This pleasantly located place was adequately furnished and reasonably comfortable. It would have been nice to have had some sort of welcome - even a carton of milk helps do this, but other places I've stayed might have left a couple of nice chocolates or even a bottle of wine. It would also have been helpful if the hosts provided a bit of information about Waikanae Beach - how to get to the beach itself, where to buy food etc. There is a fabulous bakery only a few minutes drive away, which the internet pointed us to.
The weather was fairly ho-hum for our stay and I won't blame the hosts for that, but I'm sure the garden would be lovely when the weather warms up, with its fine view of the hills across the wetlands. As we were visiting friends very nearby, so the location was great, but we didn't need to sample the fine collection of board games either.