Selecting the Right Guidebook Can Help Travelers Make the ‘Inn’ Choice : Vacations: The best books are those where the author has stayed anonymously at the facility. Some are not updated often, others are merely innkeeper listings.

Are there any guidebooks to inns that you can really trust?

Yes--but you have to search them out. Although you may think a guidebook is a guidebook is a guidebook, in fact there are great differences in how they are researched, written and edited, thus affecting the quality.

Unfortunately, some publishers don’t invest the money needed to send writers to the inns, or the writers receive complimentary lodging, which may influence their evaluations. Some guidebooks may not have been updated for years.

The best inn books are those in which the author actually has stayed overnight at the inns--preferably anonymously--and has assessed not only each inn’s facilities, but also its style and setting and even the innkeepers’ personalities. Are they friendly to all guests equally? Is the inn’s ambience comfortable? Do the rooms have a good view? No author can visit every one of the thousands of inns in this country, so they are obliged to be selective about which ones they include.

Some popular guidebooks are simply compilations of inn descriptions submitted by the innkeepers themselves, who may be required to pay a fee to be included. One such book is “The Annual Directory of American Bed & Breakfasts,” edited by Robyn Martins. The more than 5,000 inn entries in the latest edition, due out from Rutledge Hill Press at Thanksgiving, are written and submitted by the innkeepers, who each pay $25.

“We don’t visit any of them,” says Martins, who sees the obligatory fee as justified because the book is, as she puts it, “an advertising service.”

Nonetheless, the guide is useful, like the Yellow Pages of a phone book, because it provides an extensive--although incomplete--listing of inns. To its credit, the book’s introduction carries a note pointing out that “these descriptions were written by the B&B; hosts themselves.”

In contrast, Tim and Deborah Sakach, authors of “The Official Guide to American Historic Inns,” visit many of the inns in their book. But they also include inns for which the material has been submitted by the innkeeper. Tim Sakach says they do require that an unseen inn also provide press clippings indicating that someone else--a newspaper or magazine writer--has reviewed it favorably.

The guide identifies 1,400 inns with historic character; 6,000 additional inns are listed without descriptive information. The entries provide good detail on each inn’s historical significance, but they rarely hint at the quality of the stay.

Yet a third variation is practiced by Sandra W. Soule, editor of the six U.S. volumes of “America’s Wonderful Little Hotels and Inns,” published by St. Martin’s Press. She and her associates try to visit many of the lodgings listed--about 2,000--but she also relies heavily on guest comments, both positive and negative. Many travelers who use her books regularly contribute critiques of places they like and don’t like.

Even when writers actually visit an inn, some of them accept complimentary overnight lodging. Is their judgment influenced by the freebie, and do the innkeepers treat them more lavishly than regular guests?

Jerry Levitin, author of “Country Inns and Back Roads of North America,” a selective guide published by HarperCollins, acknowledges that “when I’m offered complimentary lodging, I accept. Travel writers aren’t paid all that much.” He does not believe that a free room clouds his judgment. Even when innkeepers know he is coming, he says, “they can’t remove the stain in the carpet.” Still, if he is recognized, he makes a point of getting evaluations from other sources.

Writers for the nine-volume “Best Places to Stay” series, published by Harvard Common Press, also accept free overnight stays. Each guide critiques 250 to 350 lodgings, says editorial director Bruce Shaw, and the books would be too costly to produce if complimentary stays were not accepted. He also says that this practice does not affect the reviews of the lodging establishment.

A traveler looking for a guidebook free of innkeeper influence should examine the cover and introduction of the policy of the author, editor or publisher.

The question of anonymity, as separate from freebies, is a ticklish one. Elizabeth Squier, author of “Recommended Country Inns of New England,” part of a series published by Globe Pequot Press and now in its 12th edition, visits each of the 200 inns she selects and writes about, and she pays her own way.

When recognized because of recurrent visits, do the innkeepers treat her differently from other guests? “I don’t think so,” Squier says. When an inn falters, she drops it from her book.

Another time-saving tactic adopted by some guidebook authors is to visit an inn and ask for a tour, but not spend the night. Half a dozen inns or more may be inspected in a single day in this way. Levitin says this is his method of operation, but he tries to remain anonymous by pretending that he is interested in booking a room in the future and wants to look around.

In the past year, a team of critics from the American Bed and Breakfast Assn. has been critiquing the group’s 800 member inns, handing out numerical scores ranging from “5” (outstanding) to “0” (not recommended). These evaluations, which are based on such factors as appearance, cleanliness and value for price, have been published in two guidebooks--”Inspected and Approved Bed & Breakfasts,” one each for inns east and west of the Mississippi River. To do this kind of detailed check, which may involve snooping for dust on bedroom light bulbs, the inspectors do not try to remain anonymous.

I have inspected a few inns in this fashion also, and my conclusion is that it is possible to make valid judgments on decor, housekeeping, setting, historical authority and other characteristics of the structure and facilities. But assessing the inn’s style, or the innkeeper’s personality, without staying overnight anonymously--are the innkeepers helpful and cheery?--is next to impossible. When they know a guidebook writer is on the premises, innkeepers are going to be on their best behavior.

This doesn’t render the association’s guides useless. Far from it. They are an excellent resource when you want to make sure the facilities are going to be appealing and well-kept. Just don’t look for help on such intangibles as an inn’s romantic qualities.

So what is a guidebook buyer to do? As best you can, determine how the information in the book was obtained. This will help you decide whether it will meet your needs--and how far to trust its entries. Maybe you will have to buy two guides and compare descriptions.

One other aspect to consider when buying an inn guide is how often it is updated. The material can become outdated very quickly. In most successful series, a revision is scheduled either every year or every other year. However, some guides appear only once, and leftover copies may languish on a bookstore’s shelves for years. Always check the publishing date to make sure you have a fresh edition.