My husband, our 10 month old and I stayed at Michelle’s place for three nights while visiting Hokitika. We stayed in Hokitika because it seemed like a decent place to stop on our way from Queenstown to Abel Tasman.
Our stay at the Crooked Mile was with mixed emotions. We were aware prior to booking the house was older and were happy with that as we enjoy unique homes.
The beds were comfortable, communication with Michelle was good, and the location was excellent. The house itself was a beautiful old home filled with many interesting old pieces. We have a 128 year old house back home so we appreciated the unique features of the home.
We did however have difficulties feeling truly comfortable during our stay. There was a strong odour throughout the home, most likely from the carpet, particularly the carpet in the bathroom. Having restored old homes ourselves, this smell is most certainly mould, which is visible in the bathroom shower. Carpet, especially decades old carpet, just isn’t meant for bathrooms, definitely not in a rental property. We may have been a bit more sensitive because our baby insisted on crawling and laying on the floor the whole time, but my husband felt his allergies during our entire stay. He is allergic to dust and mold. This home has many good attributes as mentioned above, but we don’t feel we could recommend it in its current state as mould is a legitimate health concern.