Waikaraka Beach, spacious & very comfortable

The people and cleanliness of house etc

The Owner Vern was very lovely and accommodating. And his beautiful dog Mocha was a treat to have for the kids. Thanks again Vern Kind regards Todd Maihi

N/a

Such a great space - a lot more room than we had expected, everything we needed - great wee kitchen either lovely fresh eggs and bread, cereal etc. comfortable and a lovely location being close to town but also not far from walking and beaches at the heads. A gorgeous dog Mocha who came for cuddles with our kids loads and entertained them in the garden.

Oh what a wonderful stay! We absolutely loved our time. An awesome huge space for a young family of five. A lovely breakfast provided the first day, the kids loved interacting with their dog Mocha (our kids are usually dog shy- but not with this brown lab!). Vern gave us some great local advice and even messaged us on a rainy day with rainy day local family activities. It was close to whangarei central; but had a lovely little rocky beach nearby, and not too far from the beautiful ocean beach on the heads. Note: the outside space is a shared space (between the hosts, guests and gardening equipment etc). Which was not a problem, but good to know :)

Friendly host let us into the property early

Everything good

Good Value

All good

It felt very homely and comfortable

Nothing

Spacious accommodation for the family.

We didn't check the distance from here to our activity.

Lovely space, large living room and bedroom with comfortable bed. Very clean and well presented with easy to follow instructions. Well equipped kitchenette with a welcome pack of bread milk and eggs 😄. Nice garden with a warm welcome from Mocca the Dog as well as the owner !

Die Gastgeber waren sehr freundlich und hilfsbereit, sowohl im Vorfeld der Ankunft als auch während des Aufenthalts.

Vern et Mocha, le chien, sont très accueillants. Le logement est vraiment très spacieux. Vern s'est montré particulièrement généreux: en plus du petit-déjeuner offert, nous avons apprécié les œufs de ses poules et les fruits de la passion de son jardin.

Quiet location, clean rooms. Large dining room.

The entrance was transformed to kitchen and the bedroom is located between the kitchen and dining room.

The host was friendly. The unit was well supplied and it was clean. The host provided bread, butter, spreads, cereal. milk and free range eggs from their chickens which was a lovely touch.

The pictures of the inside of the accommodation are accurate but what you don't see is the layout. You enter through a back door, the unit is an extension under the house beside the garage. The toilet door is directly off the kitchen. We weren't impressed with that at all. The shower cubicle with a very small hand basin had the door open directly into the kitchen too.The hand basin was very hard to use due to its size. If you are a bigger person you are likely to struggle to get in and out of the shower cubicle, it is a tight space. We were using the two bedrooms and we all had to go through one of the bedrooms to get to the dining room and lounge. This bedroom had no windows in it, the other bedroom did. This all seemed strange to us. The dining room and lounge was a good space. There was a curtain at one end which hid a sliding door into the garage which was surprising. We could hear people walking around upstairs which was disconcerting. The host had a job completed on his house that required scaffolding. The scaffolding was still up when we arrived and although we were sent very good instructions letting us know how to get through the gate and where to park, we weren't warned about the scaffolding. We needed to navigate around the scaffolding to get into the unit. This was precarious especially for my elderly mother. The day we were leaving, the scaffolders arrived to dismantle the scaffolding while we were trying to take our bags out to the car. The host kindly gave us a bottle of wine, I think because of the inconvenience.the scaffolding had caused us. This unit had some good points but overall it was not a place that worked for us.

Locatie. Appartement in plaats van hotelkamer.

Badkamer, er was geen redelijke wastafel voor tanden en overige verzorging. De aanwezige voorziening is voor een toilet waar je net de handen kan wassen. Maar keuken had voldoende ruimte, maar geen spiegel

We had a wonderful time. Karen and Vern are one of a kind. They totally embody the warm welcome you can have in New Zealand. Mocha, their dog is super friendly, never barks and loves playing with kids. I recommend their place 100%. Thank you again!

