Pacific

The "Best Places" guides are not the most exhaustive guides to the destinations they describe, but they are very efficient because they focus on the attractions, restaurants, lodgings, and other useful information that the locally-based editors consider to be the best. I got this guide for a quickly-organized getaway to the Peninsula and was very happy with the restaurants and lodgings that we found through the book. There are also descriptions of a variety of activities, including museums, fishing, scenic drives, beaches, some shopping, and some hikes, although serious hikers will probably want a more complete guide to the trails. (We used Erik Molvar's Best Easy Day Hikes Olympics.)

I've had the older edition of this book for years and brought it on every road trip we've ever taken. Certainly it doesn't have every wonderful place you've ever stayed at -- but it has so many that are good it would be foolish not to follow the recommendations it provides.

My only complaint is that some of the wonderful places (which, granted, we never would have found had it not been for this book) have become so difficult to get reservations at that we find this book sometimes does not help for those last minute weekend trips out of town.

That said, if you live in the Northwest, consider this your bible -- from Portland to Vancouver, the Islands, and everywhere in between -- you will always find a reliable recommendation for a good table and a warm bed in the pages of this book.

This book is extremely useful as a general guide for (1) the best places to stay and (2) the best restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area. The title is misleading in that even if romance isn't the goal, the guide is useful in finding a classy place to visit. Explanations that accompany each entry are detailed and points out what's great, what's not great, prices, and everything that you'd want to jot down if you were investigating the place yourself.

Excellent in all respects. I highly recommend it.

Anywhere you kiss is a good place to be, but this book has everything you need to know about finding the best places to be kissin'. This guide has turned us on to some great places to kiss, hug, etc...

I just got this book and I was so impressed with the writer's straight-forward style that I felt like an old friend was suggesting the best places to stay in Hawaii. It is honest and detailed and a must-have book for planners who want to make the most of their stay in Paradise.

Grant categorizes the many B&Bs, resorts, inns, condos etc. according different travellers' tastes and needs. Each island has her recommendations for "Best Romantic Hideaways," "Best Resorts for Wordly Elegance," "Best Family Resorts," "Best Resort Values," etc.

Based on her description and pictures we saw on the web, we are confident we have found exactly what we are looking for on the three islands that we want to visit on our honeymoon.

I can't say enough about it! If you are going to Hawaii and you don't want a cookie-cutter-travel-agent-planned vacation, but you still want value for your money, do yourself a favor and buy this book.

This is for an earlier addition of this book writen by "just" the Whitehills. I liked this book a lot.

This book presents a wonderful story of the growth of Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways. A large number of first hand accounts are cited. The 2 chapters on the investigation of 2 misterious CX accidents are exceptional and movie-like, ie. the crash of a DC-3 in the late 1940s (which is always said to be the first recorded hijack in world history) & the explosion of a Convair 880 over Vietnam in early 1970s. This book is definitely a must for aviation history lovers.

Finally a comprehensive guide book for a variety of hikes close to the Seattle area - previously hikes around the area have been scattered through various guide books, some good, some not so good. This is a good one! The driving directions and hike maps are easy to follow and very informative. Each map stands alone with its own micro-legend. The rating system and elevation profiles provide a good starting point. There are gps coordinates for each hike for folks that know what to do with that info and for those who are just learning. Indicating which hikes are appropriate for children also helps in the selection process. This is a great book for sitting in a cafe on Saturday morning trying to figure out where to go for the day.

Good road selection, accurate maps and helpful text make this book an excellent guide to road bicycling in northwest Oregon. The forty-five rides listed nearly all start within short distances from Portland, Corvallis, Salem, or Eugene. Ride distances range from a short 11 miler to the three day 177 mile Oregon Coaster loop. Each ride in the book includes a clear map of the ride, a cue sheet/mileage log, an elevation profile, and a few paragraphs of descriptive text. This book was extremely helpful in planning a recent ten day bicycling trip around northwest Oregon. While I did not, strictly speaking, ride any of the 45 rides in this book, the information in this book contributed greatly in road selection and understanding the terrain. For example, in the Mt. Hood area, if I had relied on the Delorme atlas, our route would have included several gravel roads. Jones and Henderson's book, however, shows which roads in the vicinity are gravel thereby helping us avoid them. For those of you fortunate enough to live in northwest Oregon, this book would be an excellent way to discover some new rides. For the non-Oregonian, the book can serve as an excellent resource in route-planning. As a sidelight, I would comment that I have yet to find a book published by The Mountaineers that has not been uniformly helpful, whether the content is bicyling or hiking.

This book has every story, person, event and fact imaginable. It's a thick book, well-researched, and a must-have reference for anyone who loves The Mountain. It even has a copy of the Park's original charter. Filley is a long-time expert on the Park, and her interest shows.