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Tribune News Service

“We’re all Star Wars nuts,” Barry Ray says as his wife, Melissa, and daughter Evie play nearby.
Evie knows all the Star Wars characters from multiple readings of the Little Golden Books series, which retells stories from the sci-fi franchise for children. She is wearing a Princess Leia costume so, in keeping with the canon, her parents are dressed as Darth Vader and Padmé Amidala.
They have travelled from Granbury, Texas, to celebrate Evie’s sixth birthday in the middle of a 40-hectare (100-acre) dry lake bed that is the next best thing to Tatooine. The previous night, they had watched the 1977 original, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, inside a two-bedroom cave.
“We’ve had a great time,” Ray says, “and it’s an experience she won’t ever forget.”












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A post shared by Outpost X | Utah Experience Hotel (@outpost.x)



“It” is OutpostX, a swathe of raw desert in Beryl, Utah, flush with science-fiction iconography that founder Travis Chambers refers to as “a filmset hotel with a story”.
The whole thing feels like it is part of a different galaxy, even though it is not all that far, far away.
During a 2013 visit to a pirate-themed Airbnb in southern California, something clicked inside Chambers. He started travelling the world, racking up 30-something countries in short order.
“I got to the point where I’d rather stay in a shack in the jungle in Belize than go to a Four Seasons,” Chambers says. “Luxury just does not do it for me.”
That same year, he founded the digital ad agency Chamber Media, which would land him on a Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Ultimately, he says, the company was a means to an end. In 2021, Chambers cashed out with a reported US$17 million to fund his real dream.
I think when everyone is at OutpostX, they’re experiencing what you would build with your friends if you were 14 years old
Travis Chambers, founder of Outpost X
OutpostX is a whole lot of nothing, and that is by design. Imagined as a “post-apocalyptic sanctuary”, the retreat covers almost 40 hectares yet feels significantly larger given the lack of visible borders. You can see for miles there without recognising anything other than mountains and scrub.
Chambers identifies luxury, service and location as the three elements on which most hotels compete. “We didn’t follow any of those,” he says.
There is no gift shop, no restaurant, not even a vending machine. You could complete your stay at OutpostX without interacting with another soul.
The accommodation consists of three cave dwellings, four Zen Domes and a handful of tents. Whether you purchase the ingredients from OutpostX or bring your own food, you will be cooking for yourself – either in your kitchenette or the fire pit in the common area.












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A post shared by Chelsey Hauston (@letthemeatthis)



Instead of staff to pamper guests, there are hot tubs, a cold plunge and a sauna with a wood-burning stove. A solitary hammock offers its occupant a silence most will never know.
In keeping with Chambers’ tastes, OutpostX is aggressively anti-luxury, and guests are more than happy to pay for that vibe. Zen Domes start at US$320 (HK$2,500) a night, the one-bedroom caves at US$390 and the two-bedroom cave at US$475. Ahead of its opening in 2023, the retreat was sold out for its first year.
“We’ve gotten comments on the internet, ‘You want us to pay to stay in a Third World country?’” Chambers says. “And we’re like, ‘Yep. Exactly. A Third World country 2,000 years from now.’”
Not only is OutpostX reminiscent of the Skywalkers’ home planet, guests can explore its outer reaches from inside “sand cruisers”, custom-built vehicles that greatly resemble Luke’s banged-up landspeeder – minus the hovering.
Just do not expect anyone involved in the enterprise to mention the words “Star Wars”.












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A post shared by Travis Chambers | Experience Designer (@travis_chambers)



Instead, the retreat comes with its own backstory involving brothers Maa and Naa Hyer, who were separated at birth to avoid being recruited into the galactic military. What you experience at OutpostX is the settlement as it is being rebuilt after The Empire destroyed it with a solar flare.
That story plays out in the multi-episode podcast that is sent to guests so they will have something to listen to during the 290km (180-mile) drive from Las Vegas or the 160km trip from Zion National Park.
Signs around OutpostX tell more of the tale, the way a state park might showcase its flora and fauna.
The caves, they tell the guests who notice them, were built with materials hauled out of distant granite quarries by giant Armaados, while the Zen Domes were constructed from the blast glass salvaged from a crashed ship.
Guests typically break down into thirds, Chambers says.
There are the “sci-fi geeks and nerds” who will take to the origin tale and rent the corresponding costumes; those looking for seclusion; and the Burning Man/hippie crowd.
The communal Kaan Lounge offers Frank Herbert’s Dune books for the former. For the latter, it also houses a guitar, drums, a sonic energy handpan and a “Sound Bowl Experience”.

