Does anyone know of the Karen Brown guidebooks. I have heard from a few people that they are really great, very detailed and precise with planning. Anyone recommend any better guidebook for Italy travelling? thanks...

Her guidebooks are primarily hotel guides, and the thing I don't like about them is that the vast majority of her choices are too remote. If you're looking for a place in the country where you have to drive in for everything else, I suppose that's fine, but it's amazing how few hotels they list that are really in what I consider good locations. I've never paid much attention to the itineraries in the front of the book, those really seem very "un"detailed to me.<BR>About a year ago I also remember a rigorous debate on this forum about her guide books and whether the listed hotels paid to be in them. A couple of posters talked to hotels that were no longer listed and were told that they chose not to pay to "advertise" by keeping their listings in them any more. I'm not sure that the debate was ever settled to everyone's satisfaction.<BR>As to your final question: what sort of travel information are you looking for? Itineraries? Hotels and restaurants? City walking tours? General information about places?

I have used the Karen Brown books and the website (www.karenbrown.com) to plan a trip to France (Normandy) Italy and Switzerland, using B&Bs and small hotels Find her recommendations to be good for the most part. The Hotel in Switzerland, Hotel Rheinfels in Stein am Rhein is the only one I wouldn't want to return to, but others on this board have liked it. We stayed near the Normandy beaches in a B&B from one of her books that was fabulous: <BR><BR>La Ferme de la Riviere<BR>Saint Germain du Pert<BR>14230 France<BR>From US: 011 33 2 31 22 72 92 <BR>www.karenbrown.com/france/lafermedelariviere.html<BR><BR>Happy travels<BR> <BR>

Patrick,<BR> I am looking for b+b's or small hotels in Tuscany...thanks M

Her HOTELS and ITINERARIES list hotels in cities as well as the countryside; her B&B series tends to list places that are outside the cities. I've used her guide to Spain twice and found her descriptions of hotels to be very accurate. I liked her suggested routes and just tailored them to suit my tastes. Patrick is right; they are not guidebooks with restaurants and musuems listed, but more a description of hotels and B&Bs with character. Thumb through one or read what's available on her website. You'll get an idea of what she offers. I wasn't disappointed by any decisions I made based on her suggestions.<BR><BR>M.

I like Cheap Eats and Cheap Sleeps alot. I think the author has changed the titles this year, but I have heard her talk about travel and her books and she is not paid and lists small, inexpensive places from what I think is a woman's point of view.

I do not reccomend her quide book for Germany. We were sent to a few crummy hotels. However for Italy I hear great things. Barnes and Noble has an array of great books to choose from

I love Karen Brown's books, but she does choose the very expensive ones that you could probably find by yourself with a Michelin listing. Haven't used her B&B guides--husband really dislikes B&Bs (yes, there are some who do!) On a recent trip to northern England, one recommendation was OK but very pricey for what we got, one was ineptly but sincerely managed (a kin of Fawlty Towers!) but quite pretty and nicely located, and one was absolutely stellar---one of the best places we've ever stayed in the UK. Name: Burgoyne Hotel in Reeth near Richmond, Yorkshire--fantastic room, fantastic town, fantastic food, and impeccable and cheerful service. Stayed 3 days, could have stayed 2 weeks. Could we have found it ourselves? Probably, but we've been to England many times.

M: I just picked up Charming Small Hotel<BR>Guide of Tuscany & Umbria which also includes some of the Florence and Siena<BR>area (in town). Its great no hotel listed has over 30 rooms, all are 3 and four stars with a couple of 5 stars thrown in. There criteria is attractive and peaceful settings,handsome,interesting and historic buildings,adequate space and dedicated thoughtful proprietors. I highly reccomend it.

Does anyone else here suspect that m(scooter) was planting an ad here? My suspicions were confirmed when she acknowledged thanks that it included B&B and small hotel listings for Tuscany. Didn't she already know that?

In the Karen Brown books a B&B can be just about anything. For example a B&B we used in France was like a county inn, it even served dinner.

I find her recommendations kind of all over the place to some degree -- I've looked at them most for Provence and some are very expensive Relais & Chateaux properties while others are small B&Bs (some nothing special). I just didn't understand what the criteria were for inclusion on the very upper end ones. In any case, the fact is they do not charge a fee to be in the print book but DO charge a fee to be on their web site (which they consider like advertising); so a place can be in their book but you can't print info from their website on it or even find it--this does not mean it has lost its recommendation due to quality, only that they won't pay a fee. I know this is the case. So, if you want the full details and all of her listings, you have to buy the book. Anyway, I wasn't that impressed with her book, basically I didn't think it offered anything you couldn't get elsewhere (mostly for free on the web), but I didn't think the listings were terrible (except a few which she described in superlative prose and the photos themselves showed them to be extremely ugly). Some of her B&Bs don't look so hot, either (ie, like rec rooms from the 70s).

I have used her books in 3 countries and find them to be helpful but not definitive. Some of her Italy places are outdated and her Italy itineraires are not the best. However, her book on Portugal was terrific with the best itineraires I have seen for Portugal.<BR>The Swiss book is also good.

We have used them in 5 countries and find them very good. Not always perfect, but a very good reference source. It is difficult to please everyone on this type of book as some are more picky than others and a "poor" place to a picky person may be fine with many others. If you have not been to a place before, just do a little homework. Plus, if you arrive and do not like the place.....move. I have found Europe is seldom SOLD OUT...especially the small places.

To the rude person that thought I was putting in an ad: Sir or Madame,<BR>As all of us who use this website know, we are all seeking out information. I had never even heard of the Karen Brown books until someone told me to use her books...(she and her husband used the B+B guide on their honeymoon in Tuscany and raved about it.) If I were that bold as to advertise myself on this site, I would most certainly put my name on it and who I represented.

I used hotels from Karen Brown's website for my last vacation (this past June) to Northern Italy. It was my first time to use her recommendations and I was very pleased. Both hotels were wonderful.<BR><BR>The Hotel Menardi in Cortina was probably the best place we stayed on the trip and was really delightful and well located. La Calcina in Venice was perfect - reasonably priced, located in the quiet Dorsoduro (?) area but within easy walking distance of the sights. I will definitely use her books/website again.<BR><BR>But I have to say that we are not ones for fancy shmancy places with high prices and antiques - so we read her descriptions carefully and followed up with other sources. Most importantly, here on the Fodor travel talk site. You really can't go wrong if you research your choices here. People are so generous and honest with their knowledge/experiences.

Pretty, but not very practical. If you are rich and like to stay in the middle of nowhere they are okay.

ttt