AZ Daily Sun, Mountain Living Section, September 2023
Written by Gail G. Collins
Nature supports wellness in the mind, body and community, according to the National Forest Service, who know a great deal about being outside. An active outdoor lifestyle contributes to longevity, physical conditioning, enhanced nourishment and sleep, plus it wards off disease. Green spaces also feed our psyche in positive ways, strengthening our mental acuity, focusing our attention and restoring peace. Importantly, whole communities benefit from access to the outdoors through decreased environmental stressors, such as pollution, while caretaking tendencies increase, reflected in a respect for nature and one’s neighbors. In a nutshell, getting outside is the ideal means for getting healthy.
A love of the outdoors and adventure, where people could revel in a camp setting, drove Scott Roberts to envision a novel and upmarket RV park. As the son of R. C. Roberts, who founded Roberts Resorts, Scott learned from his father to construct and manage a portfolio of destination resorts and communities with premiere living standards. Roberts Resorts has spent 55-plus years inviting guests to “live the good life.” With resort-style amenities, luxe RV sites and affordable homes in award-winning communities across Alabama, Arizona, California, Utah, Colorado and Texas, the properties are the gold standard with well-appointed grounds and 5-star features.
“My father was a pioneer, an inspiration,” says Scott, “who believed in creating a sense of community, and he always over-delivered on the amenities with plenty of facilities and programming. He fostered that in me.”
Scott is an avid adventure seeker—a heli-skier and mountain biker—and the kind of guy, who loads his family into a truck and drives to Sedona’s secret end of the world trail. Inspired by adventure break hotels, he continued his father’s pioneering efforts. Industry RV parks hadn’t changed in decades, and Scott saw potential. “I wanted to break out of the mold, be different, and attract a new generation of adventure seekers. I have a passion to create a sense of community that attracts that adventure-minded person.”
He threw the idea of the traditional RV park out the window. The architecture was stodgy standard. Instead he saw mountain contemporary design elements to rival a master planned community, providing a means for the average family to own a holiday home. The result is Village Camp, a luxury outdoor resort in Bellemont, just beyond Flagstaff, with upscale RV camping plus adventure cabins for rent and sale.
The aim is glamping. Three tiers of RV sites with paved parking and stacked stone barbecues or fire pits and gravel pull-throughs provide happy stays. There are also adventure cabins for added comfort and facilities. Bridging the two, safari tents are in the works.
Read more: Matters of Taste: Glamping resort in Bellemont rolls out new amenitiesCurrent amenities include a heated pool and spa with a bathhouse, while an amphitheater with bar and dancefloor, a naturescape playground with a ropes course, pickleball courts and dog park are underway.
The sleek clubhouse boasts a bar and bistro of steel construction and cedar with granite countertops and three walls of glass and a view of the San Francisco Peaks.
“The menu reflects the building,” says general manager Cody Fishel. “It’s simple, quality, upscale campground food with flatbreads, pizzas and paninis.”
He designed the efficient menu to incorporate 55 ingredients, which overlap, yet offer different flavor profiles. Sourcing is local to keep it fresh.
“Many folks have been on the road for eight or nine hours, and they don’t want to cook,” he says. “They’re glad for great food options and a chance to relax here.”
The biggest family sellers are the pizzas, and the everything pizza delivers on the billing with plenty of meat and veg. The barbecue flatbread on artisan dough is a hit with chicken, red onion, mozzarella, spinach and drizzly zing of BBQ sauce. The Cuban panini goes fowl with turkey, Swiss, mustard, pickles and spinach on a ciabatta. For veggie patrons, there is a black bean patty. A popular, shareable plate is loaded with waffle fries, mozzarella, red onion, buffalo sauce and ranch dressing. Wash the good stuff down with local craft beers or sip an Arizona wine.
To start the day, a burrito wrapped in a spinach tortilla and layered with sausage, egg, jack cheese and hash browns satisfies or bite into a ciabatta-built sammie with a similar stack of stuff.
The adventure cabins are built to RV-code, so each model is 399-square feet with creative use of space to bed four to nine people with built-in bunks, loft spaces, pull-out couches and private masters. The tiny homes are complete with gleaming, full kitchens, bathrooms, fireplaces and creature comforts. Four models and a hotel suite are available to rent for $250 to $300 per night, and models Cypress, Ponderosa and Juniper can be purchased. Resident cabins may then be pooled for supplemental rental income, according to owners availability, and advertised via typical websites, such as VRBO. All services are managed for owners for a monthly fee, so they can spend time exploring, not on upkeep.
“We didn’t cut corners,” Scott says. “The adventure cabins are bullet-proof for rentals—no drywall, solid wood, with quartz countertops, commercial vinyl flooring, sufficient AC and heat, stainless steel appliances, stackable washers and dryers, walk-in showers and fire-wise Hardie board siding.” He added, “The units are turnkey with mattresses, linens, dishes, even toilet paper. Just drop your suitcase and get exploring.”
Scott and wife Ren, a former collegiate athlete slated to be inducted in the ASU Hall of Fame, live in Phoenix with their four young children. Streets in camp are named for Skylar, Sunny, Brighton and Charlie. And like anyone else, beating the heat with access to a million acres of Coconino National Forest, right at the camp’s edge, is appealing. AZDSun