Sunlover Retreat

Donna and Chris were great hosts. The weather was rather wet, but nothing they could do about that. The room was nice and cozy, and the breakfast provided was lovely. Very welcoming and provided some great tourism options for the area. Would absolutely stay there again. Also appreciated were the morning pats with Rover.

We stayed for one night at the Sunlover Retreat and wished we could have stayed forever! The house is stunning in the most perfect location with views over Tairua.Donna and Chris are lovely hosts and Rover the dog gave us the best welcome! They kindly booked us into local restaurant Manaia which was great and only a short walk away. I would highly recommend the lamb shoulder, but the pizzas also looked delicious!The attention to detail is amazing, we loved the bow on the toilet roll, Manuka honey toiletries and the branded robes were so soft! Such nice touches!The hot tub was a lovely treat, with views of the other side of the town. Though the outdoor bubble bath on our balcony was even more of a novelty. My morning soak with a coffee in hand was a real highlight for me!The bed was huge and very comfy and the shower pressure spot on (very important to us)! Everything we needed was there - a full kitchen equipped with coffee machine, coffee and hot chocolate pods; insect repellent candle; dyson fan; hairdryer and (my personal favourite) freshly baked biscuits - which you must try, they were to die for!The town boasts beautiful views, friendly locals and some nice spots for a beer/Pinot noir. We also walked up to the lookout Paku which was a bit of a climb, but totally worth it with an amazing 360 degree view.Overall, we can see why this place is booked up years in advance and we will definitely be returning! Thanks for having us Donna and Chris and see you again soon!

A beautiful big room with walk in dressing room, and bathroom with shower and bath. Separate private entrance. Stunning views across the estuary and the garden. One of the things we loved most was having breakfast with Donna and Chris, the owners, who were able to give us a real insight into New Zealand life, as well as recommending excellent walks and excursions in the area. The 200 steps down into town took very little time and helped us wear off some of the calories from the excellent dinners we had in a local restaurant. And Rover the dog is a super friendly host!

Sunlover Retreat was a wonderful place to end our month long trip in New Zealand. Right from the word go we were made to feel welcome when Donna greeted us on arrival with a hot flannel and iced drink. Breakfast was also a friendly affair with Donna and Chris joining us every morning, where afterwards they provided us with tips on the best locations to visit. Our room was lovely and the view from our private patio area beautiful. Sunsets were amazing as well. There were many little personal touches that made the place a special place to stay and having an a la carte meal cooked just for us by a french chef was the perfect end to our holiday. We would highly recommend Sunlover Retreat to anyone looking for a superb place to stay.

Staying at Sunlovers Retreat was the perfect ending to our fabulous two week holiday in NZ. Beautiful accomodation, amazing views, great hot tub and wow what a breakfast!! Donna your were the perfect host. Thankyou for recommending your fave restaurant it was fab & those Anzac Biscuits were so moreish!!

Sunlover was wonderful. I loved every part of our Tairua escape.Hosts Rover, Donna and Chris were fabulous and so was the room, food, location. We would stay again anytime. It was brilliant.

This was our second stay at this fabulous boutique bed & breakfast. Donna and Chris are wonderful hosts who invite you to share their beautiful home. There are two en-suite bedrooms, with their own entrances, which share a comfortable lounge area and deck which has amazing views over Tairua. Breakfast is served outside, weather permitting, on Chris and Donna’s deck and is plentiful and fresh. The eggs are from their own chickens, the bread and granola are homemade. We took advantage of the in-house chef on the day we arrived. (You need to let Donna know if you want this the day before arrival). Pierre cooked us an amazing three course dinner, what a treat! Thank you Donna and Chris for another amazing stay.

We stayed at Sunlover Retreat in January 2023. We were greeted with an iced drink and a hot towel and Donna and Chris were perfect hosts. Their accommodation is fantastic and so are the views. Donna puts on a superb breakfast and it was lovely to sit and chat with Donna and Chris each morning and they were very helpful on guiding us to local places of interest to visit and also places to visit on our forward journey. Unfortunately the weather was not good for most of our 3 day stay in Tairua. We were able to use the hot tub on our 1st day but then on the 2nd day a cyclone came in and we were unable to go out but Donna arranged for a local take-away food delivery and as we were the only guests we had the free run of the downstairs lounge and tv. Now we are back in the UK we are making Sunlover Muesli and Anzac biscuits and reminiscing over our stay and wondering what Rover the dog is up to!

Great place to stay Donna made us very welcome nothing was to much trouble, both her and Chris gave us ideas where to go and book our evening meal.Great home made bread with honey from there own bees. A very memorable stay thank you.

I wish I could give a 6/5 rating! Donna and Chris were amazing hosts and you can tell they have put so much thought into creating the ideal guest experience. Beautiful decor, great views, a wide variety of available snacks and drinks, and a delicious breakfast in the morning. Thank you so much for having us and we will definitely be back again!