Book Review by Julie Register, Your Guide to Spas
Fodor’s Healthy Escapes - Spas * Fitness Resorts * Cruises
by Bernard Burt

Healthy Escapes provides "244 resorts and retreats where you can get fit, feel good, find yourself and get away from it all." It is a great resource and the second place I go to look for new health spas and/or fitness resorts to visit. The Internet is, of course, my first.

To see how this book is organized, here is a quick overview of the Contents:

Directory 1: Alphabetical Listing of Resorts	Directory 2: Listing of Resorts by Program
Introduction	Glossary
1 Health & Fitness Programs Holistic Health Kid Fitness Life Enhancement Luxury Pampering Nonprogram Resort Facilities Nutrition & Diet Preventive Medicine Spiritual Awareness Sports Conditioning Stress Control Taking the Waters Vibrant Maturity Weight Management	2 Health & Fitness Resorts California The Southwest The Northwest The Central States The Middle West The South The Middle Atlantic States New England and New York Hawaii Canada Mexico The Caribbean, the Bahamas, Bermuda
3 Health & Fitness Cruises

The detailed listings are found in Section 2. Included are a short, half page synopsis and a page that includes the address, phone and fax numbers, administration, operating season, rates, meal plans, service and facilities, items of interest in the area, how to get there, and special notes.

Sometimes I find a spa I’m interested in the book and then see if I can find it on the Internet. And there lies one of two criticisms I have - the book does not list URL’s, web addresses, or whatever else you want to call Internet addresses nor does it list email addresses. Both would be very handy to have. My other gripe is that there are no pictures. I know, I sound like a little kid. But spas are usually lovely places, and I feel any book about them should include at least one picture for each spa. Having said that, Fodor’s Healthy Escapes - Spas * Fitness Resorts * Cruises provides more complete information than any other book of its type I've seen. It is a must-have reference book for anyone who wants to intelligently compare health spa/fitness resorts before deciding on one to visit.

This book can be purchased directly from Barnes & Noble by following the link above.
 (Note: Barnes & Noble is solely responsible for fulfillment of orders placed through these links.)

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