Maybe you’ve heard of the latest luxury gimmick of the 21st century. It’s called the "black hole resort." The deal is this: You check into this resort to get away from the Internet, television and the telephone—and you pay extra for the privilege.

Around the same time, I noticed that those who part with $2,285 a night to stay in a cliff-top room at the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur pay partly for the privilege of not having a TV in their rooms; the future of travel, I’m reliably told, lies in "black-hole resorts," which charge high prices precisely because you can’t get online in their rooms.

The greatest luxury of the 21st century will be dropping off the grid. Black-hole resorts will be notable for the total absence of the Internet—even their walls will be impervious to wireless signals.