Customer Reviews

Sanctuaries: The Complete United States--A Guide to Lodgings in Monasteries, Abbeys, and Retreats

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I love the idea of this book, and I love its execution. I've called a half-dozen places all across the USA to make plans to visit, and most of them have not even known that they were listed in this book! The places listed for New Orleans indicated that they wouldn't want to be in the book if they had the choice - so I don't know how they got in the book in the first place. It's very disappointing, to say the least. Still, the book overall inspires me to find unconventional lodging arrangements when I travel.

As another reviewer alluded, many of the monasteries/convents in this book are included without the nuns'/monks' knowledge or permission. Further, at the end of each state's chapter "other places" are listed for guest accommmodations. The listings are totally inaccurate. Having contacted many of the "other places" I discovered that some have facilites for guests and others do not. The information in the book is not dependable.

During these very stressful times, when the simple desire to find peace within becomes a burning obsession, this book can help you locate some perfect places to do just that.There are many guide books out there to choose from for a myriad of vacation styles but this book is extremely unique as it only offers places where a seeking soul can find inner peace, can find the true divine nature of who they are, to find deepest form of traquality one can obtain on a vacation or perhaps in life itself. If a person were looking for dinner shows, black diamond restaurants, thrills and high-entertainment for the whole family, this isn't that kind of guide, nor are the places mentioned between the covers going to be appealing.This book is only for those who seek the greatest thrill of all: inner tranquillity and divine connectedness. It's a "must have" book for the inspired traveler. I give it a 5+ rating! Laurie.

Though this book was written some 8 years ago, the information contained is still quite useful. There are many travel books on the market but virtually none focus on this type of market: spiritual travel and retreats in the US. I've been to several of the retreats and have been enthralled with the people I've met there. It's easy to get caught up in the Disney World consciousness of travel but if you want something a bit different, this book has that kind of information for you. Yes, some of the places may have changed but not all of them. If you have an area in mind, this book is most helpful to finding out what's available. In this very unique field of travel, this is an excellent reference book for opening the mind, heart, and spirit to greater things. These folks who have the retreats and monastaries don't usually advertise and are not found on the internet so any help is good help. This book is exactly what it says it is, a guide book. I'm so very thankful to have it too, it's been an exceptional tool.

I haven't visited any of the sanctuaries mentioned here, but I hope to soon. The authors have done an excellent job of presenting useful information in an organized, evocative way (I especially was grateful for the line drawings of each site). Admirable thoroughness. And the map-based extra index is another nice touch.

My husband and I used this book for a cross-country car trip! It was fantastic. A new way of seeing the country!

For a few of the places, we had to travel on small farm roads that we hadn't known existed. At the end of the road, there waited welcoming, quiet, joyful places.

This is not for a "club med" sort of vacation. But if you need some space in your life, and a new way of seeing the world around you, this book is a first step!

This is an excellent guidebook -- not only the best of its field, but also the only one that I know of. In my opinion, this is an absolute essential for the spiritual adventurer. Armchair seekers -- such as I -- will also enjoy its many, many stopovers and tales. I recommend it highly, but wonder why something like this wasn't written sooner ... when I was still young and single enough to put it to better use.

I appreciate that this book exists (I would have no idea how to find these places otherwise, especially the Eastern-thought ones), but the book (and the two others by the same authors) is written sort of as a piece of "spiritual tourism." The descriptions of each place seem to focus on the accommodations and amenities; for example, I think almost every place is described as having "delicious [vegetarian] meals."

That's nice, and I'm glad to know that I would eat well if I went there, but I would have liked a bit more description of each sanctuary's spiritual approach, as it is relevant to my reasons for wanting to go to one.

Maybe a set of short general descriptions of the various approaches at the beginning of the book (Benedictine, Trappist, Jesuit, Mahayana, Theravada, Zen, etc.), including their similarities and differences. Then, in the description of each individual place, how they carry out that particular tradition, any differences of approach from the "standard," and so on.

Don't misunderstand - there is some description of spiritual approach, but it isn't as consistently present as the descriptions of the meals, the beds, the view, and so on.

The other two books by these authors have a decent amount of overlap, but they're useful, too. (I have all three.) I don't know if it's mentioned elsewhere, but each of the three books lists, beyond the places featured and described, the names, addresses, and phone numbers of many other places in each state. I'm sure that some of the information is probably out of date by now, but at least the names and general locations give one something to go on in a search.

Sanctuaries: The Northeast (A Guide to Lodgings in Monasteries, Abbeys, and Retreats of the United States)

Sanctuaries: The West Coast And Southwest (A Guide to Lodgings in Monasteries, Abbeys, and Retreats of the United States)

Even though this book is about ten years old, it's still an excellent resource, and I highly recommend it. (I gave it only 4 stars because it's outdated, otherwise, I'd say 5 stars.)

I was recently looking for a place to do a silent or meditation retreat. I had perused the internet, but frankly, when you don't know much about given places, it takes a long time, and a lot of effort to get reviews and information about different places.

This book, however, lists hundreds of excellent places, and includes a personal review of each one, from which you can conduct a much more meaningful internet search.

I highly, highly recommend this book if you want to know about the plethora of places across the United States where you can find a retreat, I was very happy with mine!

We're looking forward to visiting some of these lovely sanctuaries in our retirement years. Looks like a very helpful resource!