Green Travel: The World's Best Eco-Lodges & Earth-Friendly Hotels (Special-Interest Titles) Review

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(More customer reviews)How smart is this book? For anyone who cares about the environment, the impact of travelers on communities and their own health--this is the travel book to have.
I have left places that stunk from the use of chemicals for cleaning or where the outgassing from carpets, wallpaper and the like literally made me sick.
These accommodations list how they are eco-friendly. Additionally, many of them just sound like awesome places to stay--yurts and other unusual choices.
This book will help guide you to the best environmentally friendly hotels and lodges.
By the author of the award winning book, Harmonious Environment: Beautify, Detoxify and Energize Your Life, Your Home and Your Planet

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Green Travel is the must-have guide to eco-lodges & green hotels around the world. Featuring 100 clean, green accommodations that are not only environmentally friendly, but work to support local communities as well, Choosing Eco-Travel celebrates the growing availability of green travel experiences. It also tackles some the more difficult issues that ethical travelers’ face--- questions about poverty, the politics of boycotting certain destinations, and the environmental impact of travel.Divided into six chapters (North America & the Caribbean, Central & South America, Europe, Africa & the Middle East, Asia and Australasia), the book includes:·100 independent reviews of green accommodations that have a minimum impact on the environment and benefit the local community in measurable ways.·A full description of the green credentials of each hotel and lodge·A range of choices from around the world: budget beds to luxury accommodations, solar-powered yurt camps to eco-chic city hotels.·First-hand accounts of green travel experiences on each continent — from bear-watching in Alaska to wine and cheese trails in Britain·Ethical travel dilemmas that tap into the key issues facing the responsible traveler·Practical information about the greenest ways to get to your destination, social and environmental ratings for each listing, the best time to visit, and room rates.·Clear locator maps and full-color images throughout

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Rick Steves' Eastern Europe Review

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(More customer reviews)This is the fourth Rick Steves' guidebook I've purchased for my summer trip to Europe (Europe Through the Back Door, Best of Europe, Italy, Eastern Europe). In general, his guidebooks are very easy to read, and he gives practical information. Specifically, the Best of Eastern Europe gives great information on touristy and non-touristy sites. I emailed a guide he recommended for my trip to Krakow (Andrew). Andrew was very helpful, and I've already booked him as my tour guide for my time there. Rick is right--Eastern Europe is a lot cheaper than Western Europe. Rick's suggestions on lodging and restaurants is really good. He focuses on areas in which you would normally want to visit.

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Who but Rick Steves can tell travelers the best way to visit Etruscan caves in Central Italy's hill towns, shop for cheeses in Avignon's open-air market, or catch an accordion performance on Amsterdam's city streets? With Rick Steves’ Best of Europe, travelers can experience the best of everything Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland have to offer—economically and hassle-free. Completely revised and updated, this guide includes, opinionated coverage of both famous and lesser-known sights, friendly places to eat and sleep, suggested day plans, walking tours and trip itineraries, and clear instructions for smooth travel anywhere by car, train, or foot. America’s #1 authority on travel to Europe, Rick’s time-tested recommendations for safe and enjoyable travel in Europe have been used by millions of Americans in search of their own unique European travel experience.

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Karen Brown's Italy Hotels 2009: Exceptional Places to Stay & Itineraries Review

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(More customer reviews)Karen Brown books are essential to all my trips to Italy. I have made 4 different trips from the North to the South and to Sicily. I am
grateful to her because we have stayed in some amazing places that were recommended in her books. Its VERY unlikely I would have ever found these, often unique, charming inns and hotels without her books. A few caveats are; the place/Inn/Hotel etc. may have gotten a little 'shop worn' since the original Karen Brown visit a few years prior and the owners may be less charming to you than someone there to review them and give them a 'stamp of approval' and put them in a very high profile travel book. I might suggest that Karen Brown
or staff re-review these places more frequently and do so anonymously. While I give her books very high marks there were a couple un-
pleasant surprises. Oh well, travel is never 'fool proof' and I still give her books a 95%!

