We booked to come back while staying there...that should give you an insight into just how INCREDIBLE this location is.
My husband, 5yo son and I had never been to NZ so spent a week or so camper-vanning around and had a few nights at this beach house at the end of our stay. The communication was excellent (even when I messaged with Qs that are clearly answered on the beach house page!) and the warm welcome we got from Linda was so lovely. Linda even brought up some lego for our son to play with and gave us some great tips about surf spots nearby (for my husband). The view was out of this world and the short walk between the house and the beach (walking through a little jungle-like amazing garden) was wonderful. We had a friend come and stay who lives in NZ and he was shocked by the location and view.
The house is like a little tree house and my son had so much fun climbing up onto the mezzanine bed. The house also has a lovely large bath, which was unexpected (for me, again, didn't look at the detail on the beach house page!). On our first night there, while watching the sun set over surfers my husband said "Can we just move here?". It honestly is one of the most peaceful and beautiful places we have ever had the pleasure of staying.
We did get an AWD hire car, however I didn't think the driveway was as steep or crazy as other reviewers had said. It is steep in parts, but our friend had a little hatchback and he was fine driving up and down it.
We loved our stay so much, we decided to book another week for 2019 while staying and I'm sure we will be back again after that!
If you're looking for the type of holiday you'll remember forever, then this is the beach house stay for you! Ten mins into town, really comfortable beds, fully stocked kitchen (SOOOO welcome after staying somewhere in Auckland with no salt + pepper!), great bath and just lovely welcoming energy from the hosts -what more could you ask for!
Thanks for having us Linda and Mikey!