Raina Holiday Accommodation

We had a lovely stay in the two-storey house with the turquoise roof at Matavira, though we’d originally booked Raina. We stayed upstairs in this spacious, very quiet place, with a great deck looking toward the mountains. The owners met us on day one and checked if we needed anything; everything was fine for us. It’s well placed for Muri and the main town. You’ll want a car and need to know where this hidden gem is. Communication with property manager Tanya was great, and the late checkout was a bonus for our later flight. Highly recommend if you want a peaceful, quiet self-catering stay.

June was a lovely host and greeted us with delicious fruit. The garden is beautiful, the apartment is spacious, and there’s an almost private beach just across the road. It’s nearly next door to the well-known Charlie's restaurant, handy for dinner and drinks without worrying about driving back. The main drawback is no aircon. After a full day at the beach, we’d return to a hot apartment. Aside from that, we had a lovely stay and would come back.

This was my first overseas holiday, and we arrived from NZ at night. We spent half an hour in the dark with the driver trying to find a room key. Once we finally got inside, there were only two sheets on the bed, and the place was dirty. There was a large clump of hair in the shower and ants crawling on the bench. The gas oven only worked with matches. We had to ask for clean towels, and our room was never serviced.

The garden all around is beautiful, and the beach is just over the road, though you can’t see it from the apartments. I had a very large ground-floor room with plenty of outdoor space. It’s old, and it takes a while for the shower to warm up, but for what we paid it wasn’t bad. There were only two places within walking distance where I saw food for sale, and they weren’t open every day. The bus stop right outside was a plus. Getting hold of the owner was difficult, though it didn’t cause a problem since I had nothing urgent to ask. I’d recommend it to anyone on a budget who isn’t looking for anything fancy.