We had a wonderful stay at the loft apartment! After a long winter day's travel, it was wonderful to be greeted with a friendly welcome from Louise and the apartment all warmed up and lit and ready for us. After a quick walk- round to show us the place (there was a well stocked pantry and a nice loaf of bread and the tastiest organic milk), Louise drew us a quick map, pointing out all the excellent places to eat along Ponsonby Road (exactly what we needed as we were STARVING by then).
This great little loft is a great base to explore all that Ponsonby has to offer, with it's quirky shops, hipster fashion and fabulous cafes and restaurant. There is an Allpress (NZ microroaster) cafe right across the street for all those coffee addicts out there as well as many local cafes that serve small batch beans. Talk about a great starts to the mornings. :) And the CBD is a quick 30 min walk/ 5 min drive/ short bus ride away.
Clean quarters, comfortable bed, warm apartment, hot water, tasty provisions, good collection of books- nothing to fault really! Being on a main street there might be a little noise on Saturday nights, but it all quietens down by 11pm. No big deal, and happens in every big city.
P.S. Thank you Louise for recommending Miss Moonshine to us. It is a cracker of a restaurant- hearty southern BBQ (the best I've tasted outside of the USA) with smashing drinks and impeccable service. No wonder it was absolutely buzzing when we got there. We had a great time!