Hip Hotels Atlas

"Profiles inspirational locations on six continents...an atlas, a guide, a reason to daydream."—Cincinnati Enquirer

With Hip Hotels Atlas, Herbert Ypma created the ultimate guide to the world's best places to stay. Now in a travel-friendly new format, the book is ready to be tucked into a carry-on as you venture off to one of these eighty remarkable destinations.

The book is divided into six sections—Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania, North America, and South America—each with its own introduction and atmospheric historical map. You will be tempted by, among a host of other alluring possibilities, a stay in a classic Italian palazzo with a romantic rose garden, a magnificent mud Casbah set in a lush oasis, a traditional Japanese inn with a Zen ambience, a contemporary Tasmanian lodge overlooking idyllic turquoise waters, a rugged log cabin in the heart of the American Wild West, and an elegant colonial-style ranch set in acres of horse-riding country.

Featuring over 1,100 of Ypma's beautiful color photographs, this spectacular book will inspire and delight travelers everywhere.

Library Journal

Readers won't find any Hiltons or Holiday Inns among the hotels covered in this large-format book. While there are a few hotels with price tags that qualify as affordable, most of globetrotting author and photographer Ypma's selections are for the affluent. Dividing the text into six parts by region, he begins with 25 hotels in Europe, including several villas and castles; the most unusual is the Ice Hotel in Sweden, which melts each year sometime in April to be rebuilt the following December. Asia follows Europe with 21 hotels that range from the thrifty Apsara in Laos ($55 a night) to a spendthrift Indonesian retreat priced at $650 a night. Many of the hotels listed for North America are actually in the Caribbean. Australia claims only two, while Africa and South America boast nine each. For each hotel, Ypma offers a brief history along with regional notes of interest and contact information (rates included). His 1100-plus color photographs and illustrations set the mood and make each establishment look magnificent. But this beautiful book, alas, is really better suited to coffee tables. It is too big (about 9" x 12") and too heavy (weighing more than 7 pounds) to hold (or shelve) comfortably. Not an essential purchase; those in search of a less sumptuous guide may want to consider the individual books in Ypma's "Hip Hotels" series (not seen).-Janet Ross, formerly with Sparks Branch Lib., NV Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Herbert Ypma grew up on three continents and has remained a global nomad ever since.