Customer Reviews

Europe's Monastery and Convent Guesthouses

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Six years ago I stayed at a remarkable convent guesthouse in Assisi. The food was spectacular, the environment was relaxing, and the hospitality was top-notch. I'll never forget one of the nuns giving us some bus tokens as we departed Assisi early one morning. They were to catch the bus to the train depot. It was one of the single kindest acts anyone showed to us during our trip.

Author, and consummate traveler Kevin Wright, knows well the special courtesies that such places offer the weary traveler. He has featured more than 450 such places in his recent guidebook.

I can think of no finer resource for the pilgrim traveler than this compilation of European monastery and convent guesthouses.

In addition to the information on the guesthouses it also provides a history of the major monastic orders, a history of Christian monasticism, information on Gregorian chant, many photographs, a listing of monastic-related web sites, and other Internet travel resources.

Wright combines his youthful enthusiasm, knowledge, travel experience, and sense of humor in this very useful guidebook. Not only will travelers enjoy it, but the armchair traveler, the student of Catholicism, and anyone else interested in monastic life.

I bought Kevin Wright's book before a trip to Europe. The idea behind the book is a winner; unfortunately the execution leaves much to be desired. (Largish) monasteries that do exist are not mentioned, Wright would have at least one monastery be in a town in which it most certainly has not been for the last 500 years; accuracy is not always Wright's strong point.

It's a huge shame that Wright didn't approach the right offices in Rome, as can easily be done done, and assemble a much more comprehensive and authoritative guide to Europe's monasteries and their guesthouses. Instead, he seems to have largely done his research on the web.

It may well be cheaper to buy this book than to do tons of web searches, but before doing so, you ought to be apprised of this book's limitations.

I found Mr. Wright's book to be a good travel and resource book, with a few exceptions. Here were the positive's and negatives:

Positive
1) great background info on monasteries
2) lots of contact info on monasteries
3) good website resources listed at back of book
4) nice layout
5) both practical and spiritual

Negative
1) no maps
2) not enough in-depth info about each monastery

A useful subject, but Mr. Wright failed to do his homework. Any guidebook without a map to pinpoint locations discussed is frustrating; one which limits itself to cursory descriptions and incomplete addresses is MOST annoying and inconvenient--especially when so many of the monasteries listed are in remote locations, in the countryside or in villages so small they are identified on very few maps. Most of Wright's descriptions are so terse that one has no idea what region a guest house is located in, and only the barest of details about the facilities and services offered.

Wright also neglects to provide any details related to costs or to access (i.e., nearest train, bus services, etc.), so a reader has to spend a great deal of time and possibly money, only to risk discovering that a monastery one is considering is beyond one's budget, itinerary, and/or is inaccessible via the means of transportation available to him/her.

The book COULD have been a great resource, if the author would have put more effort into it. Instead, one can probably do better to do one's own research on the Web and investigating other materials.

One positive comment: Wright's identification of Web pages and email addresses for several entries IS useful.

What a great book for travelers to Europe, and those hoping to visit monasteries and convents. I had searched everywhere for a book of this type, and just when I thought it didn't exist, a friend told me about it. Hence, I am so glad I found it, as it was very helpful during my pre-planning stages of visiting Europe. In fact, because of the contact information that is listed in the book under each monastery/convent, I was able to correspond with many of the places before I went (and even set up reservations). I also liked the introductory chapters which gave me a refresher course on the history of monasticism, special terms, the various religious orders and their charisms, etc. So, I would highly recommend this book to anyone that truly wants to visit the monasteries/convents across Europe for purposes of a spiritual retreat/visit. If you don't have plans of visiting these places with a spiritual purpose in mind, then the book is probably not for you (by the way, the previous reviewer must have bought some other book....did he not realize that the book provides contact information to more than 400 places....and that most monasteries and convents are not on the Internet?).

God bless, Jason

We were very pleased with the format of this book. Not only is the book practical (it has the monastery contact information we were looking for), but it also approached the subject from a spiritual perspective - very important. The only disappointment, however, was that it didn't have any maps, which made it more difficult to find out where many of the places were located. But nonetheless, it's been very helpful for us, and we've also loaned the book out to friends who have also found it very helpful in making their travel plans. We give it four stars.

This book was my greatest treasure on my recent trip to Europe!!! I traveled to a number of countries, and was able to visit some of Christianity's greatest monasteries. I absolutely loved the monastery of Solesmes in France, what a beautiful and peaceful place (as the author said). There were so many things I loved about the book: the introductory chapters on the history of monasticism, the story on Gregorian chant, how to contact the places, and the information on each monastery/convent (and what they have to offer). I can't wait to get back to Europe and visit more places using this book!!!

This book was exactly what I was looking for. It's mostly a directory-type style book, listing the contact information for literally hundreds of monasteries & convents. Just below the contact information of each monastery/convent, is a short one paragraph description, usually providing one or two unique aspects of each place. One aspect I also really liked about the book were the chapters in the beginning of the book, providing a synopsis of monastic history, Gregorian chant, the various religious orders, etc. Lastly, I found the (monastic/travel) websites listed at the back of the book extremely helpful. I would highly, highly recommend this book! Steve R.

At last! A book about Europe's monasteries and convents! Several years ago, I looked for a "directory type" book of monasteries to stay at in Europe, and unfortunately nothing existed at that time. Just recently though, I came across this book and bought it. It's exactly what I wish I would have had several years ago when I went to Europe. The book is set up nicely, and is very exhaustive in it's coverage. I like both the spiritual aspect of it (i.e. stories about monasticism, encouragement to partake in the daily activities of the monasteries, etc.), as well as the practical aspect (i.e. contact information, brief info about each monastery, etc.). I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is planning on visiting Europe with the intention of spending some time in a spiritual setting. I myself hope I can get to Europe again sometime soon, to visit some of these wonderful places!!! Bob M.

This is exactly the book we were looking for! It has all the pertinent information for learning about which monasteries and convents are able to accept visitors for overnight stays. It also provides the contact information for each place which has been invaluable for us, and it provides key information such as whether the place accepts men, women, and/or families. Also, other tidbits that were helpful to us were information pieces such as whether the liturgies are in said/sung in Latin or the vernacular. Lastly, the opening part of the book which provided brief summaries of monasticism and key terms was of great help. We would highly, highly recommend this book for anyone planning to visit monasteries and convents in Europe. And as the author mentioned, one should have a spiritual purpose in mind if you plan to visit these places. God bless! Brian & Jane