Lonely Planet Arizona (Arizona, 1st Ed)

Rating:
Summary: Barely Adequate
Review: I have a long, entirely satisfying history using Lonely Planet Guides when I travel so I was unhappy to find that the Arizona edition was less helpful than expected on a recent road trip through The Grand Canyon State. My reason for purchasing a travel book solely devoted to Arizona was related to my intention to explore the state thoroughly with an eye toward possible relocation. Hoping for a wealth of detail on places to stay and eat in addition to general descriptions of areas of interest, as I toured both city and countryside I was surprised by a paucity of detail on service establishments and a complete lack of differential analysis of the options on offer. For example, the village of Parker has several motels listed as being essentially equivalent in what they provide the overnight client. But a quick tour of two of the facilities turned up consequential differences between them! For instance, the rooms of the recommended Stardust Motel turned out to be in poor repair and unpleasantly aromatic as well. Further, described as having a pool the actual resource was more like a bird bath than a basin for swimming. Meanwhile, just up the road rooms at the lovely, well kept Kofa Inn (recommended co-equally with the Stardust) could be rented for just a few dollars more per night than the unappealing Stardust. At the end of a long day of driving it is distinctions like this that I expect to find available in the guide book I am relying upon rather than having to do the legwork myself upon arrival. These shortcomings in the text were unfortunately repeated at any number of other locales I visited on my trip. Although Lonely Planet Arizona does a fairly good job of orienting the prospective traveler to what the state has to offer by way of national parks and natural beauty (Sedona as a landscape as opposed to a human settlement is incomparably beautiful), its failure to assess comprehensively and distinguish effectively between the service establishments it recommends makes it only barely adequate as a travel guide.