turn it down: quiet travel experiences around the world

Transplanted from Japan, listening bars - where music is the focus not the background - have taken off across the world in recent years with audiophiles stopping by for the quiet atmosphere, high quality sound systems and music that’s enjoyed without any distraction. In the small town of Torno on the banks of Lake Como, contemporary hotel il Sereno has created the Darsena Listening Suite, the world’s first hotel suite dedicated to listening. Kitted out with analogue equipment (including horn speakers and a turntable), acoustic textiles and a curated vinyl library of more than 500 records. It’s a sanctuary of sound where you can sit back, listen and drink in the lake views.  

Rates start at approximately $6,300 per night. 

Despite most of us keeping our phones on ‘silent’ the constant noise of our devices is one most of us are trying to escape. In the pre-Pyrenees, just one hour from the bustle of Barcelona, Unplugged has created an off-grid and offline space where you can enjoy the quiet nature that surrounds you without the interruption (or temptation) of your devices. Put your phone in a lockbox when you check in, cosy up in your cabin and enjoy hiking with a paper map to nearby waterfalls, rivers and rock pools or documenting your trip on an instant camera. 

Stays start from £390 per cabin. 

High up in the Tyrolean Alps and reached only by gondola, nine-suite Eriro is a spa hotel that immediately makes you want to lower your voice. Silence and tranquillity are the thread that runs through everything here whether it’s following a local snow shoeing trail, taking a meditative pottery class or simply staring out at the majestic mountains. Meanwhile, in the wellbeing area, sound has been made a fundamental pillar. Try relaxing in the underground meditation pool, a dimly-lit and bath-like temperature, which can be enjoyed in silence or with the sound of the brass singing bowl that hangs from the ceiling. Or there’s the hay-and-straw-filled sound room where selected music resonates throughout the room and across the body like a massage. 

Suites from €1,160 all inclusive. 

There is something special about enjoying silence simultaneously with others and reading retreats offer just that. Ease, a UK-based writing and wellbeing retreat company, offers regular literary-focused escapes of this kind in Provence and the Welsh countryside. Expect an intimate gathering of guests for a long weekend in luxury accommodation where a relaxed schedule includes daily silent book clubs (uninterrupted reading time in the presence of other book-loving guests) as well as follow-up discussions over dinner and a session with a bibliotherapist to point you in the direction of new material. 

Prices vary. 

Protecting our collective right for quiet is the mission of non-profit Quiet Parks International who accredit and protect places around the world where true quiet can be experienced. In the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador, the initiative has named Zabalo River as the World’s First Wilderness Quiet Park and thanks to a collaboration with the indigenous community of this region, Cofan Nation, travellers can stay and experience one of the quietest and most diverse places on earth. Hosted in cottages in Zabalo Village, travellers can explore the forest with guides who have always called this place home, learning about the plants, birdlife, animals and local traditions as well as enjoying both the silence and sounds of nature.  

$3,500/person for 10 days, all inclusive. 

Sound baths have certainly been popping up more frequently in hotel spas but now some destinations are pushing this concept further. Case in point: much-loved New Forest hotel Limewood and their Herb House spa. Their latest offering is a deep dive into breath and sound with a difference led by musician and gong master Rich Hale (formerly the frontman of chill-out band Kinobe) and Tracey Howes, Herb House’s resident Breathwork Facilitator. The experience begins with guided breathwork inspired by free-diving practices before moving to the hydrotherapy area for a sound healing session in the pool where the warm water heightens the senses allowing for a more immersive sound experience. 

From £100.