Wild retreats for rest, reconnection and renewal: ‘People feel burnt out by our connection to technology’

Дата публикации: 17-08-2026 04:58:00

Wild stays in Ireland are becoming increasingly popular as guests reconnect with nature and ditch their phones

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It’s early morning when I sit down to read 60 pages of guestbook comments. Some are personal, some include doodles and almost all are evangelical about the transformative effect of not looking at a screen for two days and two nights.

“We don’t need our phones,” wrote one guest. “We don’t need much,” wrote another. “My partner and I had reconnecting talks without any distractions.”

More than one guest put the facilities to the test, observing that the shower “is too small for four people”. Another confirmed the outdoor copper tub “only fits two”. What has gone down here, I wonder. There is nothing to do but drink my hand-ground coffee, mull the watertight logistics and listen to the birds.

I am in a cabin called Cucu on the grounds of Ballinlough Castle, Co Westmeath. Surrounded by mature woodland, with only some cows for company, Cucu is part of a growing trend of wild stays in Ireland being developed by individual providers and big-money players.

Save for its bright crimson timber shingles, the exterior of the hut brings to mind the early medieval stone oratories found around Ireland, including Gallarus in Ballydavid, Co Kerry, and St Columb’s House in Kells, Co Meath.

These stone buildings were constructed as places of divine worship, of spiritual cleansing and there are echoes of this in Samsú, where wilderness-seekers book two- or three-night digital detox stays and look to the great outdoors as a salve for their fried nervous systems.

Cucu’s interior is consciously local and cohesive with the wool and fire smoke aesthetic that evokes Taylor Swift’s Folklore era. The crockery is hand-made, the textiles are from Irish designers and there is a small library of books with multiple titles dedicated to conscious living.

Rosanna Irwin, who created Cucu as part of her Samsú collection, was working in tech and living in London, when the idea for off-grid woodland stays came to her.

“From my own experience, I knew that there were so many people out there who were feeling burnt out by our connection to technology, and I had a strong hunch that there would be a market for places to slow down and disconnect,” Irwin says.

Her hunch is backed up by the numerous studies that show time spent in natural environments can benefit health, wellbeing and reduce stress, and that show excessive screen time can negatively impact mental health, increase anxiety and disrupt sleep.

Samsú, which follows a similar model to the successful off-grid start-ups Unyoked in Australia and Unplugged in the UK, is almost at full occupancy for its three locations. The business has recently expanded, so vetted third-party hosts can list their own secluded stays on the Samsú platform.

In advance of my arrival to Cucu, there were emails to prepare me on what to bring and what to expect. Once inside the door, there was a choice to swap my phone for a box of analogue goodies including notebooks, pens, a Polaroid camera and a blokia phone for emergencies. I chucked my own phone in the box, grabbed some firelighters and headed for the riverside sauna a short tramp away through Ballinlough’s forest of oak, beech and birch trees.

Irwin has plans to introduce another element soon to remind guests to hold on to the insights they may have gained while offline.

“There will be an envelope only to be opened on checkout. It will have a note that says: ‘Remember this feeling, and how free your mind feels.’ There will also be a little acorn inside as a representation of the seeds that may have been sowed over the days.”

This emphasis on guiding guests through their stay, from preparation to reflection, is a significant shift from where mass tourism began in Ireland in the 1950s, says Jim Deegan, a professor of tourism policy at the University of Limerick and the director of the National Centre for Tourism Policy Studies.

“Back then, it was about escape. Now, it’s more about experience plus,” Deegan says. “When people go on holiday, it’s an extension of their life.”

Deegan sees digital detox retreats as part of a long-range trend shift in the travel industry, from the experience economy to the transformation economy, where consumers are looking for more than memorable experiences and are prioritising self-development.

“Increasingly you find people who are looking for more meaning in their lives. The transformation economy is about fulfilling the aspiration of each person,” he says.

The term “transformation economy” was coined by American author Joe Pine, building on his earlier concept of the experience economy that was first defined in the 1990s. Particularly at the middle and higher end of the tourism industry, Pine suggests consumers will increasingly expect travel providers to stage conditions for personal change.

It tracks that, in 2026, when nearly three-quarters of the Irish population report feeling as though they spend too much time on their phone, places that offer individuals a chance to make lasting change to their habits are surging in popularity.

