The Homestead B&B — Hotel in North Island

Pouring rain, middle of the night, and jetlagged from a long flight, we were new to the country and thought it would save time the next day by driving closer to our destination for our stay. A flight delay changed these plans, but thankfully the owner of the Homestead B&B was understanding and helpful from start to finish. Homestead is located among farms and a major road; if you arrive in daylight you should have no issues finding the place, but be aware GPS directions are off.||||The Homestead is an old family farm house divided into separate rooms. They all look and feel different. You will not have a private bathroom, but during our stay we never saw the other guests. Our room was a big bed, thick blankets, and was clean. The restroom was clean, with a nice large shower and clean towels. The common areas were even more comfortable with a big table and lots of built-in window seats overlooking the mountains and farms around. ||||The owner keeps alpacas, chickens, and other animals on the grounds (be sure to watch where you step). They're friendly and picturesque. Breakfast is provided in the form of cereal, toast, jams, drinks, and other simple foods. Above all else, this place is convenient for trips to Hobbiton, Rotorua, and other tourist sites in the area.||||Thanks again for meeting us outside in the middle of the night! We...

Beautiful view! The room was comfortable, located in a separate building from the house. The alpacas and sheep wandered around during the day, so we were pleasantly shocked to see an alpaca looking at itself in the window at one point. All the animals are rather shy, so they tend to run away if you get too close. The little kitchenette station was lovely; each morning we had toast with jam, cereal with fresh milk, and yogurt to eat outside.The bread seemed to be Volare, nice stuff! We went blueberry picking nearby one day, so these were a nice addition to the cereal. The bathroom was beautiful and newly updated. My only wish was that we could have had more interaction with the animals. It was fun to see them around! I wish we could have fed them carrots or helped the host set out their food in the morning. The host was wonderful! He gave us some great tips for fun things to do during our stay in Cambridge. He gave us lots of space, not the kind of place where all the guests come to a common breakfast, for example. It was a little hard to the entrance see from the highway, and we took several attempts to make that turn. Beautiful entry-way with cows, alpacas, and purple flowers to greet you as you drive up though! The orange, lemon, and grapefruit trees out back were...

We stayed here for one night to be close to Karapiro for a rowing regatta. The owners are lovely and it is nice to share the house with the family. A couple of things to know though - booking.com advertises this B&B as 'not needing a credit card to book' but what they should say is that you need to pay cash to stay here as credit cards are not accepted. ||Also the walls are thin and you can clearly hear other guests snoring and the ever-present Waikato road noise. It is a lovely spot with visiting llamas (although this meant that we had to get out of the car to open and close two gates) and we had a big room with a couch and a desk. The shared bathroom is a pain but very clean. Room decor could be modernised and the bird song clock has to go because noone wants to hear bird calls on the hour...