Castaways Resort

Primo location. Views were amazing. Beds were comfortable. Size of unit spacious.

Some additional lighting on the roads in the complex or on the signs to help navigate the resort during the night

Seaview was amazing, I was able to see the sunset.

The mattress topper made me feeling uncomfortable. I could not sleep well due to the mattress topper.

To return all these years later and experience Kariotahi from the clifftop at Castaways was something quite special. As the sun slowly disappeared beyond the horizon, with the sounds of nature around us and the familiar rhythm of the waves crashing below, I found myself transported back to those carefree childhood days. There was something beautifully nostalgic about seeing a place I knew so well from an entirely different view. So much time has passed, yet the sound of those waves still felt like home. Thank you, Castaways, for giving me the opportunity to return to a treasured part of my childhood and experience it again in such a beautiful way. ❤️

We couldn't stay longer and walk the black sands again. The opening of the new Wharekai at Tahuna brought us there from the Kaipara but sadly, we had to return after one night ☹️

Fantastic views, nice room (ours must have been recently renovated as other comments stated old rooms), room was clean, lamb dish at dinner was amazing. Good variety of breakfast. We may return again just for the relaxing views in the summer, if the views weren’t want they are, the service would kill this place.

Check in process-When we checked in we were given a very vague description on how to get to the room, drove back and forth to reception to find out we were supposed to park in the ‘villa owners’ car park which we aren’t villa owners so didn’t originally go down there but anyway eventually got to our room, unlocked the door and there was another couple already in there. Back down to reception we go and they were not very apologetic at all but found us a new room. Mind you this was all in the pouring wind and rain, which made the situation worse, obviously staff can’t control the weather but they can be a bit more apologetic when having to go back and forth multiple times as we were soaked when we finally got to our room. Dinner-Although restaurant staff are friendly, they were not attentive unless you spoke to them. Nobody checked on us while we were eating to ask if we liked our food or came over to ask if we wanted dessert or another drink when we were sitting there for over 15mins with an empty cocktail glass and plates pushed to the side of the table so we just went up to pay and called a buggy to go back to the room. The steak was also quite dry which given the price is disappointing. Room-The toilet paper is 1ply which feels a bit cheap given how nice the rest of the room is. A king room also needs a buggy to get from the car park to the room, which is fine but it’s not clear that a king room is technically a villa, therefore no parking outside. Wedding-We came to stay here for my birthday but also because we had been considering having our wedding here and were deciding between this venue and another venue and after the experience we had with the staff, we will not be choosing this venue which is disappointing as the views are stunning and the place has a lot of promise.