I will of course research more, admittedly, I thought of FT first!
Have to confess I am mildly anti-Lonely Planet, especially after reading an article online (which I can no longer find) called something like "The Prisoners of Tony Wheeler." But that often means I read Lonely Planet in the bookstore and buy "Rough Guide."
However, the first guidebook I have bought is (surprisingly) the just updated Frommer's guide to Beijing which impressed me by containing no-nonsense comments on the uselessness of both the Chinese National Tourist Office and the "official" hotel rating system.