Take cell phone on trip?

Pavel writes:

For me, I have an elderly mother that I need to be in contact with in
case of an emergency. It's one thing to leave your cell at home while
on vacation but it's another if safety is a concern. However, I
totally agree that a lot of people on vacation are not really on
vacation because they bring their laptop and talk business.

I think a better choice than a cell phone--which might not work at
all--is to make sure that the people back home have the phone number
of the front desk where you will be staying, and let the front desk
know that you may need to be fetched in event of an emergency.