Outstanding in every way: the home-baked luscious brownie and lemon crunch cake, the home-made muesli, freshly laid eggs (green and brown!), roomy hot tub under the stars, Scandinavian sauna and the whimsical, vintage decor and vibe of the accommodation. The penultimate part of our stay was host Marianne’s generosity, kindness and ability to know exactly what we wanted and needed. This is the perfect getaway for couples looking for peace, quiet and romance, and for families: plenty of toys, sports gear (table tennis, football goal) and animals (chickens, alpacas.) Will we come again? You bet!
Bertha and David, Manhatten, USA
Thank you for your hospitality and for all the comfort we had during our short stay at The Vintage Room. This property inside and outside is just gorgeous. You’ve inspired our vision for decorating our future home. We enjoyed every minute. Happy holidays.
Steve and Annie | USA
We had a wonderful time in your beautifully appointed Blossom Cottage. The children loved being able to spend so much time with the animals and our son (5 years old) wishes he could stay here forever. We especially loved bonding with the free-range rabbit and feeding her dandelion flowers. We’d certainly love to come back some time.
Sarah, Simon, Seb and Livia | Australia
We had a wonderful stay at The Vintage Room. We loved everything. Bruno especially loved the sauna.
Rita and Bruno | Switzerland
Thanks Rene and Marianne for your outstanding hospitality during our stay at The Vintage Room. Loved the big room and Super King bed and spending time in our private sauna. Breakfast was a culinary experience with creamy mushrooms, scrambled eggs made with their free-range hens’ eggs and pancakes with bacon and caramelized bananas. Loved the cakes, too. Yum!
Jennifer and Robert Garrison | USA
We had a great time in Rotorua, especially at your place. We liked The Vintage Room a lot and your great breakfasts gave us the perfect start for the day. In exchange, we brought the good weather with us!!
Markus and Steffi | Germany
We were pleased to stay at The Vintage Room, the house and the calm surroundings. We did scenic drives and enjoyed the landscape and the beautiful trees in springtime. Thank you for your hospitality and delicious breakfasts. Good future, good health.
Gisela and Erich | Germany
Thanks for your hospitality during our stay in The Vintage Room, and for the amazing breakfasts. Particularly liked the home-made yoghurt and scrambled eggs with salmon. We enjoyed every bit of it! No improvements needed and couldn’t have asked for anything more. The weather was awesome as well. We wish you all the best in the future and hope you continue to be as successful as you are!
JC and Claire | Canada
We enjoyed Blossom Cottage and surroundings very much. It was a good combination of volcanic activities, walks and relaxation. Thank you for your hospitality.
Ellen and Ad Blom | Netherlands
Our honeymoon night at The Vintage Room was perfection. The room was enormous! We loved the home-made carrot cake presented on the tea trolley when we arrived. The room was just gorgeous, with an old brass bed, antique furniture, linen mannequin, and all the comforts such as a fridge, couch, heating and air conditioning. Marianne’s breakfasts were sublime, with most of the food home-made using vegetables from the garden and eggs from their own hens. Hope to come back some day.
Pricilla and Gary Mulberry | Canada
An unbelievable stay at a beautiful cottage with fantastic hosts, plenty of space, peace and quiet and views of the countryside and farm animals. We even witnessed the most amazing sunrise with hues of red, in the morning. Thanks for a perfect stay.
Paul and Jennifer Frampton | UK
It was a wonderful opportunity to stay at Blossom Cottage! We loved every moment: the beautiful surroundings, home baking, fresh eggs, feeding the animals, hot tub and so much more. Your hospitality was amzing and we appreciate everything you did for us. We had a relaxing time and no doubt will be back.
Nicola and Shaun Howes | Auckland
We thoroughly enjoyed your hospitality and the tranquility of Blossom Cottage. Both our girls spent hours exploring all the suitcases of toys and dressing up clothes. Collecting the eggs every morning and feeding your animals was very special and one of our highlights. You have been fabulous hosts: very approachable and incredibly helpful and accommodating. We would gladly stay here again and would recommend your place to our friends.
