Had a great time at Buck Lodge. You are a 5 mn walk to the big carrot and 1 min walk from the village - a couple basic shops, New World, Info centre, cycle/snow hire etc and lots of places to eat. We loved Osteria of the 3 places we ate out at. Lots of visitors to the town at Easter, so a bit of traffic noise at night time in the front bedrooms. Loved the fireplace with lots of wood provided and the large rooms. Tons of bed options and very nice comfy new beds. Light duvets are provided and some extra blankets - bring more if you need more warmth in winter. Not sure if it's mentioned in the listing but apart from your own sheets & towels you may want to bring (as we needed to) hand soap for the bathroom, toilet paper & matches for the fire. The place is clean and comfortable, a great base. Andrew texted once during the stay to see if all was OK (missed that txt sorry) and phoned on our last day as we were heading out which was nice.
Not being hugely experienced cyclists, we hired 2 normal & 2 e-bikes for our group and did the Old Coach Road trail which is very popular. The bike shops will drop you to the top to cycle back to town one way, or you can do it there and back. Takes 2-3 hours 1 way, off road and heaps of fun - easy to moderate difficulty in places. Also visited war museum at Waiouru, Tanigiwai memorial, did a horse trek and bush walk.