Insiders' Guide to Williamsburg and Virginia's Historic Triangle (Insiders' Guide Series) [Paperback]

Mary Alice Blackwell (Author), Anne Patterson Causey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2005

Discover all that Virginia's Historic Triangle has to offer, from fine dining, shopping,and entertainment in quaint historic districts in Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown, to the amusements of Busch Gardens and Colonial Williamsburg.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

For more than twenty years, the Insiders' Guide® series has remained the essential source for in-depth travel and relocation information.
Each guide is written by locals and true insiders and offers a personal, practical perspective that readers everywhere have come to know and love.
From fiery blacksmiths' shops and stately riverside plantations to inverted roller coasters and thrilling water rides, the towns of Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown offer a multitude of ways to experience our country's past and present-day glories. Whether you prefer colonial reenactments and ceremonial powwows or lions, tigers, and bears and theme park excesses, let this authoritative guide lead you through the myriad things to see and do in the Historic Triangle.
Inside you'll find:
" countless details on how to live and thrive in the area, from the best shopping to the lowdown on real estate - traditional and contemporary
" the inside scoop on renowned attractions such as Colonial Williamsburg, Busch Gardens, and the Williamsburg Pottery Factory
" comprehensive listings of restaurants, lodging, and recreational opportunities
" sections dedicated to children, retirement, and more

Whether you're planning a vacation, already living in the area, or looking to relocate, Insiders' Guide to Williamsburg will show you everything you need to know.

About the Author

Mary Alice Blackwell is a native Virginian who has enjoyed a writing career as a newspaper reporter and editor, and is coauthor of a guide to Virginia's Blue Ridge. She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Anne Patterson Causey grew up in the Tidewater area and has worked as a newspaper reporter and editor, a publicist and event management consultant, and a library research assistant. She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Joetta L. Sack, a writer for a national education newspaper, lives in Arlington, Virginia. She frequently travels throughout the United States for business and pleasure, and keeps an eye out for unique and interesting places and good values.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: The Globe Pequot Press; Thirteenth edition (January 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762735112
• ISBN-13: 978-0762735112
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,183,618 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Local Brochures Are More Useful!, June 12, 2006

By 

J. Garlen "coolcatjuniper" (HUNTSVILLE, AL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Insiders' Guide to Williamsburg and Virginia's Historic Triangle (Insiders' Guide Series) (Paperback)

I bought this book for our family vacation in the Historic Triangle, but I'm sorry to say that it was a waste of money. We found as much - and more - useful information in the brochures we picked up around town, and they at least had current restaurant information and coupons in them! The authors provide almost nothing in the way of evaluative information; every entry reads like an ad for the place discussed. There is no suggested itinerary information, no strategy guide for any attraction, and no sense of what to avoid. If you are used to the Unofficial Guides books, then you will not find this book helpful at all! We travel a good bit and often use guide books to plan our trips, and this book was the least helpful one that I have purchased. Pick up brochures when you arrive in town - they will tell you all of the book's information for free!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Inaccurate and of very little use, June 1, 2006

By 

bixodoido (Utah, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Insiders' Guide to Williamsburg and Virginia's Historic Triangle (Insiders' Guide Series) (Paperback)

I took this book with me on my family's visit to the Historic Triangle and, I have to say, found it to be of little value. To begin with, one very fatal flaw exists. This book was written by locals, or "insiders" as they call themselves. That, to me at least, detracts greatly from the value of the book. Of course they're going to promote the area, and one has to wonder just how objective the authors can be in making recommendations of an area where they themselves apparently live. I'd much rather consult a book written by someone who has experienced the Williamsburg area as I did--as a tourist.

Despite this issue (and it became more and more apparent as the visit progressed that this WAS a huge issue) my wife and I tried to consult the book when making dining decisions. Here I feel the book is downright misleading--we drove around for two hours one night and could not find a single restaurant recommended in the book where the prices corresponded to what was listed in the book. Of course one has to account for seasonal variations, but we were there in the offseason, which should have been either cheaper or at least consistent with the book's claims (aside from the fact that, if this is written as a tourist book, prices should be given for tourist season).

An example: an Italian restaurant we went to was listed in the book as having an average cost for two people to dine at less than $20. Upon arriving we discovered that there were, in fact, only one or two single entrees under $10 each, and that most were around $15. The only way we would have been able to eat there for $20 was for my wife and I to get the cheapest thing on the menu and drink water. Being a little off in price is understandable--being 50% off is unacceptable. We experienced this at a number of establishments that we visited, and finally discarded the book and ate dinner at a chain restaurant in frustration.

We visited a couple of the local attractions mentioned in the book and found that they did not live up to what the book promised. We also had lunch at one of the highly recommended "local favorites" and had one of the most superbly disappointing meals of our entire vacation. We also found, in talking to other people there, that this "local favorite" was almost entirely full of tourists--there seemed to be few, if any, locals there.

It's one thing to say this is an inferior travel guide, but I feel it is worse than that. I view it more as a piece of propaganda for the area and have a hard time believing that such misleading information could not have been placed deliberately. I guess the advantage of getting a travel book written by "outsiders" is that you can safely assume they have no vested interest in anything they're recommending.