When Raymond Girard, the vice-president of media and publishing for the inflight-entertainment company Spafax, was considering a recent move to the company's Newport Beach, Calif., offices, he found the only affordable apartments anywhere near water--and why live anywhere else if you're in the O.C.?--"were cookie-cutter neo-traditionalist gated apartments with no view, no personality and apparently built of cardboard," he says. Then a colleague suggested buying an RV and parking it by the water at the Newport Dunes RV Resort and Marina, "which seemed preposterous at first." Preposterous, until Girard took a closer look. In a surprising new trend that says The Great Gatsby more than the Trailer Park Boys, RV parks have gone upscale.

Girard ended up putting a deposit down on an Airstream International CCD series 28-footer, with queen-sized bed, two-piece bath and shower--the trailers, he says, look like "boutique hotel rooms on wheels." The RV park he looked at had "bougainvillealined outdoor living 'pads' at your doorstep and views of Back Bay from your window."

Just 10 years ago, the average age of an RV owner was close to 60, according to the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds. Today, that figure has dropped to 48. Rob Engman of RV TV, now in its fourth season on the Outdoor Network in the U.S. and on CHUM stations in Canada, says that with baby boomers arriving at retirement, their expectations of RVing are much higher than that of the previous generation: "What's happening in the RV resort world--and that's very much the catchphrase, these people don't stay at trailer parks or RV camps--is that there are places that have multiple swimming pools and tennis courts with tennis programs and tennis pros and on-site golf." Examples include the private-membership Beachwood Resort in Birch Bay, Wash., awash in heated pools and hot tubs; the deluxe Sands RV & Golf Resort in Desert Hot Springs, Calif.; the Viewpoint RV & Golf Resort in Mesa, Ariz., with its 27 holes of golf, grand ballroom, garden room and on-site massage therapist; and Crown Villa RV Park in Bend, Ore. Another big trend is ownership in the resort--people actually buy their RV pad. One such place is Bluewater Key RV Resort in the Florida Keys, where a waterfront RV pad goes for a cool US$795,000.

Engman says five-star RV resorts haven't really caught on in Canada yet, but we're getting there. "I just met two great guys at the RV show in Tampa who quit their corporate jobs in Toronto and bought an RV park in P.E.I.," he says. Leonard Gibbins and Michael Creighton sold their condo in downtown Toronto and purchased Bayside RV Campground in Oyster Bed Bridge, which overlooks picturesque Rustico Bay on the Island. The one Canadian standout, says Engman, is the "truly spectacular" Surfside RV Resort in Parksville on Vancouver Island. In fact, Surfside is one of the few RV resorts listed in the North American edition of the Woodall's North American Campground Directory to get a five-star rating in both facilities and recreation. It's a gated RV community in which members enjoy extra-large RV sites averaging 2,300 sq. feet. Then there's the oceanside clubhouse, sundeck and spa, swimming pool, tennis, and crackling fireplace in the lounge. Desert Skies RV Resort in Osoyoos, B.C., is the next big project. Currently under development, when all is said and done it will cover 21 acres and boast 500 sites with perks ranging from a handsome lounge and library to sandy beaches and Okanagan wines.

That said, in the RV world, Newport Dunes is known as the Ritz of RV parks, owing to its Orange County address, beachside setting, spa and generally fabulous lifestyle. Its highly rated restaurant and facilities rival the area's best hotels, and it was designed by the same firm that created the luxurious Ritz-Carlton Hotel down the coast in Laguna Niguel.

For Raymond Girard, the short stroll to the beach at Newport Dunes was an attractive selling point, as were the prospective neighbours. He was surprised to find that they were much like him: young (many in their forties) and affluent--as evidenced by the Mercedes, BMWs and even the odd Porsche he saw parked outside. He says he's got a standing invitation to park his RV (once it's fully paid for--for now work has parked it in Toronto) at next year's Sundance film festival, so what started off as a "make-do housing solution," he says, is fast turning into a "total lifestyle in a cute little box."