If you are looking for something standing out of the line stay at this place. It is a hidden gem in the heart of Okarito. The owners are super friendly and helpful, you would feel like at home. Rooms were superclean and furnishing felt like new. Definitely better than staying in busy Franz Josef.
I loved staying in Okarito, it is such a cute little town with a lovely beach and great walks in the surrounding area. And the Okarito Beach House was the perfect place to the based. I wanted to book the Hutel for my boyfriend and myself, but unfortunately it was already reserved, so I booked a room in the Summit Lodge instead. When we arrived, there were no other guests, so we had the entire lodge to ourselves. The place was huge, with a well-equipped kitchen, a fire place and a big porch. There is a laundry room where you can wash and dry your clothes for free. Will and Mikaela who took care of the house were extremely kind and made us feel right at home. At the end of our trip, they even made it possible for my boyfriend to return and spend another week at the Hutel, although they had already officially closed for the winter season. My only complaint would be the cleanliness, especially of the bathrooms. But I’d still highly recommend staying at the Okarito Beach House and I might be back myself one day.…
My husband and I stayed here for one night for a trip we were taking to Franz Josef Glacier, which is about 30 minutes away. First of all, you should know that there are no locks on the doors. While we knew that the kitchen and living room was shared, we were also expecting a private ensuite room, which we assumed meant we would have the ability to lock our stuff in our room. While there is a hook that you can use on the bedroom door when you are in it, it is impossible to lock it when you leave so all of your stuff is exposed. As well, you also cannot lock the house itself which means absolutely anyone can wander in (and there’s no desk, receptionist, security, etc). Okarito itself is small with only 28 people living there so it is very safe, but this should have been communicated beforehand. Besides that, the stay was lovely. It has a laid back beach vibe - and feels like a little community. Comfortable bed (although the headboard squeaks anytime you roll over), nice warm shower and free laundry. And the people who work there are very friendly and welcoming! …
We stayed in nine carefully-chosen motels during our tour of New Zealand so by the end of our trip felt we had a pretty good idea of what standard we could expect. This isn't of course a normal motel, more an upmarket hostel with ensuite rooms, but it serves the same purpose. We stayed two nights so that I could go kayaking on the lagoon and on the kiwi watch (not recommended incidentally unless you are a real kiwi enthusiast!) and ironically we had the unit more or less to ourselves. The rooms in Summit Lodge are nicely decorated although we struggled to get the water in the shower at the right temperature - it was either cold or too hot with only a slight nudge from one to the other. Being a wooden structure noise tended to travel freely through the building, but having an extra WC for communal use was a thoughtful design feature. The kitchen is well equipped with two cookers and lots of crockery and cutlery, although we imagine things could get a little confused in the fridge if the house was fully occupied given that each party might well have brought several days supplies. There is a long refrectory table which looked great but - as is the way with wooden benches - was rather uncomfortable to sit at (although a Karrimat worked wonders). WiFi reception was poor, but then this is a relatively remote location so one cannot reasonably expect it. Okarito is a lovely place to visit; the management were very friendly; and this would probably make a good base for a group of friends to rendezvous. I'm certainly happy to have stayed at the Beach House - which is certainly in tune with the surroundings - although it's fair to say that my wife wasn't quite so enthusiastic, largely because, unlike a motel or apartment, having shared space meant one couldn't 'make oneself at home' by spreading things about.…
Internet was really slow ,(if any) no television, fridge and freezer were hardly cold. More like a low budget backpacker place. The common area were nice and the kitchen had what you'd needed. Expected more !
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