The kids may start off complaining about forgoing their television and electronics-but they’ll end up falling in love with the simple rhythms of nature: the wind, the trees, and the water crashing on the rocks of this granite island 7 miles off the New Hampshire coast. Star Island is technically a religious retreat center, but there’s no proselytizing here unless you count conversion to a simpler way of living.

The one hotel is a 19th century grand Victorian that once served as a magnet for artists painting the island’s natural beauty. Rooms are simple with modest furnishings and irregular water pressure (all rooms are offered a pitcher full of hot water in the morning for bathing). Televisions are non-existent and don’t even think about getting a Wi-Fi signal. Even so, kids easily fall into the spirit of the place, wandering among the fields and tide pools or taking advantage of tennis, Frisbee golf, rowboats, and other diversions provided by the retreat center. There is a reason that families keep returning here year after year to dip their toes into a more relaxed existence, if even for a short time.