Mangawhai Lodge — Hotel in North Island

Let’s begin with the positives - a reasonable sized kitchen; you could prepare your own simple meals here. Good wifi; no air conditioning but lots of fans. Plenty of mirrors, and a single bed in the living space mean you could have a couple and a child stay in the unit. Quiet, parking right outside our unit. |But definitely not what the label promised. Lovely photos of an old house with big balconies offering views - the views must be amazing but we never got to see them. We were assigned a two room unit downstairs at the back, adjacent to the carpark. Tired, a mishmash of bits and pieces, no attention to detail (for example, an old cushion and towel on top of the bookcase gathering dust), lots of “signs” and instructions stuck on the walls, fridge, even the bathroom mirror. A disability-access bathroom; a feeling of being in a retirement unit and definitely smelt like one. Not pleasant. |We appeared to be the only ones staying; maybe they didn’t want to pay cleaners public holiday rates and so we got the only room that hadn’t been let out over the long weekend? No ability to even go upstairs and sit on the balcony. The location wasn’t good either. Cannot easily walk to the beach, it’s about a 10 minute walk along the main road to the small collection of shops, but definitely a drive to the cafes, chocolate factory etc at Mangawhai Heads. |Most expensive accommodation of our holiday and the least impressive. Fortunately the rest of the trip went very well and this was the only poor...

Found Jeannette and the Mangawhai Lodge everything that it is made out to be - Very warm and friendly reception despite the late hour and appreciate the better room offered up.

The lodge is perched high and has a great outlook to the sea and beach - which is particularly good for breakfast - which turned up too big to finish! 2nd morning we got smart and ordered smaller serves which worked out perfectly.

The accomm and lounge / dining is very fresh and appears to have new paint, carpet, tasteful furnishing and clean crisp linen.

Wifi coverage good throughout property as i experienced capped it off.

Local adventure through the weekend included local "Sandbar" for great dining. Also hiked the "Mangawhai Cliff Walk" which was outstanding, but you do need low tide to get along the beach stretch. Also hit the beach at Waipu Cove and hiked to the nearby waterfall surrounded by nature and devoid of company.

All in all, Mangawhai turned out to be a great place to get away for the weekend...

from the spacious two bedroom apartment with private wrap around veranda. Restaurants only a 10 minute walk but why go further? Grab a takeaway and enjoy with a couple of bottles of wine on your veranda. Clean and a warm welcome from your host, Jeanette. Well equipped and there is everything you need in your big apartment which has a separate living room/diner with a couple of sofas and a separate kitchen. There's a telly (who needs that in Aotearoa with the endless commercial breaks ruining a good drama!?) DVDs and a small library. There is an odd notice however that welcomes you to read the books but it's not a swap or to take away which renders the library somewhat otiose don't you think, bearing in mind the short stay most guests would have? Your big wrap around veranda is also well provided with comfortable chairs, tables and a comfy sofa. Dedicated on site parking....