Barbara is an excellent hostess and made us feel at home in the week we stayed there. She is a cat lover (so are we!) and we were welcomed by her loyal cat Mike - who is very friendly by the way. Her big, gorgeous house (beautiful garden!) is located at the end of a very calm street, close to Memorial Ave (buses, shops) and not far from a main mall. The rooms are spacious, airy and were spotless, just the same as the two shared bathrooms. We had access to the kitchen with all appliances, and were offered breakfast every day courtesy of our hostess, who also prepared delicious homemade bread. The internet worked perfectly. Barbara took my son (8) to the games room on the first floor, and he loved the billiard table. My family came to stay 6 months in NZ, and Barbara was extremely helpful in helping us find a place to rent (her friend Chris's house, where I am writing this from now). In sum, extremely recommended! (Barbara, we hope to pop in now and then to say hello to you and Mike!)