The story of this website

Cast your minds back to September 2020, when we were six months into the pandemic. It was a challenging time for almost all of us, with various restrictions in place, including a stop to most international travel.

That mattered to me, as not only do I love to travel, but it's actually a big part of my job, resulting in a major loss of income.

It was depressing and worrying. Then one night a friend made a spur of the moment suggestion that we take a vacation in a place called Timor Isles.

When we arrived, I was astonished. Here was a Balinese style resort that actually mimicked the experience of staying in an RL equivalent. I had no idea that places like this existed. I started looking more closely, and it turned out that it wasn’t an isolated example.

That led to the lightbulb moment for me. If I can't travel in RL, why not at least do it in SL? And along the way I'll review the places I stay at, as a kind of journal.

Having started this as a personal project and as a bit of pandemic therapy, I didn't expect much, but it started to gain traction to the point where it now regularly has 5000+ hits a month.

This site is possible due to the following.

That achievement is thanks to the help of a number of friends and collaborators.

The friend responsible for me having that initial realisation is Veda. Had she not had that late night idea that we go to Timor Isles, this site would probably not exist. You can follow Veda on Flickr here.

Once I had the idea, a very dear friend gave me the push and encouragement to bring it to life. The website you see today is the result of our numerous conversations over several weeks. I don't think she'd want me to name her, but if you are reading this, you know who you are.

My companion on many of the early visits was Debs Milos (also known as 'Muti') of the Milos clan, which owned the (now closed) Rizzi on the Beach, among other things.

In addition to SL travel, Debs loved Regency and Mermaid RP, and had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of Second Life lighthouses. In October 2023, I heard the shocking and tragic news that she passed away in RL. Her website remains, which you can find here.

As the saying goes, a picture says a thousand words; in 2022-2023, many reviews featured photos from Aria Christen. Aria was my partner for eighteen months, and our journey touched me deeply. She is an accomplished landscaper, photographer, and interior designer. You can see her Flickr here.

There have also been a number of collaborators and guest reviewers; these include Sparkles (Sparklebottom Lasertits), Dot Cloud, and Pickle. You can follow them on Flickr by clicking on their names.

Finally, thank you to everyone who has bothered to read the reviews and found them useful. Hopefully, this website will continue to provide helpful suggestions on places to go.

Review Policy

I review hotels, resorts, camp sites and guest houses. Sometimes, I branch out into restaurants, bars and just destinations that, for some reason have caught my imagination.

I look at several factors—the overall look and feel, the rooms, the facilities, and the animations. I also note other aspects, such as the lag or whether a resort is adult or not.

I pay for every stay and remain independent. This website makes no money, and I accept no advertising or sponsorship.

I welcome the chance to look at places during the ‘soft launch’ opening phase to explore in depth. If so, I will always mention that this was the case and will always pay for the stay.