Lodging Books

Now in a thoroughly updated fifth edition, Matthew Poole's Best Places Northern California compiles the reviews of Northern California natives - locals who know best! - to highlight top quality establishments ranging from vineyards in Sonoma to nightclubs in San Francisco and much more. Offering one to three-day sample itineraries by region, designed to allow one to take maximum advantage of time and money. The special feature of Best Places Northern California is that it only lists the the very best and even a one star rating location is a delight, while inferior institutions simply deserve no mention here. Maps, contact information, and brief but vivid descriptions round out this excellent and confidently recommended travel resource.

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.

What a great book. I was one of the Baldwin girls, living there 1965/1966. I had no idea I was part of this history. I am very grateful to Grace for writing this book. -Betty Wagner

how do you rate the stars of the hotels?

What is mean by standard with quality hotels? what is the definition of quality hotels?

Great recipes - wonderful to eat! Delightful! Mere words are not enough! This cookbook will be in all the Christmas stockings I need to fill!

My favorite Inspector Appleby mysteries take place in an academic setting. This subset of his mystery novels is undoubtedly a byproduct of the many years that Michael Innes (whose real name was John Innes Mackintosh Stewart) spent laboring in the halls of academia. Among the seats of learning where he taught are Queen's University in Belfast, and the universities of Oxford, Adelaide, and Leeds.

The author could not help but involve a legion of eccentric, pompous, and even murderous professors in the death of the president of St. Anthony's College (modeled after the colleges at Oxford University). Their academic spats and bumblings are a good part of what makes this book readable. Innes is wickedly funny when it comes to poking fun at the habits of his donnish colleagues and undergraduates.

"Death at the President's Lodging" starts out as a locked room mystery where the only suspects are locked into the college grounds for the night. The president's body is found in his own library, but we gradually learn that the corpse was subject to a great deal of postmortem perambulation as his colleagues try to establish their own alibis and manufacture evidence that points to their academic enemies. Nothing is as it first seems, not even time of death.

A trio of undergraduates provides the comic relief as they chase one of the suspects (supposedly at an archeological dig in the Middle East) across the English countryside and finally deliver him to Inspector Appleby in a large wicker clothes basket (shades of Falstaff!).

As Inspector Appleby winds his way through the skeins of plot and counter-plot created by great intellects gone murderously askew, his intuition is played off against the rather unimaginative plodding of local Constable Dodd. Dodd is a bit of a dry stick compared to the irrepressible Appleby, who in his very first appearance in this mystery (published in 1936), is already showing signs of what his successor at Scotland Yard refers to as his 'waywardness.'

Enjoy Inspector John Appleby's literary debut for the hijinks of the undergraduates, the plots and counter-plots of their devious professors, and the erudite style of their donnish creator. The plot is overly complex, but it is brilliantly resolved and a lot of fun to read.

This book was a great help to us in traveling with our three dogs. It is clearly written and we found the information contained in the book to be 100% correct. Great reference!

I found this guide indispensable to traveling with my golden, Molly. After I exausted every resource to run away for the weekend, and was at wit's end, Eileen's guide came to the rescue. I have referred to it, time and time again, with happy results. I recommend it to anyone who wants to travel with their pooch and not feel like a criminal.

This publication was very helpful in planning our family vacation, and saved us a lot of hassle and money. I highly recommend it to anyone traveling with their pets!

Your site is off the hizzy! Thanx for helpin me ! The reason that i went to this site anyways was because i had a school project I had to do, it was on a math matician, i chose Sir Isaac Newton! I go to school in south carolina! I am 13!THANKS! lots-o-love: Libby McDowell