I figured I might have a problem when I started taking my BlackBerry into the bathroom with me. And I admit it: I have been known to do furtive, middle-of-the-night checks, or glance at the thing in between pushing the kids on the swing. But is it really so bad, while on honeymoon in Italy, to check messages daily?
Okay, so I have issues.
But I'm not alone. According to a recent survey by cruise planning site Tripharbour.ca, 21 per cent of working Canadians are always wired to the workplace – even on vacation. Which is why some corporations are imposing e-mail-free days and banning BlackBerry communication on holidays.
Still, some of us need a little help getting away from our electronics. Or at least powering them down for a night or two. An e-tox, if you will.
And that's where the travel industry comes in. While connectivity remains a priority for many hotels – especially those catering to business travellers – a number of resorts are now offering PDA- and cellphone-free getaways.
Alton Towers Resort, for example, a theme park in Staffordshire, England, ran a pilot PDA-free zone this spring. The goal: To encourage parents to pay more attention to their children and less attention to their hand-held devices. The method: “PDA police” on site pointing parents to drop-off areas, where they could safely leave electronics for the day.
At the Arawak Beach Inn in Anguilla, meanwhile, leaving behind electronics is not a choice. The inn's Isolation Vacation bans visitors from all technology – removing televisions and phones from their rooms, and taking away laptops and personal digital assistants upon arrival. Want to use the office computer? They won't let you.
Then there's the Kona Village Resort in Hawaii. According to sales manager Roger MacDonald, “absolute icons of the technology world” check into its thatched huts – which have no televisions, telephones, Internet access or even radios. “[The guests] just focus on being a human being,” he says.
Likewise, there are no phones or TVs in the rooms at the Little Palm Island Resort & Spa in the Florida keys. And the use of a cellphone or BlackBerry in public areas is strictly forbidden (there are signs). The hotel can also take devices from guests upon request – often, they note, from guests who don't want to get in trouble with their spouses.
All of which appealed to Gypsy Bachiller. The 35-year-old mother of three says she can't remember the last time she took a holiday with no electronics involved. “My husband spends the whole time checking [his BlackBerry]. I'm on the phone. It's constant,” she says. So she and her family drove three hours from Miami to the resort and put their BlackBerry in the designated drop box. “It felt like we completely disconnected.”
Canadians can also disconnect closer to home. This summer, the Fairmont is offering an Electronic Rehab Getaway at four properties. Each offers a slightly different take on getting away from it all: In Banff, guests get a book on meditation and rejuvenation; at Lake Louise and Jasper, guided hikes are included in the package.
And at Fairmont Chateau Whistler? Living in Vancouver, their program was too close to resist a trial run. So I started small and signed up for a single night away from my BlackBerry.
In the week leading up to the adventure, the reporter in me started to get a little panicky. What if a big story broke and I couldn't be reached? What if a copy editor had a pressing fact-checking question?
Nonetheless, I forged ahead. Okay, I did take my BlackBerry with me. I couldn't fathom a two-hour drive without a cellphone – in case of emergency, of course. My plan, though, was to turn it off on arrival.
No need. The hotel has us techno-addicts figured out. We can't be trusted.
