The maharajahs surely didn't have it this good: the Oberoi's Vanyavilas luxury jungle resort in Rajasthan has tents with teak floors, marble bathrooms and private decks for sunbathing or outdoor dining. Next to the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve, it is an ideal base to spot leopard, crocodile and bear as well as tiger. Western & Oriental (020 7313 6600) features three nights in the camp as part of its 10-day tour of India for £2,430pp including flights. A four-night stay in Vanyavilas costs £1,295pp room only with flights and eight-hour train transfer from Delhi.
It has been called the ultimate desert retreat, and certainly the 30 Bedouin suites at Al Maha 45 minutes from the Dubai coast are several notches up from your average tent; elegantly furnished with Bedouin artifacts, they have bathrooms and a plunge pool on each timbered deck. Stays at the camp, with views of the Hajar Mountains, include two complementary activities such as falconry, archery, horse and camel-back safaris and nature walks. Cox & Kings (020 7873 5000) has five nights' full board in January for £2,560pp with flights from Gatwick.
See nothing but sand dunes surrounding the Pansea Ksar Ghilane oasis camp in the middle of the Tunisian Sahara, which is accessible only by four-wheel drive vehicles. Wigmore Holidays (020 7836 4999) has four-night breaks with two nights' half board in the camp, where tents have double bed, air conditioning and en suite bathrooms, and two nights' B&B in the Dar Dhiafa hotel in Jerba for £726pp from 4 January. Half-day camel safaris can be arranged locally.
This camp has everything but a hairdryer, but who needs one in the heart of 104,000 hectares of untamed bush in Botswana's Okavango Delta? Evocative of the colonial era, the eight tents in Stanley's Camp have hand-crafted beds, antique furniture and oriental carpets, and form a base from which to see the resident herd of elephant as well as giraffe, buffalo, lion and leopard. Abercrombie & Kent (0845 070 0611) features the camp in its 11-day Signature Botswana tour for £2,675pp full board in January, which includes stays at Chief's Camp and Chobe Chilwero. One night in the camp costs $320.
