Tourists turn to yurts for authenticity

BELLEVUE, Wash., Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Many travelers foregoing upscale five-star hotels with Wi-Fi and scented soap are grounding themselves by staying in Asian-style yurts, travel experts say.

The Web site Virtual Tourist said at several locations, travelers can rent a yurt -- a felt-covered, portable, wood lattice-framed dwelling traditionally used by nomads in the Central Asian steppes.

In modern Turkish, the word "yurt" is used as the synonym for homeland, and in the West, companies that rent yurts make them homey and comfortable and far from "roughing it," Virtual Tourist says.

A location in Whitney, Ontario, Canada offers yurts with electric heat and insulated floors. River Meadows County Park in Washington State's city of Arlington says it rents its "Honeymoon Suite" featuring "a wrap-around deck, premium furniture and bed linen."

Canvas Chic at Mille Etoile Ardeche Gorge Nature Reserve in Southern France offers a yurt experience set in the reserve.

Or if you want the real deal, Kyrgyzstan's Yurt Camp Osh-Travel Sary-Tash Village offers quiet, restful yurts at $25 with dinner for an additional $6, Virtual Tourist says.