Waipu Cove is a great wee beach and a lovely destination for a fun day trip out of Auckland. There…read moreare a few nice beaches nearby and this is one of my favourites. This is a well known spot for surfers and surf life savers. It's a really long beach which means even on the busiest of days there is room for everyone. Speaking of busy days, it can be a bit of a challenge to find a park, but as in rural New Zealand, just park up on the side of the road. The last time I went there, there was a Surf Life Saving event on and the place was buzzing. The water is generally safe to swim in and there are often great waves to be had. The sand isn't the nicest, by that I mean it's not white. But it's all good, because e harder sand is great for playing sports on. There is also an awesome walkway from here to Langs Beach and fantastic swimming spots at either end. There's a really great looking Camp site right on the edge of the beach which goes off around the holidays. A very cool place to visit.

This is probably one of my favourite camp sites around, and it's not all that far from Auckland…read moreCity. It's pretty cheap to stay here, and if you get your timing right and miss the peak season you will have the campsite almost to yourself. Everything here is clean and well maintained, and the staff are extremely friendly and happy to answer any questions. All these things are great, but that's not even the best part. The best part about this campsite is its location. It's situated right on the edge of Waipu Cove Beach; a beautiful white sand beach that is massive and usually pretty deserted, the beach is an awesome place to swim, fish, and just chill out. I can't wait to come back here for a holiday. There are other nice beaches around this area too if you're keen to go for a drive and check them out.

Great location! This…read moreis a great downtown hotel, with all the amenities. Restaurant, bar, indoor pool, gym and conference rooms. Although it may be a little dated, it was clean the rooms were large, free wifi and a well stocked mini bar. It is a very easy walk to the town basin where all manner of restaurants and cafes are available.

What a lovely two-storied little house in the heart of Mangawhai Village- fell in love with it's…read moremix matched furniture, lovely bric-a-brac, and quaint, vintage set-up. Alan- the owner is so gracious. Affordable as well. Lucky us. We had a group of 4 gals, 2 in each double bedrooms with extra mattresses and futons underneath. Parked just in front of the garage/ side of the house off the main street. Absolutely adored the music room. Great kitchen facilities and nice to have the shower/ bathroom all to ourselves. Easy walking distance to amenities such as the 4 Square Supermarket just across the road and handy Village G.A.S. station. Bring a car to get to the beautiful Mangawhai Heads and other naturally gorgeous spots such as the Big Sand Dune along Pacific Beach. We hit up Te Arai on the way back down as well as Pakiri. Highly recommend the stay here

We needed a place to stop over in from our way back from Ninety Mile Beach as we didn't want to…read moretravel all the way back to Auckland. The hotel did the job to serve these weary travelers. It's not luxury if that's what you are looking for but it was clean and comfy. There is a restaurant on the premises. However - we didn't make it in time - think it closes around 8:30 PM but the bar stays open a bit longer. It's centrally located a quick walk to the harbor (where we grabbed breakfast in the morning). If you are going to stay in the area for a short time - this would be a good value.

Rooms are comfortable and most are a decent size. I've stayed here quite a bit with work. The rooms…read morelocated furtherest away from the road are quiet enough to sleep in during the day. The rooms have the normal features bed, tv,jug + own bathroom. The only fault here is the price of meals. They charge like a wounded bull but the food choices and portion sizes aren't great which is why I gave them a 3 star.

The hosts are friendly and accommodating. Rooms are clean and tidy. There is a bit of traffic…read morenoise but nothing to complain about. We have used this Motel a few times and will continue to do so. Nice and close to inner city.

Nice owners. Friendly people. Clean facilities. Beautiful location. One of the best holiday parks…read morethat we have stayed at so far. Highly recommended.

Cheap, comfortable, and clean. Once the Grand Hotel was clearly grand. It's been awhile since…read morethat was true. The carpet is run down in spots, the gold has faded from the ceiling, and it's overall a faded shadow of what it once was. This turned out great for us, because it's a historic building in the middle of town with cheap rooms. The staff is really helpful. In order to cut costs (this town is clearly economically struggling) they share staff with the bar next door. If you check in after 3pm, you need to go into the bar to get your key. It's easy. Great, cheap, lodgings, unless you are perskinity. If you need the Ritz/Four Seasons, don't stay here. If you want a no-hasel place to sleep near the middle of town, stay here.

My family and I stayed here for two nights, in the 2-bedroom suite (room #1). In our pre-stay…read morecorrespondence with the hosts, Lyn was very prompt in responding to our request for the room and in confirming our requests for the room (e.g. king-size bed, portable cots). Upon arrival, the room was more beautiful and comfortable than the online pictures give it credit for. The bathroom is gorgeous and the toiletries very nice. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the items in the room (snacks, drinks, etc.) were actually very reasonably priced and not excessively marked-up as is the usual case in hotel room mini-bars. We had a bottle of wine each night and it was great. We enjoyed the room so much we contemplated staying another day, but it was already booked and we had to be on our way. After we'd left the hotel, we received a call from Lyn, informing us that we'd accidentally left my son's lovie behind. If your're a parent, you know the chaos that can erupt when these things go missing. She had it couriered down to our home in Hamilton and it arrived the very next day (at no expense to us). We will definitely stay here in the future if we are back in the area. One thing that is really cool is that they have a frequent visitor card. If you stay a certain number of nights, you get a night free (I think, 4 nights). That's a pretty sweet deal and I hope we can take advantage of it in the future. Overall, this was an awesome place to stay and I'd highly recommend it to friends and family members.