Lydia, Anthony, Eleni and Mia | Australia
We had a fabulous time and James loved the animals, trampoline and slide. Everything was perfect and the hot tub a real treat in the evenings under the stars with the cows ‘mooing’ at us in the dark. We hope to be back one day.
Jacqui, Blair and James | NZ
Thanks for your wonderful hospitality. Everything was so perfect: the breakfast with fresh eggs from the hen-house, the hot tub for relaxing, lovely animals and the stars. We will stay longer next time.
Natalie and Derek | Hong Kong
All six of us enjoyed our stay so much. Felt like a Rosamund Pilcher film: The boys playing football and rugby, Eva feeding the animals, it was so relaxing. We’ll miss the lambs, ducks, chickens, rabbits, sheep and alpacas. Take care.
Lars, Jens, Eva and Tim | Germany
Can’t fault this beautiful cottage in this peaceful corner of stunning NZ! The hot tub was the icing on the cake and the hosts came a close second, with their kindness and excellent service. Hope to be back.
John and Claudia McGregor | Ireland
Many thanks for this endearing cottage, large enough to host a family with three teenagers! We enjoyed as much as we could of the amenities and entertainment your property has to offer, which means far from all of it! The hot tub is on the top of our list. Marianne, you have to try Canopy Tours. It’s not that difficult! Thanks for your hospitality, warmth and welcome.
Isabelle, John, Sarah, Erwan and Allison | France.
Your cottage and hospitality were wonderful. This was a perfect spot for our little family to spend some time away together. The cottage was so thoughtfully furnished, the hot tub relaxing and the activities available for my daughter so good. We will be back.
Sarah, John and Phoebe | NZ
Thank you for the lovely days here. We had a warm welcome and the hosts are so kind. The kids were happy feeding the animals and we enjoyed the silence of this fantastic place!
Steiner Family | Germany
Thank you for sharing your piece of paradise with us. We appreciate the fact that you anticipated what we needed every step of the way. Your attention to detail, and your warm welcome, complete with homemade chocolate brownies, made us feel at home. René … Norm and I both agree that your massage was a real treat. You fine-tuned our bodies – so relaxing! Thank you again for our wonderful stay. You both work hard creating and maintaining this beautiful, peaceful pocket in the land of the white clouds. Two words describe you guys – total generosity!
Martha and Norm Thompson | USA
Loved our stay with our cheerful hosts, René and Marianne, and enjoyed the hot tub, the animals, delicious breakfast with fresh eggs. The sights, Mitai, Skyline, Canopy Tours and Rainbow Springs with Kiwi Encounter, were so close by and only a short drive from the cottage. Rene’s massages were superb, and way cheaper than any in Rotorua city. Hope to come back again!
Katherine and Samuel Greerson | Canada
Our son loved spending hours with the animals. We spent hours in the hot tub, too, and used the barbeque to cook our breakfast. Such a cosy cottage with such lovely hosts. The cake was delicious. Thanks again.
Bernadette, John and Hunter Bennett | Australia
For two journalists working all hours covering the British and Irish Lions rugby tour, this has been the perfect stay. You’ve looked after us splendidly and the cottage has had everything we could have hoped for. One of the alpacas spat at me just now, but I guess that was a rugby thing! Let’s hope the Test Series is as enjoyable as the last four days have been.
Alex Spink (Daily Mirror) and Nik Simon (Daily Mail) | UK
Where do I start when explaining how superb this place is: the stars we viewed from the outdoor hot tub, the morning sunrise our host said was unmissable, the breathtaking surroundings with mountains and rolling farmland, not to mention the cake on arrival and delicious hens’ eggs from the hen-house in the meadow. The hosts were there to answer any queries and advise us on the best tours in Rotorua. We were sad to leave this little gem !
Suzie and Gary McGofton | UK
It’s been an awesome stay at your cottage. Thank you for your warm welcome and you just have everything here. We especially enjoyed playing with and feeding the animals. It has been a very remarkable stay at such a nice place!
