A Digital Detox in a Spa with Space

David van der Meulen takes some ‘time out’ to digital detox and find solace in Ontario, Canada

I was looking for a digital detox and spa with space for some much needed ‘rejuvenation time’ and that’s exactly what Ste. Anne’s Spa Retreat offered.

Ste. Anne’s sits on 500 acres of rolling countryside in Grafton, Ontario — about two hours east of Toronto. It is one of Canada’s most celebrated spa destinations: a working farm and retreat centre that has been welcoming guests for over three decades. The estate’s stone buildings, wildflower meadows and woodland trails create an environment that begins to decompress you before you’ve even checked in.

The digital detox programme here is taken seriously. Devices are genuinely discouraged. The activities that fill the space they leave — guided nature walks, restorative yoga, long meals eaten slowly, soaks in the outdoor mineral hot tubs — are designed to recalibrate rather than simply distract.

The spa treatments draw on local botanicals and mineral-rich formulations. My deep-tissue massage was followed by a thermal bath using herbs grown on the estate, and a long, unhurried rest in a candle-lit relaxation room that felt genuinely disconnected from the world outside.

For anyone questioning whether a digital detox retreat actually delivers on its promise, Ste. Anne’s is the answer. The space, the pace and the intentional programme work together to produce something that a weekend of screen-free behaviour at home simply cannot replicate.