Have you ever been glamping? The term can be very broad: in some cases it’s just camping in a smelling tent that’s already been set up for you, in others it can be more luxurious than the most premium of hotels! My most recent glamping experience was definitely in the more premium category, yet surprisingly affordable. Let me introduce you to *Chateau Ramšak, a glamping resort in Slovenia situation on a vineyard. Yes, you read that right, glamping on a vineyard.
Chateau Ramšak is a small glamping resort located just outside of Maribor in Slovenia. Although it feels like the middle of nowhere, it’s much more accessible than you’d think! We travelled from Zagreb to Maribor by coach using FlixBus, which took around two hours. After an indulgent steak lunch in Maribor, we took a short taxi ride to Chateau Ramšak which cost around 6 euros. Our onward journey was to Kamnik so we hired a car, but you can take a direct train to Ljubljana which again takes a couple of hours.
With just a handful of luxury tents (plus a treehouse!), Chateau Ramšak is quiet and peaceful, and you won’t have to share all the fabulous wine with many others. If you’re looking for premium glamping in Slovenia with the most incredible breakfast, keep reading and then get booking!
Glamping in Slovenia: First Impressions
On arrival at Chateau Ramšak, we were greeted by Spela, who welcomed us enthusiastically and showed up to out tent. Spela explained how to work our private hot tub, explained the under-bed heating and asked if we would like to join the evening wine tasting later, before handing us a glass of cold white wine from the Chateau Ramšak vineyard. So far, glamping in Slovenia was most definitely my cup of tea (or glass of wine, I should say).
We sat on our private terrace and enjoyed our glass of wine (it didn’t last long on account of it’s deliciousness) before having a wander around the site to take it all in. We crossed a small bridge over the bumbling brook to the communal area, which consisted of a cosy seating area around a large fire pit and a bar serving wine (of course), cocktails and homemade lemonade.
Next to this was a small, heart-shaped pond where you could relax on a deckchair, and beyond this were some steps which meandered down to yet another pond with it’s own miniature pebble beach.
Just walking along the decked path, surrounded by green grass, sparkling water and silence was instantly relaxing and we knew we were in for a treat. We headed back to the tent, ready for a bottle of bubbly in our hot tub.
Glamping in Slovenia: Our Luxury Tent
Far from the smelly tent style of glamping I’ve mentioned above, our tent at Chateau Ramšak had all of the luxuries and amenities of a hotel room. Based on our budget and last minute availability, we opted for one of the small tents, but this was still equipped with a king-size bed, full sized en-suite and plenty of storage space.
Diving straight onto the bed, I thought I’d mistakenly dived out of a plane onto a fluffy cloud covered with fluffy pillows and the softest of bedding. Once I’d managed to peel myself away from the bed, it was time to check out the bathroom.
Seeing as we were in a tent, and there didn’t seem to be any space for a bathroom, I didn’t have high expectations for the bathroom. However, the bathroom was modern, spotless and perfectly furnished. Luxury soap, shower gel, shampoo and conditioner were provided alongside fluffy white robes and towels.
The tent had plenty of storage, which was tucked away behind the bed out of site, and it had a heating system. We didn’t really need to use the heating as the weather was warm enough, but we switched it on briefly because it was under the bed, meaning that it had an electric blanket effect and made the bed extra cosy!
Finally, the minibar. I was brought up being told not to touch the minibar, and usually I would agree as they often contain overpriced, low quality drinks and snacks. Glamping in Slovenia offered a different story: this minibar was home to high quality, reasonably priced wine, including wine from the vineyard on which we were staying. There was a good snack selection, again not overpriced, and some interesting looking beers incase we got bored of wine.
Glamping in Slovenia: The Wine
Chateau Ramšak offer a wine tasting experience for guests, which takes place in their wine cellar. At just 15 euros per person it would be pretty rude to stay on a vineyard and not participate in wine tasting right?
We were joined by two other couples whilst we learnt about the history of the vineyard and winery, the type of grapes used and the wine making process, whilst trying 6 different wines. This took place stood next to the largest wine press in Europe!
We learnt about how the site fell into disrepair under the communist government when it was taken from the family who owned it and used as common land, before they gained it back years later and developed the vineyards and winery.
This was followed by tastings of Muscat, Sylvaner, Pinot Gris, Welsch Riesling, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon paired with local cheese. In a few years they will be producing a sparkling wine, and I will most definitely be returning to sample it.
Glamping in Slovenia: Overall Experience
Everything about our glamping experience in Slovenia was perfect. After 10 solid days of sightseeing in various cities (we’d just been to Istanbul, Sofia, Belgrade and Zagreb and would soon be moving on to Kamnik, Ljubljana and Venice), spending an afternoon relaxing in a hot tub on our private terrace whilst sipping sparkling wine and staring out over lush vineyards was just what we needed.
The hardest part of our day was tearing ourselves away from the hot tub long enough to go wine tasting! Hard life eh? So after some fizz in the hot tub, a long hot shower, more wine in our fluffy robes and then wine tasting, we spent the rest of the evening relaxing around the fire pit with more wine.
It got a little chilly but luckily there were velvety-soft blankets in our tent which we snuggled up under next to the fire. We’d also planned ahead and bought some snacks with us as we knew there wasn’t a restaurant on site, so we enjoyed a picnic of bread, cheeses, hams and crisps under the stars.
Most importantly in any write up of accommodation, I slept well. I fell asleep on the comfortable bed to the gentle music of the stream outside and the breeze blowing through the trees. I woke up earlier than I’d have liked as the tent didn’t block out the light fully, but there’s nothing wrong with waking naturally when the sun rises!
Glamping in Slovenia: Breakfast
Breakfast was fabulous. We had requested breakfast at 9am, and at 8.59am opened our tent to the most beautiful breakfast I’ve ever seen! Fresh orange juice, tea and coffee, cheese, ham, flaky pastries, soft bread, jam, honey, Nutella, fruit, yoghurt, granola and more were there just waiting to be devoured.
We could have taken it inside and had breakfast in bed, but instead we sat in our fluffy robes with messy hair admiring the views around us, listening to the birdsongs and enjoying our morning of relaxation before returning to our holiday of city hopping and sightseeing.
If (when) I return to Slovenia, I am most definitely going to return to Chateau Ramšak for another night of luxury glamping and wine drinking. Next time I might even treat myself to their wine massage with grapes, and maybe even spend a couple of nights so that I can explore more of the Styria wine region.
For more Slovenia content, have a read of my blog post about spending 24 hours in Ljubljana if you love food and wine or for more travel ideas take a look at my top 15 destinations for a cheap, European city break.
Nell xx
