Rick Steve's picks
 

Just returned from three weeks in Europe. We found Rick Steve's picks to be right on target. We loved Woodville House in London. VERY convenient to the tube. We alos loved Champs de Mars in Paris. Very nice neighborhood and subway access. The Hotel Staubbach in Latterbraten just up from Interlaken was super, and the Villa Steno in Monterroso in the Cinque Terra was the best of all. We also loved the Minerva in Sorrento, and the price we got from Rick Steves book was the best. I would recommend all of these hotels.

I hope you didn't stoop to eating at the restaurants he recommends.

I too have been very impressed with his hotel recommendations: The hotel Castex and hotel de l'Esperance in Paris, Vicarage Private hotel in London (Notting Hill Gate) and Daltiens guest house in Bruges (this one was especially great!). Some of his restaurant recommendations have been less than great however.

Did you have to reserve far in advance to get rooms at his recommended hotels?

<BR>StomachAche, please go back to Snob Hollow.

xxx_ take some TUMS, cuz you're gonna need 'em. Rick Steves is the cheapest SOB on the planet and hasn't a decent taste bud to write home about. His restaurant recommendations are uniformly atrocious. You heard it here, baby!

<BR>Uniformly atrocious in the opinion of food snobs like yourself, yes.

Sigh.<BR><BR>Rick Steves is often far off the mark (try showing his recommendations to someone who actually lives in one of the countries he writes about, and then stand safely back). However, you can't TELL his advocates that. Just a word of caution, for people who are considering using his books for the first time - start small, like with a city guide perhaps. You'll get used to his style and see if its style is compatible with your own. If you don't know any Europeans, I suppose it won't matter what inaccuracies he utters, but it would be a shame to avoid some of the more interesting/subtle venues as they are off HIS "beaten path". Sometimes, it's better to consult an indigenous source -Cadogan, Rough Guides, and Time out (for cities) are all worth looking at.

And you're a snob. A rude uncouth snob.

I had some of the best duck I've ever had at a Rick Steves pick in Paris.<BR><BR>Doug

The bottom line is all the people that slam Rick Steves are simply jealous that he has been able to make his passion, travels in Europe, the way he makes his living (and I am sure he lives quite well). I find his guide books to be quite useful, but I do not depend on those only. They are one of several I use. I do find his hotel suggestions usually good, but if you are looking for 4 star places you won't find him staying there. As to eating, I have tried some of his ideas and they were always OK. Again, don't expect Michelin stars. So the snobs can rant and rave all they want.

I think his restaurant picks are usually really good. That is, until the masses descend on them and they start to take the customers for granted. I think the biggest downfall of his recommendations are that you're surrounded by other Americans toting his books.

Rick Steves books are as good as any for first timers.<BR><BR>I have been traveling for a number of years and always pick up a Rick Steves book.<BR><BR>

I find that Rick Steves focuses on the areas and topics that interests him only. For example, in the Paris tour guide, the hotels he lists are only in the Rue Cler, Contrascarpe, and Marais neighborhoods. He totally ignores the St. Germain and Latin Quarter.<BR><BR>In his Italy book, regarding Florence, as an example, he does not list any shops. Instead he refers the reader to other tour guides for shopping.<BR><BR>At first glance his books look appealing until one reads in detail that there are quite a few things he doesn't cover.

Not every travel author can cover every aspect of every subject that every traveler wants to know about. Rick Steves is no exception. Generally, I have found his recommendations for hotels and restaurants to be on the cheap (and sometimes shoddy) side; but that is his shtick. As for sights to see, he makes his own picks and again, he can't cover them all. What he does pick in the way of sights is accurately described, IMO. <BR><BR>My only concern about Rick Steves and all other travel authors is that as soon as they recommend a place (and this seems to apply to Steves even more than others) it becomes mobbed by Americans. As already pointed out, the proprietors of some places lose their perspectives and begin to slack off on their services. That brings a big wail from all the travelers who say Rick Steves puts out garbage recommendations. <BR><BR>The other aspect we all need to remember is that when Rick goes anywhere, he has a contingent with him; and he is treated (generally) much better than common folk like you and me. So a place he finds great might be only mediocre when we go there, and it might already be mobbed to boot.<BR><BR>As I've said on this forum before, there are no "undiscovered" places if they are described in guidebooks by Steves or other authors. If you want an undiscovered and unique place, you have to get out into the countryside and find your own.

His books and TV shows are wonderful for their target audience - folks who really want to go on a "guided tour" without being on a tour bus. His recommendations are safe, cheap, and hit the highlights of each area. Not really anything wrong with that. And he is amazingly successful.<BR><BR>But that success is a big problem - EVERY single place he mentions will be overrun with other American Steves fans. A couple of wonderful B&Bs in the UK actually went out of bisiness BECAUSE they were mentioned in a Steves book. Both were on working farms and the B&B were basically side businesses to make a go of the farms. After Rick "outed" them with recommendations it became intollerable. One of them I had stayed at long before it had been in the book - but afterwards they literally began receiving between 10 and 100 phone calls every day. They only had 3 rooms for rent and it became a zoo. They finally gave it up entirely and quit renting rooms.<BR><BR>Same goes for restaurants/cafes - 90% of the people sitting around you will be reading the same Steves guide.<BR><BR>And a few of his ideas are nutty - you can tell a Rick-reader because they are the ones asking how to get from LHR to Bath to rent a car, or the ones asking about putting a learner plate on their rental car in the UK.

