I used this book to pick out a couple of places to stay in Vermont, and regretted it. I should have been tipped off by the fact that every single review in the book is glowingly positive; a dead giveaway that the book is not independent. It seems very likely to me that this is one of those guides where the inns and hotels pay to be included, and may even write their own reviews.

The book is divided up by types of place, so there's a "Country B&B" section, a "Romantic Getaway" section, a "Lakeside" section, and so on. We booked one of the "Gourmet Getaways" and one of the "Farms"; the former was a disaster, but the latter was OK. The gourmet place, a fancy inn in Ludlow, was described as providing "sumptuous feasts" for breakfast, with "excellently trained and most personable" staff, and the option of picking up a "sophisticated picnic lunch". It's hard to imagine the editors actually ate at this place: the staff clearly hated the management and were close-mouthed and unfriendly (and we overheard the owner loudly berating one of the waitresses); the cooking was very good, but not extraordinary, and the picnic was ridiculous--for $25 a head we each got a nice little ash bucket with a quarter bottle of very cheap champagne, a chunk of cheese, and a hunk of bread.

The farm was described a little more accurately--the views were truly incredible, and the cooking was home-cooking, wisely not praised in the guide book.

At the gourmet place, in Ludlow, we met up with a couple of friends from Britain. They'd booked on our recommendations, but had bought a guide book anyway, and we were alarmed to discover a much harsher evaluation of where we were about to stay. In the end, we enjoyed ourselves enough--good company and Vermont scenery can overcome most ills. When we shop for a vacation now, though, we always look for a guide book that seems willing to criticize.