Resorts Books

This has to be one of the most poorly written books ever published. Pages and pages of random words and phrases.
There's no plot. Time and location change from sentence to sentence without warning. I had to force myself to keep reading and even then I didn't know what the book was about.
The author seemes to make up words and describe the same thing over and over.
Don't waste your time or money on this one.

Was this a joke? Did I just pay $6.95 for nothing? Well, live and learn.

There is not a single map, nor a picture. The information can be summarized as "it snows in Europe, there are ski resorts there, the ski lift prices are 170-200 Euro per week, in the listed 3% of hotels the prices are 50-150 Euro per week, and there are appartments too."

I ordered this book, but I never received it in 2.5 weeks, so I decided to cancel the order and got a refund from Amazon. A lot of other people who ordered this book seemeded to have trouble receiving it as well. I'd think twice before ordering it if I were you.

I am considering opening my own spa and I bought this book based on the publisher's review that it has everything to "build and operate a profitable business". I have an MBA and 10 years of management consulting experience, so for me this book was a collection of the common sense business basics and generalities instead of the spa operations insights. It is definitely not worth its price ($69). For those who are in my shoes, I would suggest to buy one of the business publications available from the ISPA or learn industry trends from www.hfdspa.com and many SPA publications.

I should have noticed the 1990 publication date, but I didn't. It was only after I used the great system for identifying the right spa for me, that I realized how badly outdated this book is. At least three of the recommended spas are nowhere to be found, apparetnly out of business. And of course the pricing and program information is way, way out of date.Some prices are now double those in the book and I found four spas who have radically revised their programs. To top it all off, the cover touts "Thousands of dollars in free coupons for your next spa visit!" The "coupons" look really questionable, and you'd have to spend many thousands at many different resorts in at least six different states to use them all.

This book is filled with meaningless information. In fact, information is duplicated throughout the book as if to fill empty space. It seems at times the content serves as a commercial for the timeshare industry, and the ARDA association. This book lacks structure, is devoid of substance, and is an example of a simplistic lazy attempt at writing. Not worth my reading time.

As I scanned the book I immediately came across two historical inaccuracies.

On page 102 the author states that Abraham Lincoln visited Cape May. This is pure legend and surprisingly Mr. Stansfield, the author, lists a book on Cape May in his Bibliography that clearly debunks the legend. Mr. Lincoln was filing an affidavit in Illinois on the day he was supposed to have been in Cape May. A grocer named Abel Lincoln, from Philadelphia, is no doubt the A. Lincoln that signed the register of the Mansion House on the day in question. Didn't Mr. Stansfield read the book he listed in his Bibliography???

On Page 201 the author shows a picture of the old Municipal Music Pavilion in Ocean City that burned to the ground in 1965. His caption reads that the building has been restored and is still in use.
He is clearly confusing it with the Music Pier built after the boardwalk fire of 1927 that is indeed still in use. The Municipal Music Pavilion depicted in his book was moved after the 1927 fire and used as the city's Convention Hall until it burned in 1965.

This type of careless fact checking and poor research makes one question the validity of the balance of the book.

What a disappointment! Despite its title, this 220-page book devotes just 48 pages to Walt Disney World. There are only eight pages on the Magic Kingdom, 12 on Epcot, 10 on Disney-MGM Studios and four -- four! -- on Disney's Animal Kingdom. As you can imagine, the information is skimpy. Many attractions are reviewed with just one sentence, sometimes even just a phrase. The coverage of It's a Small World is, in total: "a waterborne journey through a series of animated tableaux." As for hotels, each gets three sentences.

Though the book claims to be "Annually Revised," much of the information is out of date. This "2007" edition -- which, according to Amazon, was published in March 2007 -- still lists among its attractions Cinderellabration, Timekeeper, Who Wants to be a Millionaire and Tarzan Rocks, all of which shut down in 2006. Tarzan Rocks closed in January 2006, for heaven's sake!

In fact, I wonder exactly when this book was written. It states that the Tiki Room was "recently much improved," though that show's rehab occurred in 1998. It says another "recent" attraction is Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, a ride that debuted in 1998. Hmmm.

There is no mention of anything that's new. No "Finding Nemo -- The Musical." No "Laugh Floor Comedy Club." No new version of "Pirates of the Caribbean." And yes, I checked my copy. It's copyrighted 2007.

There are also, by the way, no park maps.

Even worse, a lot of the book is just plain wrong. Describing Disney's ticket choices, the authors say "Park Hopper" is the name of Disney's multi-day ticket. It's not! "Park Hopper" is an extra-cost option for the right to go to more than one park a day.

As for attractions, I'm not sure these writers have ever seen them. They say the Hall of Presidents features the current president "joining in on readings by the great presidents of the past." In truth, as even the most casual Disney fan knows, only the current president and Lincoln speak -- none of the others have ever said a word! The authors say Epcot's Spaceship Earth is the history of technology, when it's really the history of communication. They call Animal Kingdom's TriceraTop Spin "a roller coaster with spinning cars" when it's actually a Dumbo-like hub-and-spoke ride. How, exactly, does this "marvel of writing," to quote the back cover, get things so wrong?

For restaurants, again I doubt the writers have even been there. They list Bongos Cuban Cafe as being in the Magic Kingdom. It's actually in Downtown Disney -- five miles away!

The rest of the book proports to be about Central Florida and Orlando. I can't vouch for the accuracy of those pages -- I don't know, or care, about Flea World, Orlando's city bus line or that Denny's No. 3162 is open 24 hours. But I have my doubts. For restaurants the authors list Chili's -- yes, the chain -- as "Mexican food at its best."