My wife and I just returned from our fifth (and final) trip to New Zealand. We ended our month long visit with a four day stay at Absolute Bliss Paihia. As regular readers will know, we very seldom write any articles about properties at which we have stayed, with this article being only the third we have ever posted of this type.
For most of our recent trip we were on the move pretty much every day, travelling throughout the North Island of New Zealand. Part of our plan was to end up in Paihia at a more relaxed pace. After doing some research we chose Absolute Bliss because of the generous size and appointments of the rooms, and its location.
NOTE: Click on images to enlarge.
Located a few blocks from the main street in Paihia, Absolute Bliss is close enough for easy access to town while also providing beautiful, elevated views of the Bay of Islands. Many of the properties in Paihia are perched up high on hillsides, as is Absolute Bliss. Navigating the driveway (which is ideal for mountain goats) took a bit of practice.
Designed as a self-catering studio suite, we found Absolute Bliss to be very comfortable and spacious. The living area had a love seat and a sofa, along with a flat screen television. There was also a small dining table and a couple of chairs.
We appreciated the comfortable, supportive king bed and bedroom storage.
The galley kitchen was well appointed. It has ample counter tops, portable oven, a two burner portable hob (hotplate), kettle, toaster, coffee maker, electric frying pan and pots/pans. It also had a good selection of dishes and cooking utensils.
The bathroom was a decent size with a sink and cabinet, and a good sized shower with excellent hot water pressure.
As noted earlier, our studio room had a beautiful view looking down over Paihia and out to the Bay of Islands.
The semi-private balcony had a couple of sun lounges with pads, as well as outdoor table, chairs, a shade umbrella, and a barbeque.
Great accommodations are made even better when the owner is knowledgeable and helpful. This was certainly the case with Marilyn who was very accommodating. We booked a couple of cruises on the Bay of Islands through her. We received the added benefit of some discounts on those cruises which she passed along to us, as she does with other guests.
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, we very seldom write any articles for our photography blog that feature specific holiday properties. Since we found that Absolute Bliss lives up to its name, we thought an article was in order.
Our room cost was $127.50 Canadian per night which included all taxes and fees. Having stayed in Paihia twice before during earlier trips to New Zealand, we felt this was excellent value, and wanted to share our experience at Absolute Bliss with our readers.
In the spirit of transparency, we would like to also point out that we did not receive any special pricing or other considerations for writing this article on Absolute Bliss in Paihia.
If you enjoyed this article and are interested in reading more information about New Zealand you may enjoy our eBook, New Zealand Tip-to-Tip, which is available for purchase and download at a cost of $12.99 Canadian.
Technical Note:
All photographs in this article were captured hand-held in available light using Nikon 1 gear as per the EXIF data. All images were produced from RAW files using my standard process of DxO PhotoLab, CS6 and the Nik Collection. I used perspective control adjustments on most of the images.
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Looks like a super nice place to stay and it has wonderful views! Glad you found it and are sharing this info about it with everyone.
Thanks Joni!
As noted in the article, we very seldom write this type of article and reserve it for properties that we feel are a definite ‘cut above’ and are worthy of special note to our readers.
Tom
We would to like to thank you for your comments on Absolute Bliss my Husband and I stayed in November 2018 and endorse your comments 100% for the comfortable accommodation fantastic views and Marilyn the Hostess with the mostess who was a fountain of local information and who was able to book us on local tours with a discount.
We will return very soon.
Great value at Absolute Bliss.
and was able to book local tours
Hi Rosemary,
Thank you for sharing your experiences at Absolute Bliss! As noted in the article, we very seldom do any postings about properties at which we’ve stayed, but Absolute Bliss and Marilyn are certainly a ‘cut above’.
Tom