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Italy is magical and this guide continues to be the best seller in the Karen Brown series. Truly a tourist's paradise-within its boot-from its tip to its famous toe, travelers will experience memorable and romantic accommodation, incredible dining, a wealth of history, incredible culture, enchanting towns and villages as well as a landscape that varies from picturesque lakes to tremendous mountain peaks and the rolling hills of Tuscany and Umbria. Let this guide introduce you to the magic and romance of Italy. 7 Regional Countryside Driving Itineraries, Descriptions of over 270 Places to Stay.

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Hotel Design, Planning, and Development, New Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)WOW! I have a copy of the 1980s version of Rutes and Penner--this is a totally new edition, all new photography, etc.--and consider it the 'Bible' for hotel design. But the new edition is twice as big and full of current examples and information. It has 32 pages of gorgeous color photos of great hotels and resorts from around the world. The text is in three main sections: Hotel Types (downtown, resorts, conference centers, luxury hotels, casino hotels, etc.); Design Guide (planning and design information for all areas of the hotel); and Development Guide (feasibility, programming, future trends). In addition, there are lots of appendices and sidebars from such people as Ian Schrager, I.M. Pei, Robert Stern, and John Portman. I've looked at other hotel design books in the stores and there isn't anything that is so complete or current. There are other books on boutique hotels, with lots of pictures, but nothing with this global coverage of all types of lodging properties. With well over 400 pages, this book will be the new Bible for hotel design. I can't imagine a better choice for anyone involved with the hotel development, architecture, or interior design.

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A new edition of the "bible" for design, planning, and development in the hospitality industry. As its predecessor has done for the last fifteen years, this book will serve as the "go-to" guide for architects, planners, and developers involved in hotel projects. It offers an overview of the industry; in-depth analysis of emerging trends; the latest how-to; and essential design, planning, and development criteria. 250 illustrations. The previous edition was published under the title Hotel Planning and Design.

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The Guide to Lodging in Italy's Monasteries Review

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(More customer reviews)I absolutely disagree with the book's critics. (CORRECTED)
We have used this book to identify lodging possibilities on several trips to Italy. I have found the contact information a good starting point. Perhaps I an showing my age, but I never rely on only one source for any information. We verify everything.
Every directory has some minor flaws. That's why you need to use information from directories with an open mind. For example, on one occasion, a fax number was answered repeatedly by a human. On a hunch, I sent the fax to the "voice" number, and it was promptly answered by the fax. Either the numbers were switched in the directory, or the numbers were correct and the equipment was switched. Either way, no problem. In another case, we found that one convent had been severaly damaged by an earthquake and was not accepting reservations.
As far as the rooms go, we have stayed in over 10 Italian convents and monasteries in the last few years. Some were relatively modern and some date back to the 11th century. Generally, convents and monasteries are in the old sections of the cities and provide more realistic experiences within the culture.
We do not expect the convents and monasteries to be a four-star hotels, nor have several hundred Euro nightly rates. Most of the rooms were modest. (One was luxurious, even by US standards.) All had modern bathrooms in the room, (except one which was 10 feet down the hall). All were very clean and orderly with good security. Some had late (or no) curfews. Some even had television.
We are quite satisfied with the accommodations because we use our room only for reflection and rest, and spend most of the time exploring Italian culture and history.
As far as getting more information on the portential lodgings, we simply plug the name of the convent into a search engine and often we are directed to a web-site for that facility, or at least that order. If you score a hit with the search engine, you may be able to conduct your transactions on-line or via e-mail. But, again, the information in this guide helps you get started with your research, by giving you the names and locations.
This book simply starts you in the right direction by telling you where to look. If I expected all my questions to be answered without having to do research, I'd consult a travel agent.
Please keep in mind that it may be helpful to send faxes during Italian business hours. Some of the convents and monasteries seem to turn their faxes off during their night-time hours. This was quite aggravating until I figured it out and send my faxes (successfully) at a different hour. Also, if there is a technical problem, their fax may be out of service for several days (or longer).
Buon viaggio, signori e signore!

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