Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Spain

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

 

 

After checking out an older edition of LP's Spain guide ('98 or '97) I decided to order the '99 edition here. When it arrived I noticed immediately that the book was only about 2/3 the size of previous editions. After perusing the contents I could see why. The book contained less content and many more references to other LP guidebooks (eg Trekking in Spain, city guides, etc.) Lonely Planet has obviously pared down their info in each guide in an effort to sell more books! While not a terribly surprising tactic in today's marketplace I nevertheless felt a little cheated. At $21.95 I don't think I'll buy again!

In the past I have used lonely planet guides several times after a trip to Peru in which the guide was absolutely indespensible. Spain, however, is another story. While LP was useful for walking tours and highlighting major attractions, with good museum and monument descriptions, the hotel and restaraunt recommendations were virtually useless. By this I mean that most recommended restaurants were sketchy looking except for the "expensive" ones and the hotel guide quoted wrong prices and gives no insight into the hotels. Maybe I hadn't realized that I have outgrown Lonely Planet hotels, but then again maybe un-air-conditioned hotels in 100 degree heat (without fans even) are not worth putting in a travel book. The third world seems to be their purview.

This book continues the impressively comprehensive and reliable tradition of their namesake. We used this book in conjunction with Rick Steves' and were overall very satisfied, even considering that we were mid-range travellers. LP covers every nook and cranny of the country with thorough and accurate information. The maps are excellent. The commentary is informative. The organization is easy to follow and understand. My main critique is that the book might be too objective: it's often unclear if the guide is actually recommending a restaurant, hotel, or sight, or just merely mentioning that it exists. A "star" system to the sights, or a "don't miss eating here" section would be helpful. (Try Rick Steves, for example.) Still, the book is a solid, can't-go-wrong pick for an overall guide.

I was extremely dissapointed in this guide. The only thing that's worth reading in it are the historic section and the maps. The rest is far too badly descriptional, without any kind of recommendation. The accomodation index describes the hotels in less than two lines, if so. The cities are described in cold tones, without any good reason if you should even go to them. As for an example, take Andorra, that is included in this guide, and despite it's quite close do Barcelona - about 2 and a half hours by bus - It really destroyed my mood to going there. When we travel, mainly those who work and to do that put a lot of effort and investing, want concise and critical description of the places they want to go, so we cant take good advantage of our lack of time. This is not valued in this book. After reading it, you feel you could do better sitting in your room, watching TV, and even then you would be more excited. That's a crime for a travel planner! Lonely Planet: never more.

I buy an LP guide before every foriegn venture. I was in Spain last week and used my guide for hotel reservations and maps and restaurants and airline phone numbers in Spain. Then my "survival guide" dropped out of my bag on the streets of Madrid. I felt lost without it and there were many more times in that week that I missed it for reference. I highly recommend these guides. They are worth their weight in your back pack!

Once again, Lonely Planet proved to be an indispensable guide to the budget traveller. I've recently been to Spain and all information on the book were precise and very useful. I think I am becoming addicted to Lonely Planet. Will I ever be able to travel without it again????