Is silence the new luxury?

From the Blog, The Good, the Bad, and the Funky, by Yvette Jong, for HOTELSmag.com

When developers are trying to outdo each other by spending more on design, services and amenities, I wonder 'Is silence the new luxury?'

I just came back from an amazing trip to Chiang Rai, Thailand, where I stayed at the Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle. With only 15 tents nestled in a lush bamboo backdrop along the Ruak River and a statement boasting "the world's best resort" by the Condé Nast Traveler Reader's Choice Awards three years in a row, my expectations were nothing but high. But the trip was fantastic. Not only were the tents beautifully decorated with picturesque views of Burma's misty mountains and plains, where elephants graze on all things green, but the mahout training and elephant rides were more indicative of the "authentic" experience I sought in my recent trip to Burma.  

But what really struck me was the silence. I couldn't be happier to have walls as thin as fabric, because the soporific sound of crickets, gibbons and geckos — and the occasional elephant trumpeting in the distance — created a truly "authentic" experience and "sense of destination." Coupled with the lack of screaming children, loud tourists, snapping cameras and overbearing hotel employees, the trip was simply amazing.   

So, is silence the new luxury? And if so, how do I get more of it?

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Craft House Founder and Director, Yvette Jong, contributes regularly to her HOTELS Magazine Blog titled, "The Good, the Bad and the Funky." Topics of discussion include all aspects of hospitality development, operations, branding, marketing, human resources, sustainability and much more.