Customer Reviews:
 More style than substance June 4, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Lonely Planet New York Encounter is an undeniably neat package; pocket sized, very easy to navigate with its neighbourhood structure, a detailed map and more glossy and visually appealing than the usual Lonely Planet guides. However, its small size and generous spacing means that the author has been very selective in listing bars restaurants etc. There are no individual eating, shopping, sleeping sections; the book is instead divided into neighbourhoods (Chelsea, Meatpacking District etc) which has a brief paragraph about the neighbourhoods character, and then some key attractions, shops, bars and restaurants listed. But in some cases only about 4 restaurants are listed for a main neighbourhood, which is ridiculous for a city the size and stature of New York. Also, the map pages which are usually found in the back of LP guides has been abandonned in favour of a tear out map. While this could be seen as handy for getting a feel for the scale of the place and where things are in relation to one another, it's less practical if you're actually standing on a pavement working out wear to go. It means you have to hold 2 items instead of 1, and the map is quite large and therefore indiscreet.
I wouldn't neccessarily say Lonely Planet New York Encounter is a bad guide, but it's best suited for brief encounters i.e. a weekend break or business trip. If you want to really discover the city, it's probably best to go for one of the full sized city guides. Or even better...explore!
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