= Summary =
Dave was helpful, available and a good communicator. The house was fairly clean with facilities we needed but would consider the place a little pricey overall as it's pretty dated. No separate cleaning charge means you are expected to clean the place yourself (vs having it included in price which you may assume).
= Details =
Dave's home is a quiet spacious house in the outskirts of Rotorua so you do need to drive to do anything but Rotorua's attractions are sprawled everywhere so shouldn't be an impediment, and there are 2 supermarkets within 8 minutes drive.
Dave was a friendly and proactive host who went to some lengths to make sure all the information about checking in and using the house facilities were available and available when I had questions, such as getting the internet working (it wasn't tested before we arrived).
It's kinda pricey for the location and condition, and it was also hike by 25% at the last minute after extenuating circumstances meant I couldn't accept the initial offer inside the first 24h window. "'I've just realised my house is worth more - in fact some people think it's still too cheap for the time of year". Aside from the question of whether that's in the spirit of the original offer, in the end I don't think the higher price takes into account the overall condition of the property: it's an old house and could do with a bit of a refurb: newer appliances / bathroom / laundry / central heating (only one working portable heater: Rotorua gets pretty cold overnight so check if Dave can provide heaters for other rooms).
There is no cleaning charge: this doesn't mean the cleaning is included in the price and you're expected to clean the whole house before leaving. Particular as a family with small kids I'd have happily paid a little more to save the couple of hours we spent vacuuming, washing and cleaning the place. Neighbours handled the linen (and the pool though could remove the leaves a bit more) but slightly clearer instructions around exactly how to deal with sheets at end of stay would be helpful in future: in the end all good but as we had an early start I was up at 4:30 on the last day cleaning, washing and vacuuming.