Rick Steve is on the take, like all those PBS liberal scum bags.

Poor, Rick.<BR><BR>You seem to be slamming the guy a bit too much.<BR><BR>He may not all of the answers, but for the majority of people out there that have no clue whatsoever about where to, he does serve a purpose.<BR><BR>I have no interest in taking his advice. I've been to Europe plenty of times. But to the majority of people that read these travel books and travel forums, they all serve a purpose.<BR><BR>Be glad that alot of you know what you are doing. Just take a moment, look back on your first time alone in Europe and try to feel for some of these people. They really have no clue. They need Rick's help.<BR><BR>

What struck me about Rick Steves is not necessarily that I agree with his priorities, but that he was the first guidebook author that I ran across who actually addressed the reality that all of us, on any budget of time or money, have to make choices and determine priorities. <BR><BR>Some see his itineraries as simplistic and unsophisticated. Whereas to me, to design something that is simple and inexpensive and almost foolproof, something that incorporates a maximum number of constraints and yet still works well, is to me a feat of engineering worth praise. The sophistication of the design lies in the difficulties surmounted in the process, not in its being suited only to a select few. It's like designing a millionaire's mansion as opposed to designing low-cost housing that is liveable. The first is a more glamourous project, but to me, the second is the greater challenge, the true mark of sophistication.<BR><BR><BR>

Janis: What place ever went of business because of TOO MANY customers? Back up what your saying with some facts...otherwise it is unbelievable unless the owner's of these establishments are too stupid to take advantage of this publicity.

Well said Sue! Well said! Too many pompous people like to slam Rick Steves because they think they know it all and do not ever need any advice. That of course is pure bunk.

Several years ago I stayed at a hotel in Paris that I found through some budget travel guides. Since then, it's become one of the "official" Rick Steves hotels for Paris. We'll be staying there again in October, and I'm hoping like crazy his recommendations haven't ruined it!<BR><BR>I love budget travel as much as anyone, but would suggest that no one should rely entirely on one man's opinion. Do your research. There are so many resources out there, I see no reason to adopt Rick's - or anyone's - recommendations in toto.

I think you have to bear in mind that Rick caters to a certain demographic, and he happens to cater to them quite well. I've stayed in hotels and eaten in restaurants he has recommended, and have come up pretty even in my opinions of his choices versus those of say, FODORS. I've eaten and stayed in some sub-par ones, but no more often than the sub-par ones I found in other guides. I also agree with Sue that he does a good job prioritizing activities. He never claimed that he was trying to cover an entire country in vast detail. I think for the size of his books, that'd be obvious.

x: I do not want to specifically identify the two ex-B&Bs since they are still working farms owned by the same families that operated them as B&Bs.<BR><BR>But the story is true. One happens to have been my very favorite place at a world heritage site. It is a working farm in an absolutely unique location. Unfortunately the flood of calls from Steves fans made it impossible for them. It is very hard for a couple to handle 50 or 100 phone calls a day and 100+ letters at week and still manage the farm, cook the breakfasts, clean the rooms, etc. They only had three rooms to let and the return postage alone ate up almost 1/3 of their profits. <BR><BR>It became easier to close than to fight the invading hordes.<BR><BR>the 2nd one I had not actually stayed in. But it is on the edge of a village in which I have rented a cottage 3 or 4 times. I had noted how cute it was and during one stay I stopped by to get their card so I could refer friends and clients. They said that would be their last season in business because they felt they could no longer cope withh the 100's of inquiries after they were listed in a Rick Steves guidebook. With only 2 rooms and in a well known village they were usually pretty full but they still had to reply to all the Americans and it was impossible. They were an elderly couple so they may have been going to retire anyway - but THEY are the ones who said it was the Steves book that did them in.<BR><BR>My point was that you may think Rick is "speaking to you" but his books are read by a million other Americans and they all try to go the same places.

rick, rick, get your head back inside that train window - there's a tunnel coming up! and change that shirt, puleeeze. A 1000+ shows and still that same uncouth blue-green thing. Update, rick-o, you can afford it after saving on all those meals. rick's the only guy we know who went to paris and bought a cafetreia carnet, in the stand-up section (he thought it cost more to sit down). nice back pack too, rick-e.

