Thomas appears to be a very nice man and his house has some very charming features. Unfortunately I did not find that it met my requirements or the details of the listing.
Thomas has a "no shoes" policy in his home. I can respect that except there is dirty low grade carpeting throughout the house and food crumbs scattered along the beautiful hard wood floors in the kitchen and lounge area. The room is decorated in post-grad chic - a box spring on the floor topped by a mattress that is so spongy and unsupportive that you will sink into it like filling into a taco shell. There was a desk and a series of shelves made out of unfinished wood - not the armoire shown in the photos.
But the worst part of my stay - and the reason I left early - was the lack of heat. I visited in mid-May and despite sunny weather, the room was so cold that I slept in my clothes after requesting a second comforter. It did not help that the windows did not appear to be double-paned glass, so not only were they not blocking out the cold but they did little to block out noise.
This listing is on a very busy street with 24 hour traffic and Kiwis love their gas pedals. I could hear every gas powered vehicle going in both directions, not to mention the neighbors, whose driveway is right outside the room's window. And I definitely knew when they were coming and going.
There was one bright spot. The bathroom had a small heater attached to the wall which could be operated with a cord. The shower also provided warmth and the water pressure was excellent. I am sure my showers were extra long those two days but it was not enough to make me stay three more days and nights. Particularly when my request for the advertised heat was met with a lecture about energy costs, environmental issues and weather reports.
There should be so many things to enjoy about this listing - the stain glass windows, the lovely plants and its proximity to the CBD. But unfortunately the negatives far outstripped the positives.