A Guide to Monastic Guest Houses: Fourth Edition [Paperback]

Robert J. Regalbuto (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2000

How in its third edition and newly expanded, A Guide to Monastic Houses offers detailed information on accommodations in state across America and in each Canadian province. For place listed, Regalbuto includes a description and history of the site, directions, and points of interest, as well as information about meals and lodging, charges or donations, a helpful map and illustrations.

Settings range from mid-town Manhattan to the Hawaiian rain forest, from the Canadian woodlands to southwest deserts. The monasteries and convents listed span the spectrum of Christian traditions, yet each is open to those of any faith.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Monastic orders have offered shelter to travelers for as long as monasteries have existed to receive them. For visitors seeking "a place apart" in which to reflect, rest, or find spiritual direction, a monastic guest house might be the perfect solution. In A Guide to Monastic Guest Houses, Robert J. Regalbuto offers a wide sampling of accommodations provided by many different Christian traditions in 33 states and 7 Canadian provinces. For each of the 80 entries in the book, Regalbuto includes useful information about the history of the establishment, meals and lodging, nearby points of interest, directions, and how much to pay--or donate. If you're considering a vacation for your soul and body, A Guide to Monastic Guest Houses is a good place to start. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

... a good and inexpensive start to what may be a fuller treatment. -- Monos: A Newsletter for Those Seeking Spiritual Growth, January 1990

... a very worthwhile little book! -- Maryland Church News, October/November 1990

... an invitation to share, if briefly, in the contemplative spirit of monastic life. -- J. Robert Beagle, as printed in National Geographic Traveler, November/December 1989

... particularly useful for prospective retreatants. -- Eugene Platt, as printed in The Charleston Journal

... recently planning a pilgrimage using such a guide... I can attest to the value of such a publication... -- Travis Du Priest, The Living Church, December 17, 2000

... well-organized... I highly recommend this book for all church libraries -- Lois Frey, as printed in Provident Book Finder, March/April/May 1990

...come back from a brief vacation truly rested and refreshed... -- Wichita Eagle

...your constant traveling companion... will give you a sense of calm, like seeing a world within a world, previously invisible. -- Trinity Bookstore

Handy and attractively laid out and illustrated. -- The Living Church, December 17, 1989

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Morehouse Group; 4 Revised edition (October 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0819218480
• ISBN-13: 978-0819218483
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,529,227 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Outstanding Resource for the Modern Day Pilgrim, December 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Guide to Monastic Guest Houses (Paperback)

I've been wanting to review this book for some time. A friend gave me a copy as a gift. The concept of a "monastic" guest house was new to me. By reading this inviting guide I learned that the custom of accommodating guests in monasteries and convents is as old as Christian monasticism itself. I have had the opporunity to visit several of the guest houses included in the book. The research done by the author is certainly thorough and the broad denominational representation is good. Most importantly, I was rassured to know that all of the guest houses in the book will accommodate those of any faith...or no faith at all. Practical information such as addresses, telephone numbers, and directions are invaluable. Even if not planning to visit the monasteries, convents, and guest houses in the book, the Guide makes for interesting reading with its histories, descriptions, and other information about the orders and their way of life. The line drawings for each guest house add a finishing touch which make this book a delight to browse though, interesting reading, and an outstanding resource for the would-be modern day pilgrim. The New York Times, National Geographic Traveler and Arthur Frommer recommend A Guide to Monastic Guest Houses, and so do I!

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Useful Listing But Not Truly Informative, July 15, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Guide to Monastic Guest Houses (Paperback)

The author has compiled a useful listing of monasteries and the like that welcome guests, but the descriptions are little better than those one finds in an AAA travel guide. There is, for instance, little information on the extent to which one is expected, or allowed, to join in the spiritual life of the institution or (excepting listings of numbers of single and double rooms) whether married couples are welcome. Moreover, he seems to have strained to include one guest house from each of the 50 states, rather than the best guest houses, wherever located. This book simply provides minimal leads that must be followed up.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finding Serenity, September 24, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: A Guide to Monastic Guest Houses: Fourth Edition (Paperback)

As a child growing up in Connecticut there was always a mystique but a certain serene feeling that I would experience when we would go to the monastery to pick up our mother after she attended a retreat or picked up mass cards. I experienced that same calm when I visited centuries old castles and churches in Europe. The only other experience similar for me is to be in a museum or at the ocean-they are always there for me, secure and comforting. Robert Regalbuto's wonderful book "A Guide to Monastic Guest Houses" fourth edition, is a concise volume that I love. I love it because with it's gems of anecdotal information and necessary addresses, phone numbers etc. I am able to visit monasteries throughout the United States and Canada in order to relive that serenity I found whenever we visited the monastery to collect Mother after her day of good works.