Wacky Stays — Hotel in Kaikōura

BEWARE! YURT is smelly, whether it's musk, mustiness, mold, or camel hair insulation (as what the owner claims), you will find it hard to breathe. There is a dehumidifier, and the owner acknowledges the smell problem, so he just chooses to ignore it. The yurt is dusty, and there are spiders and cobwebs. Everything is old; the bedding is old, thin and mismatched, towels are old, the main bed has a horrible matress. It just feels dirty and yuck, especially the disgusting moldy shower curtain in the bathroom. All the stays are very close together, so if it is busy, you will have no privacy. Not much lighting outside. Lot's of passive aggressive signs about damage, etc. Owner is not friendly and a bit odd and unpleasant to deal with. There are lots of other reviews complaining about smell. There are also others who just left without staying after seeing and smelling the yurt and conditions on the farm. We could not bring ourselves to stay the booked night. This is not a pleasant person to deal with. If you want the experience of feeling ripped off and dealing with a bitter unpleasant man, go ahead and book the yurt, but beware it will smell, and it may ruin your holiday. If you want a nice relaxing holiday, go to a nice clean motel with a friendly owner or to Sudima. It will be cheaper and much nicer.

Here's what happened in our case, we arrived around 7pm, after letting owner know our arrival window. He did not seem too happy to see us, but showed us around quickly and left us to our stay. Our child sleeps at 7.30-8, so we quickly had some tea and cereal and tried to sleep, but neighbours played loud music, the yurt was smelly, dusty, and there were spiders, so we just couldn't sleep. Called the owner to ask the neighbours to turn music down (not off) around 8.45pm, but he refused to do anything, because quiet time is 10pm. So we packed up quickly and left in a hurry to find somewhere else to stay, where we could breathe and sleep. Called the owner before we left to let him know that we turned off lights and heating. After I messaged him a day later to ask for a 50% refund, he agreed. The next day I got notified by the booking site that the owner complained about us to them about damage. After we waited for a week, nothing arrived in the bank account. I posted my review on the booking site. Still nothing arrived in the next few days, so I followed up with the booking site, so they would not think we damaged anything and to explain that owner agreed to a partial refund. They said they were investigating. Followed up about the refund with owner. The owner basically said he changed his mind because of the 4/10 review, and he wanted to wait for the booking site's dispute resolution. Today, I got notified by the booking site that the owner refused to honour his agreement for a partial refund. I seriously considered taking our claim to the Disputes Tribunal since this is just dishonest behavior by the owner, but it's not...

A Unique and Memorable Stay at Wacky Stays Kaikoura

We stayed in the Mongolian yurt at Wacky Stays, Kaikoura, from January 6th to 8th, as part of the final days of our South Island road trip. For years, we had dreamed of staying in a yurt with our kids, but most options were only for two people. When we found this one, we didn’t hesitate for a second!

Getting to Wacky Stays was very straightforward, and it’s conveniently close to Kaikoura’s main shopping area. The check in process was smooth and easy. Upon arrival, we were struck by the beauty of the place: breathtaking mountain views, a well maintained property, and neatly trimmed grass.

The yurt itself was incredibly comfortable, featuring a queen bed, a double bed, and a single bed. While the initial smell inside the yurt was strong, it quickly faded after a few minutes and wasn’t an issue. The private bathroom was spacious, with great water pressure in the shower and consistently hot water. Small containers of body wash and shampoo were provided, but since we usually bring our own products, we didn’t use them. There was also liquid hand soap and a lovely smelling hand cream.

The shared outdoor kitchen was a highlight of our stay. It’s shared with the adjacent Wacky Stay, a truck, but since the truck has its own indoor kitchen, we had the outdoor kitchen all to ourselves. Despite being an open space, it was spotlessly clean. It was equipped with a large BBQ, a pizza oven, and several stoves. We spent a lot of time there, and it added to the charm of our experience.

One of the standout experiences was the opportunity for our kids to feed and interact with the farm animals in the morning and afternoon. The llamas were especially friendly, and the guide who accompanied us was lovely and engaging.

On our final night, we turned on the electric fireplace, which instantly warmed the yurt and created a cozy atmosphere. To top it off, it rained that night, and the sound of rain on the yurt was so soothing that it made getting up in the morning a real challenge!

Junior, the friendly dog, played with us on our last afternoon and even came to say goodbye on the morning of our check out. It was hard to leave him behind.

At check out, we had a friendly interaction with Kevin, who was very cordial. During our stay, we shared photos and videos on Instagram, and many of our friends were fascinated and asked for the details. Some even said they were planning to book for Easter!

If I could give Kevin one piece of advice, it would be to embrace social media. Word of mouth is key these days, and it could help reach even more people.

We would absolutely stay in the yurt again. My husband, kids, and I loved every moment of it. It was an unforgettable experience, and we can’t...

I wavered on leaving this review. All in all, it was kind of fun, mostly bc my 4yo thought it was awesome. But, the reviews about the general condition of the place, the semi-threatening signs, odd ball owner, and high price are all very true. Some highlights: animal feeding was cool. The young lady that led us around was super friendly. Most of the animals seem to be pets except for the llama which they use for ‘treks’. Chickens and ducks are hilarious when they come running for snack time. the tipi was well appointed and spacious. Being an American made some of the decoration a little odd. Provoked some interesting conversations with my daughter if anything. a (confused?) rooster crowed about every half hour from 1:30am until morning. Sleep was hard to grasp. It’s a “semi working farm”, so fair enough. a sheep or deer was chewing about 3m from our heads all night (there’s a pen nearby). Again, it’s a farm, sort of. the owner made some odd comments. That said, I give the benefit of the doubt. He’s a character for sure and would probably be a fun guy to sit down to a beer with. Maybe a bit jaded from working extensively with the public and not being entirely suited to it? I dunno. the signs around are informative and extensive, bordering on threatening in many cases. I guess there’s been a lot of issues over the years with misuse of the accoutrements. Made me wonder if it’s a case of ‘look inward before you yell outward’ though. Like, maybe he needs to change a lot of problematic things that he’s set up that repeatedly cause him headaches. I don’t think people are being malevolent when they try to scrub the carbon off the pots and don’t intend to ruin tea towels or damage the bbq or whatever. Methinks something’s wrong with the system ;) the WiFi was good. Apparently, they are trialing Starlink. No prob there. it’s fun, what the hell. Give it a go. Maybe stick to one night for the novelty factor and accept...