I wrote about my experience at The Retreat at Blue Lagoon, the ultra-luxury hotel at one of Iceland’s most famous tourist attractions. In this post, I’d like to talk about what’s no doubt the property’s most controversial policy, which I’ve seen some complaints about online. Is it a nice counter to the digitally connected world we otherwise live in, or just unreasonably and baselessly strict?
How The Retreat at Blue Lagoon electronics ban works
The Retreat at Blue Lagoon bans all electronic devices, including cameras, in the Retreat Spa and Retreat Lagoon. Let me emphasize that this is specific to The Retreat (the luxury compound at the Blue Lagoon), and it doesn’t apply to the main lagoon. The ban also doesn’t apply to the hotel, aside from the spa and lagoon.
Just to be crystal clear, the ban isn’t just against taking pictures, but if a phone is visible, they’ll ask you to bring it to reception. There are some rather stern security staff who closely monitor this.
The hotel describes this policy as being designed to allow people to unwind, and also to offer privacy to all guests. However, the policy doesn’t mean that you can’t have your picture taken. Instead, they offer for the security guards to take some pictures of you in the pool (using the hotel’s iPhone), and then they’ll email or AirDrop them to you.
Now these aren’t professional photographers, and I can’t say they do a particularly great job setting up photo shoots, but they’ll at least help you prove that you were there. 😉
I’m conflicted about such a strict electronics policy
I don’t think I’ve ever stayed at a hotel with such a strict electronics policy. It’s understandable that many hotels ban taking pictures in changing rooms or other areas with nudity (for obvious reasons), but even at the lagoon, when that’s the main attraction? I’m not sure what to think.
On the one hand, I find the policy to be refreshing. Sometimes it feels like we live in a world where so many people travel just to be able to show off on social media, so it’s kind of cool to see everyone just enjoying themselves here, not focused on electronics.
Furthermore, there’s no denying that in everyday life, some people take photography to the extreme, and disrupt others. I imagine if photography were allowed without restrictions, you’d have some people here just doing photoshoots all day, like you’ll find at the Burj Al Arab (which is fun and entertaining in an entirely different way).
On the other hand, it seems awfully prescriptive to basically tell people that they can’t look at their phone all day. People have life commitments, and things they need to check on. I can understand a policy against phone calls, or against photography of others, etc., but just a blanket ban on having electronics on you?
I also have to imagine that this policy leaves some guests with a really bad impression. I suspect many guests who book don’t realize this policy exists. And I also imagine many guests are traveling for very special occasions, like honeymoons. Like it or not, people like to capture these kinds of moments.
Lastly, the policy just seems bad for marketing. Like I said when I wrote about the hotel, I had no clue what to expect prior to our stay, largely because there’s so little information out there about it. The lagoon at the hotel is unbelievably beautiful, yet you’ll almost never see pictures of it online. I have to imagine the hotel would see a lot more business without this policy.
Hey, this property can set its own rules, and people can decide if this is right for them. Personally, I appreciate the concept the hotel is going for, but I think the execution is a step too far. I think a fairer restriction would be a ban on phone calls, or a ban on pictures in the spa as such, or a ban on pictures that have other guests in them.
The problem is that it’s hard to create policies around common sense and discretion. For example, there were hour-long periods where we didn’t see a single other person, so you’d think that taking a picture wouldn’t disturb anyone. But hey, that’s just me…
Bottom line
The Retreat at Blue Lagoon is an amazing hotel, though it has an electronics ban for its main feature. No electronics are allowed in the spa area and lagoon. We’re not just talking about pictures being banned, but you can’t even look at your electronics, let alone bring them.
While I appreciate the idea of encouraging people to disconnect, this is definitely one of the stranger hotel policies I’ve come across.
What do you make of the concept of this electronics ban? Are you a fan, or do you think it’s too extreme?
