based on many raves here on fodors i purchased a bkk luxe guide from amazon....i have to say it is the most expensive thing i have bought concerned with travel, for what it is....literally it is a flier with 20 very small pages....the whole thing is about 6 inches by 2.5 inches, printed on both sides....spread out it is less than the size of two pieces of 8.5 X 11 paper.... the info is ok but nothing like what i find here on a regular basis...

i guess if you were taking a quick trip to bkk and wanted to do the "best" of everything it would be an assist...

i'm disappointed...

Wow, Bob, I am one of those who reco it coz I love the guide. I find it very convenient to carry, their restaurant recos are fab and it is very handy to carry it with me as it weighs nothing - which is useful to make restaurant reservations at short notice while out. I have discovered some of my favourite shops and spas in Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Bali, Hanoi using the guide. It does not provide background info on the destination but other than that I think it is FAB!

Bob-- are there any restaurants or stores that they rave about that hasn't already been suggested by one of us? Anyplace you're going to try next trip?

And-- thanks. You just saved me some money.

Last year I bought their Bali and Singapore guides. Was also somewhat disappointed not because of the amount of info, but because everything in them was oriented towards the upscale, yuppie style traveler. The poshest shops, the trendiest clubs, etc. Basically, how to do city-life (fine for Singapore, of course!) Not much on sightseeing and more moderate places. Not worth the price.

no fly---from its title it is exactly what i expected but i also expected some depth to it, given its cost at 1/2 a traditional guide book price... did you think it would provide places wholly unknown to anyone at the 2* level...??

gloria....there are only 3 or 4 places listed out of maybe 30+ that were not immediately recongizable to me and i am sure to you as well...example: Je Ngor on soi 20 sukhumvit--upscale thai; bangkok artbar, 591 phra sumen rd---these are two of them..

so i suppose if i got one new place out of it that the price is worth it...i was just totally surprised by its brevity...

Yeah, I flipped through it last year, I think it was and wasn't impressed. I'm lucky to have a friend who owns a huge travel bookstore near my house, so I go in and flip through lots of travel books before buying them. I also looked at the Luxe guides for other cities and basically put them all back on the shelf. Happy Travels!

I guess I am comp in a minority on this one. I lived in Bkk and still found the Luxe guide handy - both for new places and also to conveniently carry for a quick check on phone numbers, addresses, etc. And as I said their shop and spa recos really work for me and I have tried them in a number of destinations. I did expect them to be more "luxey" recos but their lunch and cheaper recos have also yielded treasure troves eg an experience in a converted Jap bath house in Tokyo where I had lunch for less than US$10 which is a steal in Japan. To each his own I guess...

I picked up the Luxe guide for Bangkok recently. I will try out some places this trip and will report back.

I certainly did not expect 2-star places ... but there are lots of good 4- and 5-star places which are not necessarily hip and trendy...

Hobbes, you're not alone. I bought the BKK Luxe guide and find it a handy resource without taking up any space or adding weight. I also found some of the comments about certain places to be entertaining.

Thanks Laurie, I was beginning to feel comp out numbered here!

I have bought the Bk and Singapore guide for my trip in one week (V excited now) when they arrived i thought "oh is that it" but i have read them from cover to cover, love the style of writing and have earmarked a few places. So i will let you all know how usefull they were to me when i get back. (I do think they will be very handy to carry around - along with my treasures and pleasures book Bob i LOVE this book....)

smea...have a great trip...anything you read in treasurers is correct....luxe has many of the same places, but less narrative...

have you decided what size your new suitcase will have to be when you buy it in bkk???

I've got Luxe for Tokyo & Sri Lanka (not Colombo!) and I thought they were both pretty hopeless.

"Time Out Bangkok, Chaing Mai & the Islands" (penguin ISBN 0-14-100944-6)is a great 300 page read for US16.95

Bob

Have decided to wear all my clothes on the journey home, just so i can fit all my purchases in my bags!!! either that or take some travel wash for the one outfit i will allow the BF to take (lol)
THREE days and counting... YIPPEE
Midly concerned we have totally neglected to get any jabs... slipped my mind should i be worried?.

BTW treasures will be my reading material on the plane (its already looking dog eared)

Thank you all for the fab advice (am currently consolidating it into word files to print off and take) Will post a report when i get back promise.
Jane
x

jane---have a great vacation and we all await your reviews...

bad girl----no shots....

I agree that...Time Out- Bangkok is a really good book. I have that one. Happy Travels!

have a great trip and do report back.

The Luxe Guides are designed for a specific niche market-- relatively young, independent travelers who are interested in upscale, trendy places. Folks who cannot afford the price of the booklet surely will not be able to afford the tabs at the recommended places to visit. If you're looking for bargains, skip the guide and buy Lonely Planet.

kiy....you have not done your homework....read other things that these posters have commented on....they are not lonely planet travelers....