Lovely big converted garage apartment close to central Whangarei. The living area was large and very comfortable with a full sized dining table with 5 seats and plenty of comfy seating on the large couch. The beds were comfortable and the breakfast supplies were appreciated.

The bathroom lets the accommodation down - very small and not enough room to dry yourself outside the shower. It wasn't made clear that the main bedroom was a throughway between the living room and the kitchen/bathroom area.

AMAZING! Loved every minute of it! Lovely place to stay and explore the beautiful area around. Most favorite part of it - MOCHA! A lovely dog who says hello to you everyday and gives you cuddles. :) Also communication was perfect and we felt very well looked after. Thank you :)

This was magnificent hosting: not only did we enjoy a full living room with a full-service tv, couches and dining chairs, we were able to use garden furniture in the back yard or on a deck with a BBQ. Our hosts were wonderful, friendly and flexible, making sure we had everything we needed. Lots of fun conversations. Even the dog joined in!

A great selection of food was provided: eggs, bread, spreads, milk, tea, coffee, cereal, so that one would not need to shop for breakfast requirements before arriving. Access to the washing machine and dryer was great: especially as we were there for a sporting event which required lots of laundry! The apartment was spotless and well appointed. Everything is there to prepare simple meals. The closest shops are in Onerahi which is a 7-minute drive: a supermarket, takeaways and a hotel with restaurant provide limited but adequate options. Vern and Karen are very welcoming and happy to assist with any issue. We loved Mocha the labrador, who was very happy to keep us company :-) If you are not a dog person, this might not be the place for you, as Mocha would be very disappointed if you didn't reciprocate her warm welcomes.

The layout has two double bedrooms and a single bed in the living room, but you have to go through one bedroom to get from the Kitchen/bathroom area to the living room. Perfect for a family, but perhaps not ideal for couples or friends if they are not close. The shower/bathroom only has a small basin: fine for handwashing but limited if your ablution routines are elaborate.

Spacious and clean

Nothing

Beautiful location, spacious apartment, friendly hosts, would defiantly stay there again.

If I had to say something I didn't like, I'd have to go with the toilet being next to the kitchen.

Host was lovely, and it was really spacious and clean. Was perfect for our weekend away. We also loved the chooks and the gorgeous labrador Mocha.

Big and spacious rooms

Big Cockroaches running on the ceiling near the kitchen & in that bowl on the table unsure where they come from , and spiders running on the couch in the lounge area.

Everything was fantastic. We highly recommend this property and would definitely stay there again. Thank you so much

The beautiful MOCHA!!! She was definitely the highlight of our stay, we are animal lovers so she was absolutely divine! Additionally, the apartment was comfortable, spacious, had everything we needed and Vern was friendly and welcoming. Lastly, the price... compared to other accommodation spaces we looked at for an overnight trip, what you get with Karen & Vern is worth every penny spent and is still far cheaper than anywhere else (we found anyway)... it's outside of Whangarei but it's only a 20min trip into town, not far at all! And the beach is so close! Manaia is a drive away! It's a sweet spot!

We didn't like that we had to leave! It's such a cosy space for short or long term stay. I think we'll keep this baby up our sleeve whenever we need to head north x

Easy to book and frequently kept up to date. Very well detailed re arrival information. The place was roomy, clean and comfortable. Everything one would need was available. A good selection of books as well. Great welcome particularly by the lovely Labrador Mocha. Most enjoyable thank you.

The owners are really nice. It was nice to have a barbecue and the garden. The ocean is just around the corner. The living room is very big. We enjoyed the eggs and everything for the breakfast. Good quality and service for the price

You have an independent entrance, which is nice. But it is an apartment in the basement so you can hear the sounds of the house above. We enjoyed staying there, and we would come back.

location and everything on hand

Close to the beach and very nice area. My granddaughters had a lovely time playing with their 2 granddaughters, jumping on the trampoline and playing with Mocha the dog. Karen and Vern are lovely friendly hosts. There were fresh eggs, milk, bread, jam and cereal left for us for breakfast. Lots of towels and blankets.

