Travel Advisory: Watch Out for Cozily Quaint

Humorous new travel book offers key to tourism terminology.

By Cassaundra Brooks

Ever read something misleading in a travel book—an enticing description of a hotel, restaurant, or entertainment spot, and you arrived only to discover it is nothing like you had pictured? Retired bank marketing executive N.W. “Red” Pope and his wife Linda have fallen victim to such literary deception, and Red has compiled a list of enchanting descriptions from travel books and paired them with amusing, but true, brushes with reality.

In one example, the Popes found a charming line drawing of a small hotel on a side street in Bergen, Norway. The hotel was described as a “cozy and quaint family-run inn, centrally located, and exuding local flavor. Rooms tastefully furnished.” After disembarking the ship in a slight drizzle and lugging their bags some four blocks, they finally arrived at the old, narrow, three-story building. Their first impression was positive—all the trappings were there.

The shock came when the Popes opened the door to their room. “If ‘cozy’ meant small, and ‘cramped and quaint’ meant poorly furnished, this place was spot-on,” Pope says.

In over twenty-plus years of traveling thirty-five countries, the Popes had several such experiences. While 99 percent of the places lived up to or exceeded the reviews, the rest fell entirely too short. The Popes also noticed a pattern in travel language. Terms like “quaint,” “Old World charm,” and “picturesque” show up frequently. Linda suggested a book project, and Red began composing tongue-in-cheek asides and matching them to descriptions found in travel literature.

His efforts resulted in a 120-page book, TravelSpeak, which lists 141 travel writers’ clever descriptions paired with Pope’s actual experience of each. From a Provence farmhouse debacle, to the Oslo hotel room over an all-night disco, to the cruise line cabin under the steel deck, the book is a readable, humorous travel cautionary based on experience. And for what you can trust, the book also includes a listing of forty outstanding accommodations in twelve different European countries.

Visit travelspeakbook.com for more information.