Pulling the Plug: PDA-Free Holidays

Travel Blog  •  Eva Holland  •  07.21.08 | 2:43 PM ET

No, I’m not talking about the “get a room” variety of PDA. According to the Globe and Mail’s Marsha Lederman, an increasing number of hotels and resorts are offering BlackBerry-free zones, and even packages where hotel staff will ensure that guests don’t make or take any calls and emails—for their own good, of course.

An admitted “furtive thumber,” Lederman gave one such package a try at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler. Here’s her take on check-in: “I was forced to give up my BlackBerry and sign a waiver authorizing the hotel to hold my electronic belongings in the hotel safe. This may sound hokey, but it was a moment tinged with shame. I was there because I have a problem.” By the end of the weekend, though, she realized that being forcibly disconnected was “good for the soul.”

Dare we suggest that PDA-free zones might be the new spa retreats?

Tags: Media Addict, Technology, News and Briefs

Eva Holland is the senior editor of World Hum. Her writing has also appeared in the National Post, the Montreal Gazette, the Ottawa Citizen and WestJet's Up! Magazine, among other publications. She's based in Ottawa, Canada.


1 Comment for Pulling the Plug: PDA-Free Holidays

Sean O'Neill 07.21.08 | 5:17 PM ET

MSNBC has an article on 6 more hotels and resorts that actively go out of their way to help you unplug.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25459365/

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