“Every very smart person told us that it was a horrible idea,” Chambers says.
They have started coming around, though. OutpostX is 90 per cent booked six months in advance. Similar locations are planned to open in Moab, Utah, and Puerto Rico this year.
By then, potential guests may have figured out whether the minimalist concept is right for them.
“I’ve seen people show up in a Maybach or a Bentley and get out,” Chambers says, “then get in their car and leave.”
The OutpostX clientele, he adds, is not so much a demographic as it is a personality: someone who is creative and imaginative – and willing to pay a premium to exercise those attributes.
“I think when everyone is at OutpostX,” Chambers says, “they’re experiencing what you would build with your friends if you were 14 years old.”


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Tourism

Star Wars vibes at Utah desert hotel make sci-fi dreams come true. But don’t expect luxury

A cave dwelling at OutpostX, in the US state of Utah, with a custom-built “sand cruiser” parked outside. An anti-luxury “filmset hotel with a story”, it draws Star Wars fans from far and wide. Photo: Instagram/outpost.x

The lounge area in one of OutpostX’s cave dwellings. Photo: Instagram/outpost.x

AI Star Wars villain Darth Vader in Fortnite video game sparks actors’ union lawsuit

Luke Skywalker (left) and Darth Vader in a still from Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Photo: courtesy of George Lucas Studios

Fortnite created an AI Darth Vader video game character, and actors’ union SAG-AFTRA has filed a claim for unfair labour practice. Photo: Lucasfilm

James Earl Jones (above) gave the Darth Vader character his distinctive voice. Photo: Michael Zorn/Invision/AP

“Darth Vader” accepts the ultimate villain award from Star Wars creator George Lucas at the 2011 Scream Awards in Los Angeles. Photo: AP

Cruise trends for 2025, from private islands and resorts to super luxury trips

Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas cruise ship docks at Labadee, the company’s private resort on Haiti, to which it recently suspended travel due to civil unrest. Photo: TNS

Carnival Cruises’ Carnival Conquest ship departs from PortMiami as beachgoers enjoy the nice weather at Miami’s South Beach during spring break on March 21, 2025. Photo: TNS

Guests from the MSC World America cruise ship visit Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve in the Bahamas on April 10, 2025. Photo: Getty Images for MSC World America

MSC Cruises’ new Terminal AA, the world’s largest cruise terminal, was inaugurated in Miami’s PortMiami in April. Photo: TNS

Virgin Galactic plans to raise ticket price for space trips from current US$600,000

A still from a video from Virgin Galactic on August 10, 2023, with Anastatia Mayers (front left), 18, Jon Goodwin (back right), 80, and Chief Astronaut Instructor Beth Moses (front right) in space. Virgin Galactic had been selling seats on its forthcoming Delta spacecraft at about US$600,000 a seat. In 2026, it plans to charge more. Photo: Virgin Galactic/AFP

Virgin Galactic’s now-retired VSS Unity taking off for a suborbital space flight from the US state of New Mexico in 2024. The company will replace it with its forthcoming Delta spacecraft. Photo: Anadolu via Getty Images

Shenzhen travel guide: how to get a visa on arrival, which apps to download and cashless payment in the Chinese city

To get to places in Shenzhen like Dongmen Pedestrian Street (above), Hong Kong residents without the right visa can apply for one on arrival. That’s not all you need to know - we break down the essentials for your trip from Hong Kong. Photo: Shutterstock

WeChat is useful for electronic payments and for its mini-programs – apps within the app. Photo: Shutterstock

The simplest option within Hong Kong to reach Shenzhen is to take the MTR East Rail Line to Lo Wu or Lok Ma Chau stations. Photo: Erika Na

Shenzhen taxis can be ordered via Didi Chuxing, the Chinese equivalent of Uber. Photo: Shutterstock

Alipay accepts foreign-issued credit cards and can be used to make e-payments in Shenzhen. Photo: Shutterstock

Baidu Maps is more accurate than Google Maps in Shenzhen. Photo: Shutterstock

Lifestyle

Travel & Leisure

Entertainment

OutpostX, a ‘post-apocalyptic sanctuary’, feels like it’s in a faraway galaxy. But with no staff, and cave dwellings, it’s not for everyone


OutpostX, a ‘post-apocalyptic sanctuary’, feels like it’s in a faraway galaxy. But with no staff, and cave dwellings, it’s not for everyone.
