Finding low-tech luxury in the Caribbean

I spent weeks obsessively poring over travel sites, on the hunt for the ultimate honeymoon sanctuary. My checklist was non-negotiable: It had to be right on the water, offer intimate dining spaces and feel a million miles away from the hustle of our Miami home base. 

Early in the search, I stumbled upon the Rockhouse Hotel in Negril. I kept coming back to photos of those rustic, thatched-roof villas perched dramatically over jagged limestone cliffs.

Beyond its secluded location on Jamaica’s westernmost tip, the resort’s ultimate luxury was what it didn’t have: televisions.

This was nearly two decades ago, back when smartphones hadn’t yet hijacked our attention spans and vacation memories were captured on standalone digital cameras (and before that, actual film cameras!). Unlike the hyperconnected travel of today, where every moment is curated for an Instagram story, set to trending audio or managed via a resort app, our honeymoon was blissfully analog. It was just a few slow, screen-free days spent doing nothing but reorienting ourselves to a new chapter of our lives together. 

As it turns out, the effortless unplugging is a core mission of the property. 

“It was always part of the Rockhouse ethos to be a place to switch off from the world outside and find some inner peace,” said Paul Salmon, chairman and CEO of Rockhouse Hotel & Spa and Skylark Negril Beach Resort. 

The resort, which opened in 1974, didn’t have power for the first decade, and guests navigated the night by kerosene lamps, Salmon said. “Since my partners and I acquired the property in the early 1990s, we’ve never contemplated adding televisions in the rooms; it seems antithetical to the connection to nature, yourself and the people around you.” 

Today, tourism experts and executives said, a growing number of travelers are trying to extricate themselves from the constant social media scroll and algorithms that control their attention spans. 

“Travelers arrive carrying the weight of constant availability, and luxury increasingly means earning the freedom to set it down,” said Vanessa Ledesma, CEO of the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association. “As daily life fills with screens, guests are choosing the experiences that stay real, and our destinations are shaped to provide them.”

These days, Salmon said, Rockhouse offers guests the opportunity to voluntarily check their phones at the front desk for 24 hours.  

“Many of the guests choose to come to us at Rockhouse in order to relax and escape the pressure of digital overload and overwhelming to-do lists and instead want to have a stay centered around relaxation, nature, wellness and connection,” Salmon said. “There’s definitely a growing appreciation among travelers to slow down and reconnect with themselves and the world around them.”

The low-tech trend has found its footing around the Caribbean. On the tiny island of Barbuda, a 90-minute boat ride from its bustling big sister, Antigua, sits the off-grid resort Barbuda Belle. At first glance, the boutique resort may not seem like a traditional luxury property. But once guests cross the threshold of the one- and two-bedroom, beachfront bungalows, they may see why guests pay top rate to escape. 

The family-owned hotel offers access to a near-deserted shoreline and an on-site restaurant, the Mangrove Restaurant, an elegant outpost serving stuffed mussels and lobster and foie gras ravioli. The rustic-but-chic suites have vaulted ceilings, polished wood floors and four-poster beds along with spacious ensuite bathrooms stocked with L’Occitane products. There are a few things noticeably missing, though. 

“We have no TVs or phones,” said resort rep Caroline Petit. “The hotel has, from the start, been disconnected; our isolation has always been our asset. When you’re here, it feels like being a castaway on a deserted island.” 

Though the hotel offers internet access for those who may need to log on, Petit said that instead of relying on televisions or tech-forward amenities, they push their guests to discover the island by offering nature-oriented or communal activities. There are kayaks, snorkeling gear and bicycles for exploring the surrounding area. And activities like the nightly bonfire, Petit said, have prompted guests to interact with each other. She added that when guests leave, they often share how the surroundings help “boost their imagination and creativity.”

Low-tech, high touch?

In recent years, technology has become the dual face of luxury hospitality; “high-tech, high touch” is the oft-repeated mantra. 

