Donegal hotel customers pull plug on gadgets

A HOTEL has recorded a 300% rise in the number of people looking to enjoy a holiday without gadgets.

Guests at the award-winning Shandon Hotel & Spa in Dunfanaghy, Co. Donegal, are given the option of having their smartphones and tablets locked up in a safe. If they choose this option, they sign a contract stating they won’t ask for their gadgets back until check-out.

Game Of Thrones star Maisie Williams and her boyfriend Ollie Jackson are among those who have had a digital detox holiday at the fourstar Shandon, which overlooks Marble Hill beach on the Wild Atlantic Way.

‘Visitors to this part of north Donegal want to get away from it all and you really can do that,’ said Shandon general manager Carolynne Harrison. ‘But an increasing number of customers are signing up for our Live Well, Rest Me package. They really want to get away from everything, including social media and texts or work emails.

‘It has proven to be massively popular in 2018 with a 300% increase on 2017. We expect that upward trend to continue in 2019.’

And amazingly, Ms Harrison says that so far no guests have asked for their phones back.

‘We introduced the contracts so that those who sign up for their gadget-free holiday don’t renege on what they have committed to. We haven’t had any complaints,’ she said.

‘We had a group of 20 American female retirees in the autumn and they went off the grid for a week. They said they loved it and their holiday here reminded them of being on holidays years ago before the digital age.’