A Guide to Monastic Guesthouses

by Robert J. Regalbuto

Need a place to stay while on pilgrimage? This guide offers detailed information about accommodations in monastic guest houses throughout the United States and in all Canadian provinces. Details include illustrations, descriptions, points of interest, histories, and information about meals and related costs.

Paperback: 291 pages; Morehouse Group, 4th Rev. edition

AMAZON REVIEWS:

The author has compiled a useful listing of monasteries and the like that welcome guests, but the descriptions are little better than those one finds in an AAA travel guide. There is, for instance, little information on the extent to which one is expected, or allowed, to join in the spiritual life of the institution or (excepting listings of numbers of single and double rooms) whether married couples are welcome. Moreover, he seems to have strained to include one guest house from each of the 50 states, rather than the best guest houses, wherever located. This book simply provides minimal leads that must be followed up.

I've been wanting to review this book for some time. A friend gave me a copy as a gift. The concept of a "monastic" guest house was new to me. By reading this inviting guide I learned that the custom of accommodating guests in monasteries and convents is as old as Christian monasticism itself. I have had the opporunity to visit several of the guest houses included in the book. The research done by the author is certainly thorough and the broad denominational representation is good. Most importantly, I was rassured to know that all of the guest houses in the book will accommodate those of any faith...or no faith at all. Practical information such as addresses, telephone numbers, and directions are invaluable. Even if not planning to visit the monasteries, convents, and guest houses in the book, the Guide makes for interesting reading with its histories, descriptions, and other information about the orders and their way of life. The line drawings for each guest house add a finishing touch which make this book a delight to browse though, interesting reading, and an outstanding resource for the would-be modern day pilgrim. The New York Times, National Geographic Traveler and Arthur Frommer recommend A Guide to Monastic Guest Houses, and so do I!

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