Karen Brown's England, Wales & Scotland: Charming Hotels & Itineraries (Karen Brown's England, Wales & Scotland: Exceptional Places to Stay & Itineraries) [Paperback]

June Eveleigh Brown (Author), Karen Brown (Author), Barbara Tapp (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Karen Brown's England, Wales & Scotland: Exceptional Places to Stay & Itineraries | Publication Date: January 7, 2003

This completely updated guide offers practical information for planning your trip; driving itineraries that take you deep into the countryside through idyllic villages and to ancient castles; and personal recommendations for outstanding hotels in England, Scotland and Wales. The reviews are warm, engaging and up to date and written with the belief that where you lay your head each night makes a difference to your holiday. Only the most charming places to stay make it onto the pages - no hotel can buy its way in, and those not maintaining their standards every year are dropped. The Karen Brown Guides are so reliable that travellers have come to plan their whole holidays their recommendations.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A Pioneer and still leader in the category of high-quality small inns and bed and breakfasts." -- Gourmet

"Books to dream over, but also to use." -- Washington Post -- Review

From the Inside Flap

Completely updated every year, Karen Brown Guides point you to the most charming inns and B&Bs in Europe and the USA. Loaded with tons of reviews and easy-to-follow ititneraries as well as lively, personal descriptions of all inns, hotels, and B&Bs; accommodations in all price ranges, chosen for their charm and the warmth of their welcome; plus locator maps which help to plan inn-to-inn itineraries.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Karen Brown's Guides; 25th Ann edition (January 7, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1928901328
• ISBN-13: 978-1928901327
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 6.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,554,689 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This guide is very useful - but get a country guide too., February 24, 2003

By 

Allan M. Gathercoal "fdoamerica" (Norcross, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Karen Brown's England, Wales & Scotland: Charming Hotels & Itineraries (Karen Brown's England, Wales & Scotland: Exceptional Places to Stay & Itineraries) (Paperback)

My girlfriend tried using this guide, as one would Frommer's or Fodor's (see my reviews), and became a bit frustrated. Two issues `twisted her lemon', one was the paltry lack of information on important locations (Salisbury and its magnificent cathedral gets 58 words, Stonehenge a short paragraph) and the other was the difficult and demanding way the guide connects the hotel descriptions to the maps.

Regarding the first point, the title of the guide is very clear about what it covers: Hotel's and Itineraries. It is not a country guide.

Karen Brown's selections of hotels are excellent and her comments and appraisals are `spot-on. She writes as one who has actually stayed at each establishment, who has met the owners or managers, and one who paints a picture of what you will find and the experiences that you should have when using one of these select properties. Great. That said you should know before purchasing this guide that these hotel selections are some of the most unique and best in the UK. Therefore, they are not for those on a shoestring or moderate budget; but rather, as the financially well-endowed would say, these guides are for those with "discriminating tastes." Her website, karenbrown.com, is worth a visit and you can check out the various accommodations listing in greater detail.

Besides top notch unique accommodations, the guide gives you nine extraordinary driving itineraries that wind you through the very best regions of England, Wales & Scotland. This is what the book is all about. Nada mas. I kindly pointed this out to my girlfriend.

Regarding the second point, the guide is cumbersome. Karen Brown needs to make finding the hotels, which correspond to dot on her maps, much easier. Her driving itineraries are in the front of the book, and the recommended hotels in the last part of the book and there is no simple reference between the two. There are much better ways to set this up. Karen Brown needs to learn from the major guide publishers. They could help her a lot here. Also, her driving itinerary maps are very remedial and could be much better.

If you have money, love to drive and you want unique, superior accommodations, get this guide, you won't be disappointed. This guide is very useful, especially when used in tandem with a good country guide, like Fodor's or Frommer's mentioned above. Recommended