Pukeko Retreat was comfortable, clean and well appointed. We hired the whole house (including two adjoining rooms) for four adults, a six year old and toddler. Jude was very easy to contact prior to our stay to ask questions.
The house is situated out of Rotorua and we found it took us around 15 mins to get to Rotorua from the house, and probably another 5-10 mins to get to the attractions we were wanting to visit. It is a bit of a windy road to get there and the last bit is unsealed, but our six year old who suffers from motion sickness managed it ok.
We found the house comfortable, clean, warm and homely. There were heaters for the rooms, electric blankets for the beds, and the heat pump warmed up the living area nicely. Lovely country views from the house. Beds were comfortable. Lounge area had enough seating for all of us and more. Kitchen was well appointed. We were disappointed that breakfast was not provided as we had not discussed this with Jude prior to arrival (we thought it was included as per the listing).
The fly screens for the windows were very useful, especially as there were a lot of wasps around the house during our stay. The heater in the bathroom was great to make bathtime warm for our toddler with the chilly evenings.
Jude was a considerate host, and put up some temporary fencing in the garden for our toddler - there is a steep drop off from the back of the garden. She also moved the outdoor table and chairs away for us as the wasps were congregating there.
The two double rooms are a bit separate from the main bedroom and living areas - you can access them from the main house via the garage but you have to go through one bedroom to get to the other one this way. Otherwise, you can access them from outside.
Our 6yo enjoyed playing some of the board games on offer and there was a fantastic little treehouse for him to explore too, as well as plenty of space to ride his bike around the garden and adjoining paddock. Our the toddler enjoyed exploring the garden including the many dandelions, and visiting the cows in the nearby paddocks.
It was a very peaceful and secluded spot to spend the weekend. We would have liked to have more time to spend there. Thank you Jude!