First Light Kaikoura — Hotel in Kaikōura

There are a couple of self-contained units located at the rear of the owners' property which is set on the hill above Kaikoura in a quiet pleasant residential area. We stayed in the apartment with a balcony which is the larger of the two, however it wasn't as spacious as we had expected. We were only there for two nights and it was fine for that short stay. Cost was $390 in total which was paid at the premises.||||Tracy met us on arrival and showed us the apartment.||||It was split level - a compact living room/kitchenette and wet room on the ground level and the bedroom on the upper level. There was a decking area at the entrance which overlooked the rear garden. ||||The living room had a settee, table and two chairs and a wall mounted television. (There were very few channels to watch which made the addition of another wall mounted television in the bedroom a bit surprising). Wifi was free although there was an evening cut-off to availability, from memory around 9.00pm. The kitchenette had a kettle, toaster and microwave and some kitchenware so it was fine for us making breakfast but I doubt we would have attempted to self-cater. Tea & coffee were provided.||||The bathroom had a shower with reasonable water pressure and although there was a curtain this only partially prevented the floor area getting wet. ||||The bedroom had a comfortable queen sized bed, bedside cabinets, a couple of handy shelf areas for sitting our cases upon and a hanging rail. Bi-fold doors opened on to a small balcony with a couple of chairs from which you could admire the coastline in the distance. We slept well.||||There was electric heating if required and an electric fan however we didn't need to use these to any great extent during our visit. ||||It's only a 5 minute or so drive to the town however to walk there on the same route would take considerably longer. When dining out in the evening we used the shortcut suggested by our hosts, Tracy & Murray, which was to walk to the end of their street and take a grass track down to Fountain Street, join Fyffe Quay and walk round the coastal road to The Pier Hotel and The Green Dolphin - that took about 20 minutes. We also used that way to access the Kaikoura peninsula walk. It's a bit of a climb coming back up! On our first night Murray did offer us a lift back if we got a member of staff from the Pier Hotel to give him a ring when we finished our meal. However despite several attempts he couldn't be raised from his slumbers so we had another drink and a staff member gave us a lift instead! We took the car on the second evening.||||Murray manages Air Kaikoura scenic flights to see the whales and we booked ahead online to do this whilst in the area. He arranged for my wife or I to get a seat alongside the pilot and gave a discount on the trip reducing the cost to $276 for the two of us which was helpful. ||||Both Murray and Tracy are very friendly, easy going people to speak with and made us welcome.||||We stayed in March 2020, prior to...

We stayed here one night only, very sadly and having arrived mid afternoon and with an early start definitely didn’t get the best out of the place. Tracy was on hand to meet us and showed us around and gave us lots of info on the area so we will need to come back. The property was lovely, beautifully decorated and spotlessly clean. The bathroom was lovely and had a great shower, a little kitchenette and Tracy had provided us with milk and the makings of a light breakfast. A sofa and tv made up downstairs. We did have a little outside area too had the weather been a little kinder. A lovely bedroom upstairs with a very comfy bed. A great find and one we would be more than happy to recommend and use again if we revisit. ...

First Light Kaikoura is located right at the peninsula. It is a beautiful house with two separate self contained apartments at the back. Tracy and Murray are very friendly and welcoming and go out of their way to make their guests comfortable. |Murray being the manager of Air Kaikoura arranged for us to go on a whale watch flight and a scenic flight along the mountains. They are very well known in the village, which made it easy to book tours! |The room is not very large, but it is very well fitted and the bed is comfy. Shower is vert nice and the kittle kitchenette is practical. ||All in all we had a very good stay at...