That's pretty funny - the LP to Iran reads like someone did something on the same lines.
Talking to hoteliers in Guatemala I found similar things about the guide book author. The local guide book contact - the source for all detail to the region - was the owner of four hostels and various tourist initiatives. Guess which author got to eat and stay for free? Guess whose hotels were recommended in first, second, third and fourth places?
LP is a victim of its own popularity. There's a story about a street in Thailand where every hotel has the same name, after the original that was recommended in the LP. A whole street of Golden Palace hotels.
Information in Guide Books is invariably several years old (add together the time of research, writing, publishing, sitting on shelf). Once name-checked owners can confidently let standards fall. Trade is guaranteed, while they put their energies into something better.
In general I found it was best to head for the newest budget place in town - they are keen for your trade, they are pricing low, the plumbing hasn't failed yet, and the first enthusiastic flush of enterprise is still in bloom.
All that said, I found the Rough Guide to Pakistan absolutely brilliant. Mostly it depends on the author, rather than the brand.
Simon
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Simon Kennedy
Around the world 2000-2004, on a 1993 Honda Transalp
Last edited by Simon Kennedy; 13 Apr 2008 at 11:15.
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