“Every hotel lobby I walked into, and I walked into a lot, everyone is sitting glued to their smartphone. People pay a lot of money to travel, but in the end, they don’t end up connecting to where they are visiting,” says Alex Ohebshalom, founder of a new company planning a smartphone free hotel, in Forbes Magazine.

As it would happen, Ohebshalom decided upon the idea during a recent journey to Patagonia. At Awasi Patagonia we reached a similar conclusion. This is the message we share with our guests about connectivity:

Wi-fi detox
Internet service in this remote part of Patagonia comes via a (somewhat lazy) satellite which means we can only access wifi in the Main Lodge. Think of it as an internet detox…

There’s nowhere to go “off the grid” quite like Patagonia.

As the amount of information we are exposed to each day grows and grows, there’s a theory that we are all suffering from “information overload”. Since part of the draw with travel is to get away from it all, we believe that stepping away from your smartphone can help you disconnect.

Of course, this isn’t compulsory and we have wifi in the Main Lodge. However, Patagonia is one of the truly remote and untouched parts of the world; one of few places where wifi isn’t a given.

“If you aren’t looking at your phone, texting or whatever, you really start to connect,” continues Ohebshalom. “You meet other people. You make connections. You take the time to look around you. You notice the details. It’s a different and much more fulfilling experience.”

Food for thought, perhaps…