I decided to do a little research while I was in Miami, so I brought along three travel guides from companies that I really wanted to try. I had a few criteria:
1. They had to be stylish. I absolutely hate, hate, hate, those Eyewitness guides that look like an encyclopedia. Those things are big, heavy, and scream TOURIST. They're unpractical and worst of all, unsafe for a BAP traveling on her own. I need something sleek and discreet, something that looks at home tucked next to my Moleskine, not embarrassing my Longchamp le Pliage and not announcing that Little Red Riding Hood has come to the wood.
2. They had to be under $20. Why? The economy is hard and I am broke. Also, the less money I spend on travel guides, the more money I can spend on actual travel.
3. They had to have high and low end recommendations. I want to see both sides of the world when I travel. Food sold on the street is probably the best cuisine anywhere, but it's also good to know where you can find a luxurious rooftop pool and a man to pay for it all. (Just kidding). (Kind of).
4. They had to be fun. I'm fun. I like to have fun. Travel is fun. The guides should be too.
To that end, I purchased three guides that I have been scoping out for a while: the
Luxe City Guide,
the Hedonist's Guide, and
Time Out.
The Luxe Guides seem cool at first because they're small, they have a sleek, jet-setty website, and they're made in Hong Kong. Sadly, that is where the coolness ends. In an attempt to be discreet, the guides are folded up into a multi-layered pamphlet, two sided and with about size 3.5 font. And there are no pictures. It's confusing, hard to handle, and makes you look like a Midwestern tourist with one of those pop-out maps of Manhattan. Even if this wasn't the case though, the worst thing about
these guides is that they're not jet-setty at all. They're clearly written for people who want to know where to go to say they've been. It's infuriating. I have never seen a travel guide that manages to be confusing and condescending at the same time. The categories include "Standout Stores" and "Advanced Shopping" (whatever that is) and descriptions such as: "Miami without kaftans is like Crockett sans Tubbs, Hollywood minus divorce. Hoof it to her studio and choose your fabric for a gorgeously diaphanous one-off." WHAT?!?! If you're into traveling to see, be seen, meet your sugar daddy, show off your courtesan, or make someone jealous who you're constantly jealous of, these guides are for you. For me, I'll save my eyesight for something more worthwhile.
In second place goes the Hedonist's Guide. In a few years and a better economy, I hope I can afford the vacation this book is selling. The book is classy, funny, and includes gorgeous pictures. The black cover is sleek and discreet. It could pass for a small novel or large date book. The ratings codes are clear and their explorations, comprehensive. Well, to a point. If I was
already the corporate lawyer I'm not going to be, this would be the book for me. If I was Michelle and Barack was taking me on a second honeymoon, he could stuff the tickets in this book and we would have a whale of a time. You get the picture. This guide was great for pointing out the fabulous places and even for giving us one or two ideas when we wanted to splurge- or find the cheap stuff at the nice place. But for a whole break? This book breaks the bank.
The Oscar goes to Time Out Miami. This bright, pretty, informative book is fantastic. Although the cover makes it clear that
you're looking at a travel guide, it's Time Out. Time Out is better than Eyewitness any day. The guide is packed full of information about all of the best places to stay, from budget to deluxe, mainland to island, vintage clothing to record shop. We tabbed the heck out of this book, checked it every few minutes, followed its recommendations, and had an amazing time. Time Out wins. Definitely.
On my next trip, I'll be trying out a few more books. I really want to explore the merits of the
Black Book and some of the smaller, local guides created independently for each region. However, I always need one good commercial guide that I know I can depend on and for now, Time Out is it. Although I will probably carry around a Hedonist's guide too. And I'm definitely going to give the Luxe guides another shot when I go to Hong Kong. I hear they're better in Asia.
Travel well!
kat
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Townhouse was recommended in two of our three travel guides so we knew we had to at least visit. After our "hostel" ended up being the Bates Motel, we were stranded for the night and went to the Days Inn. This was barely better, so the next night we made reservations at Townhouse.
plate, a croissant, boiled egg, fruit and a cup of coffee (or orange juice if you're me) and sit at one of the communal tables in the lobby. On the roof, to make up for the lack of pool, there is a swank garden with comfy lounge chairs, waterbed-ish couches, and a fully stocked bar that starts serving the cool kids after 8pm. In the basement is a bar and sushi restaurant, but we opted for a gourmet pizza from down the street instead.
Townhouse was fun, the free swag was adorable, and we all left South Beach glad that we spent our last night in such a fabulous hotel. Even waiting for the taxi was fun, it gave us plenty of time to chill on the porch swings. The hotel is more of a budget boutique hotel than most of the others on the beach, which worked out well for us. It gave us a fun, sophisticated experience without requiring another student loan. I highly recommend it, but with the all-white decor, probably not if you have 
