I didn't think we'd ever consider a private room vs an entire home/apt, but we are so glad we choose to stay at David's home in Taupo. He was the ultimate host and it was so comfortable staying with him. It felt like staying with a favorite uncle (the sweet favorite uncle that you love... not the creepy one)
The beds were comfortable, and he provided extra blankets in the living room and our bedrooms.
He provided a separate small refrigerator with yogurt and milk for us, and he set out fruit, orange juice, toast, jelly, and a variety of cereals in the morning.
He has an adorable pup that we loved, but no worries if you don't care for dogs. Even though we would have been happy to have her around, he kept her out of the common areas. She was usually outside on the patio or in his room.
We loved having him around and hanging out with him, but he was exceptionally considerate of giving us our space, and kept to himself so we almost felt like we had the entire house to ourselves.
Our luggage was lost on the way from the US to NZ and David went above and beyond to be sure we had what we needed. He was so incredibly thoughtful.
His home is located a few minutes drive from town in a quiet and beautiful residential area. He offered suggestions on activities and restaurants, and was very helpful in planning our days there.
Another review mentioned not having enough hot water in the showers, but four of us were traveling in our party and even when all of us showered, we didn't run out of hot water. Water pressure was great, too.
We had a wonderful experience staying with David, and he will be our top airbnb choice next time we return to Taupo.