Our family of 4 stayed here in late Dec 2019. This place was a disappointment on almost every level. Described as “set in one of Wanaka’s premium garden settings” in actual fact the “former garden center” is a sea of irrigation piping swirling over areas where beautiful flowers and shrubs were probably cultivated in years gone by but no more. Now there are empty shelves, blank terraces, a weedy gravel parking lot, boats, trailers, a jet ski, and a caravan attached to both a shed and a shipping container where someone appears to live permanently.
Also note that the “Entire House” as it is listed is actually just the downstairs portion of a house. Trust me you will not be alone in this place and you will hear every footstep above you. At times I thought they were working out to a Zumba DVD.
Moving on to the kitchen look closely to the left of the fridge in the pictures. What is listed as an “oven” and “stove” under amenities is actually an oversized toaster oven with two electric burners on top of it. You’d be hard pressed to fit a standard frozen pizza in it but you’d also need to bring a pizza pan if you wanted to try. On our first night we cooked a pasta meal. Good luck finding a strainer. On our second night we attempted a cottage pie. This was a real adventure starting with a malfunctioning can opener. And of course there was no bakeware but that was likely intentional as none would fit in the ‘oven’. This kitchen and this place does not appear to have had a ‘costly new renovation’ done to it. You’d sort of start with at least a new stove one would think.
Other things of note: no closets, no luggage racks, and no “amazing views” at least not from the house. It is further to town than the listing makes it seem. ~5km one way to town. I could keep going.
I hardly ever leave negative reviews. In fact none to date on Airbnb and i have stayed in some places where it may have been warranted. But I felt it was important to provide honest details about this place for other travelers to consider. I will say that we stayed here during ‘prime time’ and we paid dearly for it. I think because we did pay so much we were all just expecting much much more.
I will end on a positive note. There was plenty of hot water and good water pressure. The host was responsive and communicated well. They just did too good a job spinning this place in the advertisement. And in what I consider a disingenuous way.