We had a problem with the temperature of the water in the shower and unfortunately my granddaughters were a bit scared to use it again - it went from warm, to very hot and then to ice cold. With 3 of them in the shower, it was hard for them to get away from the spray. I mentioned it to Vern after we left and he was going to have a plumber look into it. There are no pictures of the view from the lounge/dining room area. The main sliding doors open up directly into the garage, which is a bit strange and unexpected. I know you shouldn't watch TV on holiday, but with Dish TV there was limited option for the kids to watch. A bit of a strange layout and a very small bathroom.

Helpful lovely owners, spacious large living room, heat pump or heater in every room

We stayed with little kids (<3yo). The only issue we had was the apartment layout. The kitchen is far from the dining table, and carpet underneath only works for older kids. Kids made a lot of mess and it was tricky to clean it.

Spacious and quiet.

Bathroom too small. Funny layout - walk thru bedroom from kitchen to lounge.

Loved everything about the property! It could not have been more kid friendly, scooters for the kids to ride, a nice secure and spacious yard, Mocha the dog was the perfect hostess for the kids, they loved her! Perfect location, not too far from town but far enough to enjoy the peace, quiet and beautiful scenery. Warm and spacious for our 3 boys.

Not too close to town, close tho the water

The apartment is well decorated, very clean, very quiet and has all the necessary equipment (and even more). Huge living dining room with very comfortable couches. Huge large main bedroom with a very comfortable large double bed. (were 2 people, didn't use the second bedroom) Even if seems small we have cooked all our meals in the kitchen which is functional, there is also a microwave (we have not used) which is not visible on the website photos. A bit atypiq because one room doesn’t have window but it doesn’t mind at all and the feeling is really Cozy, comfortable and spacious. Very nice atmosphere. Washing machine. A special equipped outside deck with a barbecue and another nice space with table in the garden. Very good wifi. Everything you need to feel like your at home. Very great and lovely host, very welcoming, helpful and attentive. Delicious breakfast provided with plenty of things even eggs, cereals etc. Very easy check in/out and great communication. Easy to find. Private Off road parking. Very well located for visiting different areas of Whangarei Heads and also close to Whangarei itself, town Basin and the very interesting and amazing Claphams clock museum an amazing place really worth it to visit ( situated in Town Basin) . Supermarket and some shops not far by car.

Nothing ; even if the bathroom is small it is functional enough.

Good breakfast, including home laid eggs.

Unusual layout, tiny bathroom.

Bread, milk, jam and Cereal all left for us which was lovely and very unexpected. The property was a little further from the town centre than we expected.

The second bedroom had no windows.

Bread, eggs and milk, tea and coffee provided for breakfast. So clean! We love that that it was absolutely spotless clean. Lots of towels, blankets, Pillows Lots of room, good layout. Fans and aircon in each room Good shower pressure Could use washing machine and dryers with free use of washing powder Use of fridge, oven, microwave and cook top Big yard and stuff for the kids play on Friendly dog Close to supermarket and takeaways but also far enough. Price was good so we didn't expected it to be as good as it was. Everything you need to feel like your at home.

Nothing we would give this a 10/10

I really loved the atmosphere, being a family staying with a great family! Very friendly and qelcoming. Felt like a home away from home, would love to cone back in the future.

Everything was fine. Beautiful location

Great host, air conditioning, space in bedrooms, and comfy sofa in living room. Friendly dog the kids enjoyed playing with.

Very comfortable

What a wonderful place to stay! Vern and Karen are remarkably hospitable, kind and generous!

Great hosts. Vern was very friendly and has fantastic local knowledge. The apartment has everything you could want. Very comfy beds, great water pressure, great WIFI, heaps of space. Would happily stay again and recommend to others.

Nothing.

Although short, we absolutely loved our stay and really look forward to returning.

Fantastic location and a beautiful place to stay.

The beds were super comfy! The hosts were friendly.and welcoming.and had a chat.

We needed to know about the puppy and how to get in but he was a lovely.