This is a classic kiwi family bach. It has some very cool retro features and decor. There are lovely views of the lake, especially from upstairs and the location is good. It is just across the road from the lake, although it is a very busy road to cross especially with young children. There is a nice big backyard area. The property is managed by Lakeside Accommodation and they were fantastic to deal with and very receptive to feedback. I would highly recommend booking directly through them if considering this property (rates may be lower also).
We stayed in winter (July School holidays) and there were a few things we were disappointed with:
- the hot tub is more of an outdoor bath. It is an old, patched up shell of a spa pool that you need to manually fill with geothermal bore water every time you want to use it. There are no jets (as described) but there is also no filter, pump or heater: you just put in a make shift plug, then wait for it to fill. Filling takes 2-3 hrs which really limits the use of it as you need to be home while it is filling up. There is no method to keep the water hot so it cools down very quickly in winter. The listing has since been updated to describe this accurately though.
- the house is an older style Lockwood home. Apparently, it is normal for these houses to creak and bang at night as the wood expands, especially as the temperature changes. We had no idea about this but the banging was VERY loud, and often waking us (and the kids) from sleep. This is probably worse in winter. Again, the listing has been updated to include this too.
- the house is very dated (which is part of its charm in many ways) and as such some of the appliances (eg oven, cooktop) are very old and slow. A few aspects (eg the carpet) are in worse condition than the photos show. The showers are tiny and the water pressure in both showers was terrible. The house is quite dark with very little natural light, this meant it felt pretty dreary in winter. Would probably be fine in summer, especially when you could use the outdoor living areas more.