Properties outsource some interactions to iPads and smartphones; for instance, securing dinner reservations and room service through an app or offering contactless check-ins. And the next tech-driven trend is already here. According to a May Fortune article (“AI is changing the hospitality industry, and it’s changing how you stay in hotels”) properties across the globe have adopted AI-driven software to take care of revenue optimization, routine messaging and operational bookkeeping that would usually fall to hotel staff. 

In the same article, Richard Valtr, the founder of Mews, a cloud-based property-management system, said that AI is not just for midlevel or budget properties; he said that AI can be used in five-star properties to absorb menial tasks and free hotel staff to be “repositioned as guides, local experts and genuine hosts.” Valtr also suggested that AI can deliver personalized recommendations that are ready before check-in by combining guest data with real-time local intelligence. 

But studies show Americans are also growing wary of AI and its intrusion into daily life and the workforce. According to a June 2025 Pew Research survey, half of U.S. adults say the increased use of AI in daily life makes them more concerned than excited. This reflects a significant upward trend from 2021, when only 37% of respondents expressed primary concern. 

“Travelers value human warmth — the bartender who remembers a name, or the dive guide who has read the same stretch of reef for 30 years,” the CHTA’s Ledesma said. 

Properties like St. Lucia’s Ti Kaye Resort & Spa are answering that call directly, intentionally omitting screens to encourage deeper interpersonal connections. Lucia Poleon, marketing manager for the resort nestled on the island’s idyllic west coast, said a tech-free concept has been a part of the hotel’s ethos since its opening in 2001. She added that the concept has changed the way travelers interact with each other. 

“You see strangers striking up conversations, couples being present with each other and solo travelers joining in on things they might have otherwise skipped,” she said. “People become friends more quickly here. By day two or three, guests who arrived not  knowing a soul are sharing meals and stories like old friends and end up becoming travel buddies on their next visit.”

In the absence of tech, many resorts have prioritized group classes and community-forward amenities. At Rockhouse Hotel, there are a number of daily activities for guests to enjoy, including yoga; a general manager’s social with drinks and conversation; and candle-making and cooking classes. Ti Kaye Resort & Spa offers farm and wine-tasting tours. At Barbuda Belle, guests can book horseback riding tours and picnics on Barbuda’s Princess Diana Beach. 

Not surprisingly, the tech-free movement has a stronger presence in properties geared toward adults. Cocos Hotel Antigua Resort, a collection of cottages on the island’s west coast, has adopted screen-free accommodations. The adults-only, couples-focused retreat said guests often book, citing the need to escape constant connectivity. 

“Guests frequently tell us that they appreciate the absence of televisions and telephones, as it allows them to focus on quality time together without the usual distractions,” said Chiquira Jarvis, head of reservations. “The result is a more social and engaged guest experience that feels increasingly rare in today’s digital world.”

Of course, going completely analog isn’t for everyone. For those with around-the-clock careers, a total digital blackout simply isn’t realistic or desirable. Grenada’s Six Senses La Sagesse, which debuted on the island in 2024, offers an opt-in Digital Detox Program, which enables guests to dip their toes in a screen-free world or dive in for their entire stay.

“Rather than positioning technology as something negative, the program was designed to encourage balance and mindfulness by creating intentional moments where guests can step away from screens and reconnect through conversation, nature, wellness and shared experiences,” said Darika Hom-uem, director of Six Senses La Sagesse Spa. 

The Digital Detox Program offers four tiered levels of disconnection, starting with Level 1, Unplugged Meals, featuring conversation cards and phone-securing Yondr boxes. Level 2 is tech-free, guided island excursions. At Level 3, families can opt for unplugged rooms stocked with analog board games and bedtime storybooks to replace evening screen time. 

For a total reset, the Level 4 Unplugged Experiences package immerses guests in a multiday transformative journey of daily meditation, holistic spa therapies, wellness meals and nightly bonfire rituals. For that one, the phones stay locked in a Yondr box.

Hom-uem said the program is unique in its design to “encourage reflection around how technology fits into daily life and how moments of disconnection can create more intentional experiences both while on property and after they check out.”