Ngamihi Lodge — Hotel in North Island

We arrived at Ngamihi Lodge after a long drive from Paihia - feeling exhausted, sweaty and dusty. The house looked just perfect from outside - beautiful garden, large terrace, wonderful lake view. Leigh opened the door and looked even more perfect, almost intimidatingly perfect for people having just spent 9 hours on the road. We said Hello to Mike and the two dogs, took a brief look at the communal lounge (where meals are served) brimming with all sorts of decorative objects and were shown to our room, the Kingfisher Suite. Stylish interior with white and beige being the predominant colours, windows opening onto the lake, a private veranda, a spacious bathroom with walk-in shower, a fridge with cold drinks in an adjoining room - we felt comfortable. ||We had preordered dinner for our first evening, a wise decision for two reasons: First, there is no restaurant in the vicinity, and second, the salmon dinner was tasty and the smooth ambiance plus the lake view were unique. Leigh poured us a full-bodied Syrah and when my husband was about to finish his second glass she simply left the bottle on the table (leaving it up to us whether to not misbehave or keep on enjoying). Breakfast was served in style, too. While we only had cereal and some toast and jam on the first day as we had to leave early for our excursion to Lady Knox Geysir we chose banana pancakes for the second morning - delicious, and with some kiwi and oranges pretty filling, too. ||We only had two nights and with all the sights to visit in the Rotorua area we could not spend as much time in the lovely house as we would have wanted to. Mike and Leigh had been nice hosts. The only "negative" aspect of our stay was that somehow we felt a bit like intruders into their...

Had the good fortune to stay 3 nights. |The whole area is very nice and the property is elevated overlooking the lake on both sides. |Inside I fell in love with Leigh’s decorating style, it’s very ‘old colonial’ feeling with sumptuous furnishings. Absolutely everything is thought of down to the beautiful cutlery set out for breakfast. |Leigh and Mike are fabulous hosts gauging what you need and want before you yourself do. They really are very lovely people. |We took the quadruple room which had dual aspect lake view the room is large and spacious with a seating area and the bed & bedding is very comfortable, a large flat screen TV with Netflix ‘proper’, coffee (espresso and filter) and a fridge with little treats were all ‘just right’. The shower was powerful with plenty of hot water and separated the other room with 2 single beds, also with TV. |Breakfast was excellent, plentiful and varied served in their gorgeously decorated dining area overlooking the lake. |My husband and I both agreed it was so perfect we’d both love to stay for at least a month/just move in. |It’s going to be hard staying anywhere else...

Ngamihi Lodge is wonderful!! The hosts, Lee and Mike are awesome. They were so welcoming and accommodating. They even took us for a boat ride around the lovely lake adjacent to the property. ||We had a two room suite with a fantastic view overlooking the lake. Saw some beautiful moon rises while we were there.||The rooms are tastefully appointed thanks to Lee's impeccable interior designs. We had everything we needed. We had full use of an immense deck with views of the lake right off of our room. ||Breakfasts were hearty and quite delicious - especially the bacon, banana pancakes with maple syrup. Never had anything so good! In addition to the specially prepared meals there was always several types of cereal, fruit and yogurt available.||The Lodge is a quick 10 minute drive into the heart of Rotorua where there were a myriad of options for dining and sightseeing activities. We would highly recommend the Redwood Tree Walk!||We highly recommend Ntamihi Lodge as THE place to stay in Rotorua. You won't find a better place with such...