We spent 2 days over Christmas at River Birches. Nestled in a quiet area surrounded by beautiful gardens. Our host Anthea was delightful and her cooking suited our dietry requests perfectly. Anthea was also very good at suggesting local tramps that were off the beaten track so we spent Christmas day tramping with very few others there. We stayed in the Major's Room, it was spacious, comfortable and private. We loved our stay and will certainly return.

Two of my friends and I stayed at the River Birches Cottage for two nights in November 2011. We were in the region for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing day walk and the River Birches location was perfect for this activity. When we arrived, we were planning to go out for dinner but seeing the well equipped and beautiful kitchen we just couldn't resist using it! The rooms were large, comfy and private. And the laundry room was very useful after the day walk.
Now I just wish my home was as comfortable... we should have stayed at least a week!

Six fishing enthusiasts stayed in the cottage and found it to be perfect for us. It was quality accommodation, with excellent and friendly service and local advice. Our four nights finished far too soon.

We spent two nights here in October 2011 while waiting for the weather to improve to allow us to do the Tongariro Crossing walk (which luckily it did on the last day!). There are three suites, which looked relatively similar (apart from one having a hot tub), and we stayed in the Major's Room. There is a large main house area which all guests share, and as we were the only guests at the time, we had the full run of the house! If there were other groups staying, there was plenty of room for everyone to have their own space, or to mingle if they so desired
The bedroom and bathroom suites are very modern and comfortable, but its worth noting its not quite like a hotel room in that you dont have your own fridge (or TV), the idea being you keep your things in the main kitchen - seemed to work ok, but might not be ideal for people who just like to bunker down in their room with everything they need.
Our host Anthea was very helpful in suggesting activities and making enquiries on our behalf, and was generally very proactive, while not being pushy. We opted to eat in one evening, and Anthea cooked us a restaurant standard meal which was well worth the money, and we brought along some wine we had picked up on our travels - would definitely recommend eating in at least once.
The property is located in a quiet street in Turangi, and while the river does not directly adjoin the property, it is only a short walk. The only factor that stops me from giving it the 5 stars is that it was relatively expensive, and we weren't convinced it quite justified the price tag in comparison to other similar places we had stayed in in New Zealand