Tongariro Boutique B&B

Location & Accessibility: Frequent praise for proximity to the National Park, ease of access to nearby shops, gas stations, and restaurants, and suitability for hiking trips.

Skip this place. It's far from "boutique suites," as the room and bathroom were extremely small. We could barely open a suitcase. If the rooms were bigger, perhaps there could be a chair or two. This would be a good idea to have outside as well. The only place to sit is on the bed. No TV, which is fine as most of us are in Tongariro to hike and enjoy the national park, but it would be nice to have for nighttime and in the case of bad weather, which we experienced. As for the pool and hot tub, these were unuseable. The pool was closed and the hot tub was foul. Having a cover on the hot tub might help the host avoid the mildew and stain buildup, but we just couldn't bring ourselves to get in. The jets didn't work either. Now onto the bed. It wasn't comfortable, but again, I'm not too picky. We ended up leaving a night early because the space was simply so depressing and my husband and I both awoke the first morning with about 5-10 bites. They don't appear to be bed bugs, but look closer to bites from mites or fleas. Not entirely sure but they're crazy itchy. It's now 10 days later and I still have a couple marks the bites around my ankles left (see photo). Avoid this place unless you want to be scratching for weeks after. The location was pretty good -- about 5 or so minutes driving to the nearest gas station, shop and restaurants. The free parking and some shared kitchen amenities were nice to have.