Janis: I still say you are full of BS or these are two of the dumbest BB owner's of all time. If they acted as nearly all other BB owners in the UK, they would never reply to individuals when rooms weren't available. OR they could made a tidy profit by refering people to other BB's...if they were getting a 100 calls a day, have a deal with other BB owners to get &pound;1 per referal...they could quit their day jobs. Or why not add a couple of rooms? It simply isn't believable. 99.999% of BB owners would kill to have this "problem".<BR><BR>

Janis <BR><BR>I am sorry that your B and B friends were disillusioned with the way things went, but I cannot agree with their analysis as to why their business ultimately failed. <BR><BR>It is most unfortunate that neither your friends nor their local tourist authority took advantage of having God knows how many thousands of pounds of free publicity for not just that BandB in particular, but the entire associated geographic region in general. For example, the local British telephone company representative could have set up a system to redirect calls to that specific B and B’s number to the local tourist information authority. The authority in turn could have redirected would-be patrons to other, alternative BandBs in the area. At 100 calls a day, and with the typical BandB having but 3 rooms, over 30 local families could have benefited from this Rick Steves-initiated embarrassment of riches. The tourist authority could have used such revenue to justify underwriting the cost of such telephone system being implemented.<BR><BR>Your story reminds me of one closer to home. A few years ago, a town in my own home province was the subject of a special on the ‘morning show’ of a major American network. Within minutes of the special being aired, the local T.I. telephone number starting being called by American viewers interested in further information on the town. Alas, the town authorities, despite being alerted to the special’s being aired, failed to prepare appropriately. Not only was the T.I closed at the time the special aired, but the only thing available to handle incoming calls was a ridiculously obsolete system consisting of a $50 answering machine, the tape of which expired after recording all of 10 calls. <BR><BR>At least the town afterward had the grace to admit that NBC (ABC?) had tried to do them a huge favour, but they had failed to capitalize on the opportunity. Had they been your friends, I daresay they would have gone around complaining about how some big American network completely ‘did in’ their answering machine. <BR>

Rick Steves is a wonderful resource~ particularly for inexperienced American travelers going to Europe.<BR><BR>If you think you know more, or better, or have a different style than his... fine. You are already on your way and don't need his advice.<BR><BR>And yes I do agree, I sure wish the guy would pack a couple more shirts or find a nice old lady to iron them once in a while ;-0

If you don't like Steves, try Karen Brown's books. I've always enjoyed the places she recommends, whether B&B, inn, or small hotel.

I am not saying the two families couldn't cope - THEY said it.<BR><BR>Yes now there could be a lot of options - but the first B&B was mentioned in one of Rick's very first books and that was several years ago.As I said it was in a unique location - within 10 miles there was only one or two other small B&Bs so all your great ideas are very good and all - but not very practical. Now there is e-mail, v-mail, websites, etc. - but 7+ years ago few B&Bs knew about these things.<BR><BR>The other one was run elderly farmers, and I think they may have been looking for an excuse to get out of the business.<BR><BR>my point is still valid --- if you follow Rick Steves slavishly you will end up rubbing shoulders primarily with other Americans. He does offer some REALLY good general information - but none of his "off the beaten path" places can remain so once he recommends them.

re: your last paragraph --<BR>so what is it about *his* travel books/shows that makes them different from DK, Fodors, Frommers, Insight, Rough Guides, Timeout, etc? <BR>

Rick Steves books are invaluable for first-timers to Europe, especially people on a budget. He gives good, basic information, and has made a huge success doing just what he does. And this individual who posts as "Stomach Ache" should be such "dork" as Rick Steves!

Karen: exactly - with most any best-selling guide book in the US, you can end end up with the same problem.<BR><BR>I sometimes use these general interest books for ideas of things to see - but NEVER for places to stay.

This is going to sound like a total rant, but he's certainly ruined Gimmelwald for me, by calling it "untouristed" and "undiscovered" he's made it so much more mainstream. <BR><BR>It takes months of 'hard work' to find a relatively 'secluded' bonanza of a place and just one updated guidebook edition to take it all away...<BR><BR>Sorry, end of rant.

I cannot believe some of you. He is still wearing an '80s shirt. That show was filmed in the '80s and you are still watching like the slathering idiot you are. What did your hair look like in 82, the same as today?<BR>He ruined Grimmelwald. Maybe if you had found it '20 YEARS AGO' it would not have been 'touristed'. He encourages people to 'find their own backdoors' not follow like the lemmings you are to all of his. At least his guidebooks mention towns other than the capitols. Nothings disapoints me more than travelogs of 'My Euoropean Trip, my two days in London, my three days in Paris and one day in Rome, any questions?'

20 years? Grindenwald maybe..certainly not Gimmelwald IMHO.

If Rick Steeves can research and plan a trip to Europe, anybody can!<BR>

I'm not much for Rick Steves, although I can see how people could use him for their FIRST trip to Europe. But to keep using him over and over? Show a little initiative and backbone! Break away from the herd! I've lived in one of the places in his guidebooks and he does get some facts wrong, although not major ones. What really grates on my nerves are his descriptions of the places and people--pure cliches!<BR>

My biggest complaint aboutRick Steves is that he has never learned any other language than English... and seems proud of it. Now that's even more embarrassing than his bad wardrobe.

Language Deficient,<BR><BR>since when did learning a second language become a requirement to travel in or provide information about Europe?<BR><BR>And BTW, which one should he learn, German, French, Italian, Magyar,Dutch, Walloon, Polish, Portugese...<BR><BR>My the nits we love to pick!<BR><BR>US