Special Places to Stay

Alastair Sawday's website, Special Places to Stay, as you would expect, has attitude. Some years ago Alastair Sawday self-published his first guide to places to stay in France and he now has an array of titles to his name. His series of books on places to stay in Britain, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Morocco, France, Italy and India have become must-have bibles for travellers. In France and in Britain there are titles on hotels as well as bed and breakfasts and pubs.

SAWDAY'S BOOKS

At the front of the site is a list of his books and you can click on one of these or enter the site. Typically, the home page has some pretty punchy copy, and here you can find a definition of what a special place to stay is, how to buy Sawday books on line, and most interesting for the online traveller, a comprehensive search for that special place to stay.

SEARCH FOR THE RIGHT PLACE

This is NOT a site where you can book a hotel or a bed and breakfast in any of the countries listed above. What you can do is search either by geographical text or with the help of the online map for a place to stay in the area you intend to visit. You can also search for places which specialise in for example vegetarian foods, or hotels which welcome pets or children.

WELL ILLUSTRATED

Each hotel or bed and breakfast listed is illustrated with a photograph and comes with details of opening times, the type of accommodation on offer, and how to contact the owner. Watch out for the helpful symbols which give guidance on pets, swimming pools, type of cuisine etc.

Alastair Sawday has a newsletter and welcomes comments from his readers. He gives excellent advice on how to search the database which is worth reading. Members of staff at the Good Web Guide have always found his recommendations spot on.