The Sandcastle

Stayed here before and loved it again Steve is always very welcoming , great to be amongst lush gardens native trees and listen to birdsong like tui and woodpigeons etc close to the beach , cottages are spacious and have a real Bach feel Steve also organizes a pizza night on most Saturdays a nice touch If you expect hotel rooms with modern modcons etc then this is not the place for you Thanks again for your hospitality Steve Until next time Ps : yummie Avocados Andre and Rudy.

It's in a magical location with a special atmosphere all of it's own. If you look past the cobwebs, spiders and walls in desperate need of a paint, the important amenities (sheets, kitchen, floor, toilet) were clean. An enjoyable stay!

Such a beautiful quaint place. Owner Steven is extremely friendly and helpful. Very welcoming and accommodating. We loved our stay there. Good value for money -

Good, could book and stay for staying purpose. Has Yoga available for mornings.

After our room had been given to another party the owner did correct this. The chalet was filthy. Dust, mould, filthy dush brush, spiders in the bathroom, stain on the bunk sheet, broken window latch meant we couldnt shut it, door didnt lock. The room was warm with 2x heaters and the area quiet apart from mice in the ceiling at night.

Cute little cabin and had everything we needed but thick cobwebs inside the windows with spiders, dirty inside window frames and kitchen shelves, some dirty and smelly towels, some dishes dirty, outside furniture and deck mildew - could have easily been a wonderful stay but this made it very average. Sorry guys, someone needs to give Cabin 2 a good clean and then it would be wonderful.

A very comfortable and friendly place to stay. Steve, the host, is a great guy and he does everything he can to make your stay a great one.

We have never written a 1 star review and do not take this lightly. We phoned the owner and booked a one bedroomed flat as we did not like the look of the cottages. We arrived late afternoon in the middle of a storm to be met by him saying that someone else was in the flat and he had "upgraded" us to a cottage. He showed us this and if that is an upgrade, we dread to think what the flat was like. We said to him that it was not what we wanted nor booked and it was a problem. He walked away and we decided that we would not stay in the wet and dingy so called 'cottage'. We drove off and found the only room available in Pohara for the night at great cost. To crown it all, we received a rude message from him the next day accusing us of bad manners!!! despite the fact that he changed our booking without asking and just walked off mid discussion. We recommend staying anywhere in Pohara (or surrounding area) but here.

No stars. Overgrown outside. The unit was full of cobwebs and dirty. The host uncontactable (by phone or ‘reception’ bell). No plug in the washhandbasin. Curtains only worked with persuasion and the bathroom blind had to be tied to the shower rail to hold it up. Missing towel rail. As a New Zealander I’m ashamed that tourists must think we find this acceptable. On the positive side, the shower was excellent.