In Donegal, a slightly different approach is being taken at Lough Mardal Lodge. Here, five off-grid yurts are spread out across a remote lakeshore, each one invisible to the next but centred around a communal roundhouse.

Built using breathable cob material and furnished with squashy sofas, a vast fireplace and a well-equipped kitchen, the roundhouse is an electronics-free zone.

“We wanted to allow people to have the space to chat, play boardgames and read,” Marcus Tindal, who co-owns Lough Mardal with his wife, Claire Tindal, says.

“I’ve been in restaurants, and I see families sitting together with their faces stuffed in their phones; no judgment, but it’s not what we wanted to create.”

By having a no-tech policy, Tindal has found it takes the pressure off parents having to say no to screens and allows partners to spend quality time together. “People can chat with each other if they want to, and we have a lot of books there that are really diverse on eco-building, history, philosophy, theology. It’s great to spark ideas.”

Where Samsú, Lough Mardal and others offer structures to help create analogue and potentially transformative experiences, there is a more light-touch approach in the very high-end luxury market.

These travellers want to be immersed in places that feel restorative to them, rather than excessive, says Frits Potgieter, chief executive of The Chesway Collection, which owns the Montenotte near Cork city.

Responding to traveller demand for privacy and immersive experiences in nature, The Chesway Collection invested €8 million in developing five woodland stays which opened in 2024. Lavishly designed suites on stilts, they have triple-glazed windows, travertine flooring and golf buggies to bring guests from door to concierge at the slightest suggestion of rain.

“More and more, we see people leaving their phones at the front desk. Guests are looking for experiences that allow them to reconnect with nature, for people to spend meaningful time together without sacrificing comfort or service,” Potgieter says.

After my own tech-free day and night and a lengthy sweat at Samsú’s riverside hot box, my turn to write in the guestbook came.

“What did you learn?” the prompt asks.

More prosaic than the previous 60 guests, I wrote about how much I love wearing wellies and tramping through sticky mud, how having a torch to guide me through the woods at night made me feel capable. I wrote about how good it is to be in my own presence.

Whether it can bring transformative change to my life, I can’t say. But it feels like a true privilege not to be pulled in 20 different directions by my phone, being in one place fully rather than spread across the infinite worlds the internet creates.

Five more wild cabins to wind down inThe Cabin Under the Hills, Co Waterford

Tucked away in the secluded Cappoquin estate, with views of the river Blackwater and the Knockmealdown Mountains, are two off-grid cabins. Owners Greg and Elisa encourage guests to switch off, build a fire, read a book and have kitted out the stays with books, cards and boardgames.

Sleeps two, prices from €470 for two nights. thecabinunderthehills.com

Wild Cabins Kinvara, Co Galway

With no internet access, but an outdoor fire pit and the ecological wonder of the Burren to explore, there are three sister cabins tucked away here. The surrounding 50-acre organic farm is a haven for diverse habitats, plants and wildlife from karst and woodland to wetland and meadow species.

Sleeps two, prices from €425 for two nights

The Stilt House, Fernwood, Co Galway

Inspired by the Scandinavian principles of “everything you need and nothing you don’t”, the stilt house has simple yet luxurious interiors, a wood-fired hot tub and a private lakeside sauna. With floor-to-ceiling windows, each with a different aspect, the cabin is designed to create the feeling of being fully enveloped by the woodland.

Sleeps two, prices from €1080 for three nights. Fernwood.eco

Birch Cabins, Florida Manor, Co Down

There are eight contemporary cabins here perched on stilts with views through a mature forest and out to Strangford Lough. Set within the 200 acres of the historic Florida Manor estate in Northern Ireland, there are private lakes, landscaped grasslands and bridle paths to explore.

Sleeps two, prices from €530 (£450) for two nights. Floridamanor.com/birch-cabins

Drumhierny Woodland Hideaway, Co Leitrim

Within a 100-acre forest of broadleaf and conifer trees, Drumhierny Woodland Hideaway Estate has 16 lodges designed for families and groups. There are 5km of walking and biking trails, a wellness sanctuary and hidden fairy forts.

Sleeps six, prices from €1,110 for two nights. drumhiernyhideaway.ie

Rosanna Cooney was a guest of Samsú

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