Paihia Beach Apartment

I had two delicious dinners at Glasshouse Kitchen & Bar, and Amy at Reception and Jessie at the Restaurant deserve special thanks for their excellent service. The rest of the staff, including the cleaning team, were friendly and welcoming. In November I spent four nights at Paihia Beach Resort in a Superior Studio. It was spacious and clean, with a balcony and lovely ocean views. Town and the wharf are a short walk away. I’d definitely stay again when visiting the Bay of Islands.

Our first-floor room opened straight onto the pool, so we could just pop out for a swim. The food at the lovely restaurant was INCREDIBLE, and the service was brilliant from beginning to end. They even let us borrow books for the pool. Mum and I had an amazing time, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone travelling.

The balcony was great, and breakfast was great too, with excellent service. Our mini suite was on the third floor and felt small. The living room was very nice, but the sofa smelled so bad we couldn’t sit on it.

The reception staff were friendly and helpful, and it’s a convenient walk of about 10 minutes into Paihia. We stayed in Poolside Studio, 1st Floor, room 102. There was some corridor noise, and the room felt well overdue for a refresh. It was quite dated, right down to the DVD player. The curtains had stains, too. Some review photos show nicer rooms, though perhaps this room’s accessible design is why it hasn’t been updated. The bathroom was a wet room, with no division between shower and toilet. The toilet got wet when we showered, and we had to dry the floor so we wouldn’t get our feet or socks wet when using the bathroom afterwards.