Awatuna Homestead Bed and Breakfast

Apr 2nd, 2023

Mar 6th, 2023

Mar 3rd, 2023

Mar 6th, 2021

Upon arrival we (Three of us) were greeted at the Homestead by a lady (Who we learned was named Lynley) wearing clothing coated in mud and grime due to likely working in the garden. After brief introductions we were asked what time we wanted breakfast. Paul and Lynley were warm and welcoming. Rooms: They were tidy and appeared well managed. Beds, linens and overall layout is spacious and warm. Second room had no table to use, just two sofa chairs and a little stool that was imbalanced. Had to use the TV shelf for laptop use. Rooms and lights may not have been checked thoroughly after previous issue: Found a dead fly in two different drawers one of the two rooms we ordered. Dead bug on the bed-sheets in the same room. Unsure if the room just had not been cleaned in a little while as dust had settled on some of the surfaces. In the other room three of the four lights weren't working. Initially Paul insisted it was the filaments of the lamp but after some encouragement he replaced the bulb. He got 2 of the four lights working. One is a little iffy and the fourth still never got working. He tried to fix them at 9pm to little avail. Every mirror had fingerprints or wipe marks. Bathroom: Significant soap scum buildup on one of the lower cabinets below the sink. (I hope you like lavender as there is lavender EVERYTHING)) Bathroom was clean and well presented. Toothpaste splatter on the blinds and fingerprints on the mirrors. Underside of the plug was pitch black in color, likely mold. Linens were not changed overnight. We understand the owners request linen to be discarded onto the floor if they wanted it replaced, but we feel this should be changed regardless. No air conditioning beyond the ceiling vent system. Rooms were stuffy with the windows closed and hot, and would get filled with sandflies and mosquitos if the windows were left open. Aircon would be a huge plus. Internet speed was fine for the three of us staying there. It was only us 3 in the entire place however, with a limit of 35mbit throughput this could get strained if a few more rooms are being used. Televisions had only 3 channels available: TVNZ 1, 2 and TV3. Reception was fuzzy. Sky or digital TV was expected so with only those 3 channels provided, we never used the tv's. Food/Refreshments: The two adjourning rooms we had were given a table of refreshments which consisted of: An empty boiling jug, 3 afghan cookies, 3 wrapped chocolates, two beers and a wine in the fridge. To fill the jug we needed to use water from the bathroom. We were later provided with bottled water after Paul overheard us having a laugh about the bathroom water filled jug. Breakfast was ok, but may have been a little lazy. Fresh bread in the morning made overnight sliced and ready. Egg cheese and spinach mini-quiches and egg, bacon and tomato pastries. Plenty of yogurt, orange juice and coffee available (coffee maker used those pods from Nespresso) Same breakfast offered the next morning (Banana bread and fruit salad was clearly yesterdays, re-used) Suggestions: To make the price worthwhile all 3 of us agreed that more refreshments needed to be provided. Be it complimentary foods or supper, anything to generally give it a bit more of the personal feel the homestead should provide over a standard motel/hotel of the similar price. We stayed over the 2020 new years, got home at 10:30pm to a dark building. Making moments like those memorable would be a big plus and would make it a night to remember. Paul stated earlier he intended to sleep well before midnight. They showed no signs of wanting to celebrate. Upon booking, there was no mention that our rooms were upstairs. If one of us was disabled we would be a big issue getting to them as the stairs are steep with one banister. The homestead has impressive promise as the outdoors are amazing, the atmosphere is perfect. Small tweaks could easily make this a place worth it to return to. Paul and Lynley have shown to us that they do not take criticizm well. Evident by badmouthing previous guests and their reply below.
Sep 10th, 2020