and Phoenix a scenic multi-hour drive away. Rates are firmly in ultra-luxury territory — this is a once-in-a-while splurge for anniversaries, honeymoons, or anyone who measures a trip in memories rather than receipts.
If you are researching the category before you book, our guide to luxury glamping in the Southwest is a good place to see how Sarika compares to the field. Spoiler: almost nothing else comes close.
The Verdict
Camp Sarika by Amangiri is glamping at its absolute ceiling — a place where the canvas is real, the fire is real, and the luxury is so quiet it feels natural. If you want desert solitude with the best service in the business, book a pavilion, pour something cold, and watch the mesas turn gold. That is the whole point.
