Review of Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report

I've been looking for publications that I'd like to read on my new Barnes & Noble Nook E-reader. One publication that looked worth checking out was Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report. The July 2013 issue was available and, it promised to tell about the Italian lake district and about Wales. Both sounded interesting so, I bought an issue of the publication even though its single issue price is $8.99 which I think is expensive.

The publication is aptly named as its about hideaways i.e. hotels where you can get away from it all. It gives a good review of each of the profiled hotels as well as very good pictures that will give a good idea of what the rooms are like at each hotel. In the July issue, Harper reviewed 12 hotels and 1 restaurant that offered rooms as well. Harper also reviewed 7 restaurants. As Harper has 35 years experience in the travel business and runs his own travel agency (there was a promo at the back of the publication for a New Zealand tour his company is offering as well as information on where to reach his agency), he has great knowledge on what makes a really nice hotel and was doesn't.

I found his reviews very well written and, the pictures nicely complimented them. However, there were drawbacks in my opinion to this publication. First, it is expensive. $8.99 for a single issue or $7.99 an issue for a subscription. Second, the hotels are very pricey. The cheapest room I saw in 1 of the hotels he reviewed was $340 a night and, they easily went over $500 or $600 a NIGHT! While all the hotels sounded luxurious and nice, that's way out of my price range. Third, the publication doesn't talk much about the sights around the hotels. It was very light in this way though that can be a good thing if you primarily want to know about upscale hotels in the regions he visits. However, my thing isn't hotels. I want to know about the sights worth seeing or to avoid. Harper did list some items shopping wise that were particularly noteworthy like a place where some Italian monks make some particularly good lemoncello but, this list was a 1 off in the publication.

Overall, I can't recommend this publication unless you're an upscale traveler looking for particularly upscale hotels to stay at. Some of the restaurants sounded good and might be reasonably priced but, that isn't enough to get me to want to subscribe to his expensive report. For me personally, I'd have to give this publication a thumbs down even though it is well written and has fine photos to support the reviews. Happy travels all!