Accommodation which is anything but ordinary
We are trying to do several things in selecting accommodation for you.
First, we are trying to find really interesting places for you to stay wherever you go........the kind of places where you can get to know the locals and where your fellow travellers are people you actually enjoy hanging out with. In many cases these are also the types of accommodation providers who have a real interest in the destination and the local community and have taken steps to ensure the place stays a great place to visit in the future.
Because many of the places we list are small and often family owned and run, we profile the owners in the host section for each property where they tell you a little about themselves. A couple of typical stories are given below:
Mrs Vandara Amphayphone, owner of the Vanvisa Guesthouse, Luang Prabang, Laos: Mrs Vandara is a superb, warm host who shares with her guests a treasure trove of information about Lao culture and her special loves of textiles and food.
Brought up in the Souan Mon Mulberry Gardens weaving area of Vientiane, she has been interested in weaving and the cultivation of silkworms for as long as she can remember. In the time when the first language of education was French, she attended the capital's Lycée. On marrying her silversmith husband from Luang Prabang, she settled in his family home in this ancient silversmith quarter which historically served the Royal Court.
Having developed her weaving skills over the years, Vandara is Director of the Lao Textile Association of the Northern Provinces. She travels across northern Lao working on the protection and promotion of this fascinating art, which is a core expression of Lao culture. Testament to Vandara's culinary interests, her homemade teas and fruit drinks refresh guests in the summer and warm them in the winter.
Ms. Thope Lekau, owner of the Kopanong B&B in Cape Town: Thope Lekau and her daughter, Mpoh, entertain you with food, drink and stories of South 
Africa's chequered history. As a veteran of the anti-apartheid struggle, and a rural development worker during the nineties, she can give you an in-depth view of our emerging society. Her rich experiences, combined with her qualifications as a tour-guide, will make your stay in an African township a truly memorable and unique experience.
Thope Lekau is an institution in Khayelitsha, and a great role model: In 1999 she won the Tygerberg Municipality Award for outstanding service in the hospitality industry. In 2001 she won a place in the final shortlist of the prestigious 2001 AA Travel Guides Accommodation Award Program.
"I decided to open a B&B because I wanted tourists to see and experience the townships. I wanted them to talk to people," Lekau explained after giving a grand tour of her establishment. "I was fed up that tourists saw Khayelitsha from behind glass, from the touring car. Khayelitsha isn't a zoo! I - after having the matter discussed with several tour operators - opened my doors for tea and lunch. And now, now I have a B&B!"
Second, we let your fellow travellers tell it as it is. Every time you book and stay at one of the properties we send you an email 3 days after your checkout date, asking you for feedback. We try very hard to make this feedback fair and honest by only allowing people who've actually stayed to give feedback, by only showing a rating when we have a minimum of 3 scores in the database (to minimise bias) and by eliminating any feedback more than 12 months old (to keep the ratings current).
What's more, if the property has a green "caring for the destination" bar shown, indicating they are undertaking some program to support a sustainable future, you get a chance to feed back on this as well. The result, we think, should be a site that travellers trust.
The WHL Ratings