Harry and Heidi Yu | Hong Kong
We had a perfect stay at Blossom Cottage. Outside, there was rain, rain, rain, but still we did some hiking and tours. Because of the weather, we couldn’t use the hot tub, did not see the stars and did not use the bbq. Under these circumstances, it is really great to arrive back in the cottage: completely perfectly equipped and very good beds. Good luck with the cottage and thank you for your hospitality.
Rose-Rie and Joop | Netherlands
We can’t thank you enough for your very generous hospitality and delicious cooking! The Vintage Room has magical qualities that instantly wash any cares away so that you feel in relaxed holiday mode. We would give 5 stars for all of the points mentioned. You have set an extremely high bar for the other B&Bs we are staying in during our visit to the North Island. We have been very fortunate to have had such a wonderful start to our holiday, and the weather was excellent, too! We will certainly be recommending you to others.
Marilyn and Eric Coen | Australia
I enjoyed every moment! I loved feeding the animals every morning, collecting the eggs and going in the hot tub. Did you know that there was a very friendly, wild bunny in the fields? The alpacas are super cute and the chicken with feathers growing out its feets looks super cool! And I love the bunnies! The sheep and the chickens and the ducks are super cool too! I am sad to leave and wish we could have stayed longer.
Maisie, Charlie, Christine and Scott Noble | Auckland (Written by Maisie, 10 years old)
What a wonderful place! So many lovely details and friendly, helpful and kind owners. The kids loved the many toys, the trampoline and of course the animals. Thank you for the lovely welcome cake and thanks for booking our experience at Mitai. It was a great evening with hangi food and we saw the glow worms – so beautiful! We enjoyed the stay completely.
Katrina, Sebastian, Jannis and Jule Deusch | Germany
Blossom Cottage was a perfect getaway with the kids and elderly. The girls loved feeding and ‘talking’ to the animals, loved the trampoline, swings and the toys. You were particularly kind and thoughtful to have made the girls beds with fluffy toys. Thanks for the memories and we hope to be back in this beautiful land.
Lee Family | Hong Kong
Thank you for letting us stay at your wonderful, quaint cottage. We enjoyed jumping on the trampoline, feeding the hens, bunnies, alpacas and ducks every morning. We loved playing football and ping pong. Every night we enjoyed relaxing in the hot tub. This has been a beautiful experience in Rotorua.
Jarasunas Family | USA
I loved playing with the chickens, trampoline and seeing Cocoa the alpaca spitting on my father. I also really enjoyed getting the eggs in the morning and feeding the animals.
Olivia v. Bellegem (8 years)
Adored the big and roomy Vintage Room with its super king bed. The room was filled with gorgeous old furniture and old black and white photographs. Loved the old French linen mannequin, too. Took advantage of Rene’s massages, which we had in our room, and we used the outdoor sauna as well. Breakfast was sublime and served by Marianne in the big country kitchen: Home-made yoghurt, muesli and jam and the best eggs from Marianne and Rene’s own hens. Can’t wait to come back again.
Louise and George Camberton | Auckland
We couldn’t have been happier at The Vintage Room. It was big, sunny and well-equipped. We couldn’t get over the size of the bed, it was comfy and massive! Marianne baked ginger loaf the day we got there, tired after a day at Hobbiton, and we enjoyed it with a cup of tea. Yum! We had breakfast in the country kitchen the next morning and were greeted by the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and scrambled eggs on warm, home-made scones. The view from the country kitchen was beautiful, too. Can’t wait to come back in the future. Blessings, Caroline and Jeffrey Smythe, UK
Caroline and Jeffrey Smythe, UK
June 2018 Dear Marianne and René, It was our pleasure to stay at your lovely cottage and The Vintage Room. Especially many thanks to Marianne for the lovely and wonderful cake which she baked for us! We truly enjoyed our time here at Blossom Cottage and The Vintage Room. We loved feeding the animals early in the morning and appreciated the numerous suggestions from René. We had a wonderful time here as a family.
Seng Peng, Lina and Family, Singapore