Customer Rating: 
Summary: Complicated Rating System
Comment: Useful to find locations and get ideas, but the rating system is a pain to read - Ratings with five different numbers plus three symbols - kept me leafing back to the front more than I wanted. OK, it keeps the size down but is somewhat "clumsy". A worthwhile effort, but with room for improvement.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not exactly what I thought it was.
Comment: I thought that this would describe various destinations in detail. Instead, it simply lists attractions, restaurants, hotels, etc. and rates them. The descriptions are quotes from people who have visited. I didn't think it was helpful.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Filled with Info....
Comment: I read lots of travel guides and this one is jam packed with info. It's tough to find good guidebooks that deal with family travel...usually it's the same tired info, and boring to read...not so with Zagats. Can't wait to put this guide into action.
Customer Rating:
Summary: GREAT FOR TRIP PLANNING WITH OR WITHOUT CHILDREN
Comment: For this survey book, Zagat teamed up with PARENT MAGAZINE to come up with a guide that is particularly helpful for parents traveling with children. It is broken down geographically, and within each geographic area, it is further broken down into "Attractions," "Hotels," and "Restaurant Chains."Of particular value to parents is the fact that attractions are rated by their interest level for adults and, seperately, for children.
The way the book is laid out, it is convenient to use to plan a trip either around visiting major attractions s your starting point, or around finding attractions in a specific area that you might be visiting for other reasons.
There is a very handy section of Travel Tips for families with children that is from PARENT MAGAZINE.
There is also an extremely useful special feature index. Again, it is useful to both adults traveling sans children and those with children. For example you can find a listing of Hotels or Attractions that provide educational opportunities, or parties for kids, or babysitting service, or which have cradles and cribs, or for the adults, Spa Treatments and/or Golf. What makes these categories so useful is that they are categorized by the type of service offered with the hotels or attractions that provide the services listed alphabetically within each category. Then, for more information, you can go to the appropriate geographical location for fill-in information, including pricing.
In my opinion, Zagat's "U.S. Family Travel Guide" just might be the one indispensible guide for family trip planning.
