The Village Resort

We arranged an exchange thru II at least 8 months in advance of our travels in November 2013. We are in our early 70's and just finished a week in Cairns, AU, a 12 night cruise aboard the Celebrity Solstice, departing Sydney and departing the ship in Auckland, NZ.

We traveled in a rental car for the 200 mile trip to the largest lake in New Zealand, Lake Taupo. The center for exploring the sights of the North Island.

At check-in on Sunday we were greeted by a stand-in at reception, babysitting two young girls behind the small counter. We were unable to receive answers from the desk staff concerning this and that and instructed to return on Monday to speak with the manager. OK

Our room was on the second floor and was quite spacious, nothing fancy, no A/C but the windows were loovered openings so could be left open during the day for ventilation. Kitchen was supplied with adequate supplies for meal preparation. Nice deck off the living area with no view. The bathroom was newely renovated with glass block. A constant concern for showering was the floor tiles were smooth as glass and very slippery. The bedoom glass block grout was full of black mold. MOLD, your kiding. II gives this resort their premier ranking. Wi-Fi fee for the week was $45.00, a little steep. The small pool was down for repairs and the portable spa was enclosed in a small building.

The resort location was very convenient for shopping and restaurant's. We cook in and the local grocery store supplied all our needs. Lake activity was enjoyable and local's made us feel very welcome.