Hunts Farm Accommodation — Hotel in North Island

Casara Mesa turned our day around. We found ourselves stranded in Te Kuiti after our camper van blew its head gasket... suddenly we're homeless and unexpectedly in the market for a new car- not an easy situation in a small, sleepy town in NZ. ||After a day of going from cafe to cafe waiting to hear the news on our van, we searched for hostels to stay in. Thankfully we found Casara Mesa!! We called and spoke to the wonderful Emma- she kindly came and picked us up from the town centre to save us walking up a big hill. She was incredibly helpful, we couldn't have asked for better service. There's so much good to say about this place and this lady that I'll break it down:||||Room: - beautiful modern decor- 5 beds in the room but Emma directed later guests to other rooms so we had the place to ourself. Very comfy beds, shower and toilet within the room and all facilities within it were very clean.||||Location- about 2k from town centre, it also falls on popular walking trails which results in keen hikers dropping In. This place is on a farm and it has the most stunning views accross the valley and of the town. The rooms have a veranda around them with benches and even a rocking chair- this was the perfect place for us to sit and get slightly merry with a lovely Australian chap who was also staying- we also stayed on fireworks night and so we had a great view of all the fireworks going off across the town 👌. The surrounding farm grounds are beautiful! ||||Facilities:||Shower- lovely hot, clean shower (hard to come by in a hostel!) towels provided by Emma on request. ||||Kitchen- lovely, clean- all mod cons. Felt just like being in someone's kitchen at home in their farm house. Doesn't have a hostel feel at all. Emma even offered us food- tea, coffee, cereal- even said we could help ourselves to the freshly laid eggs of her chickens! We couldn't resist! Kitchen large enough for everyone and has a nice dining table to sit at by the window. ||||Wifi- Free and excellent connection ||||Laundry- free facilities, Emma even did our washing for us! I'm not sure if this is standard practice or if it was because we had a rough day- either way we love her for it! ||||Service/ management- Emma and her family are just a genuine, lovely bunch of people and you can tell they enjoy the business they do. ||Emma helped us with our search for a new car and her family joined us to watch some fireworks. She made sure we had everything we needed and we highly recommend this place to anyone...

What a beautiful and very quiet place to stay. I ended up here as I was going to a wedding in Te Awamutu, and that town was booked out - very fortunately as it turns out, because I would not have had anything like the peace and quiet I ended up with.|| The bedspreads are a wonderfully bright and cheerful shade of yellow, and don't overwhelm the space as everything else is monochromatic or in natural/neutral shades. The kitchen has everything you need to cook up more than a basic meal - it even has an oven - and someone had left a packet of Jaffa Thins in the fridge, which was a lovely touch.|| The bed was very soft, and it was lovely and quiet with a feeling of being miles out in the country, when in reality, it's only five minutes to Te Kuiti. I could see myself staying quietly there for a week.|| A note for international travellers - consider staying here rather than at Waitomo Caves, you get better value for money, more peace and quiet, and it's only a twenty-minute drive away.|| Have a look through their Compendium, it tells you all about the busy pair that run this place, why they bought it, and their change of direction from being a Youth Hostel to a more upmarket venue. I'd definitely stay there again and recommend...

The pictures on their website are absolutely accurate! The accommodation is well designed and comfortably appointed; the heat pump kept the lounge and kitchen warm, as did the modern and portable electric heaters did for the bedrooms. ||The two ensuite bathrooms are spacious and clean. ||The accommodation is between the homes of the hosts and extended family (so help was near if needed (it was not), and yet, felt very private. ||A separate sheltered and furnished outdoor lounge is also available to use, and would have lovely in the other seasons. ||The accommodation is located a very short drive off the road (along a gravel road that a normal 2-wheel drive car can easily manage), and while peaceful and quiet, is just a very quick 2.3 km away from New World supermarket in town (Te Kuiti). ||Emma our host was very responsive to email inquiries, and warm and...