Stern's Guide to the Greatest Resorts of the World [antikvár]

Introduction Throughout my hfe, I have found all kinds of travel infectious, a malady of which I hope never to be cured. Some travelers are ardent sightseers whose vacations would not be complete without visiting noteworthy museums and archeological digs, paying homage to famous churches and monuments, browsing through souvenir shops and flea markets, and exploring every street and byway. There is a different breed of travelers who prefer to spend their holiday in one sunny haven, devoting their leisure days to swimming, golfing, fishing, playing tennis, jogging, gambling, eating, and drinking. For these non-locomotive hedonists, a deluxe resort is the only real vacation. Too often, inertia causes these people to return to the same pleasure palace year after year without realizing that the same luxurious facilities can be found elsewhere with a little variety and different flavor thrown in. This book is dedicated to describing what our civilized world has to offer to my non-locomotive, hedonistic soul mates who seek the very best resort hotels that exist today. If I have missed some of your favorites, first forgive, and then drop me a note so that I can explore the possibility of covering them in future editions. In the meantime, I invite you, one and all, to sample my current favorites. Let us establish our definition of a resort hotel. Often, there is a fine line between a large hotel with a number of facilities and activities and a resort. Where we draw the line is somewhat subjective. In making my selections for this book, I have limited the considerations to self-contained properties where guests come primarily to vacation for longer periods without intending to leave the immediate premises, as opposed to those hotels that cater to transient businessmen or sightseers selecting a base of operations. Also excluded are the large hotels or rental condominiums in resort communities. In addition, I have concentrated on resorts that offer the most luxurious accommodations and atmosphere, and I have excluded the "Club Med" style of complex. Obviously, some ofthe places included succeed at fiilfilling their promise of elegance, service, and so on better than others. High prices are not necessarily synonymous with high quality. I could find