Customer Reviews

A Guide to Monastic Guest Houses: Fourth Edition

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3 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

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!

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.

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.

I have read this book by Mr. Regalbuto and have used the information on many trips around the country. For anyone looking for a spiritual high and no frills economy in lodging and meals the information is invaluable. The clear directions and information about these havens of retreat from worldly concern make it easy to experience a bit of heaven on earth. Such practical information I have not found elsewhere.

It is certainly more up to date than another one I purchased. Wish it included information about what kind of deposit is required. But overall I found it informative.

First of all, I am not much of a traveler, but many in my family our. This is a wonderful book for family who sometimes need to get away from everyday life and don't know where to go. I thank Robert Regalbuto for doing his homework on the places of interest. Enjoy....

Terrible writing...banal style...horrible information. Can't recommend