Outstanding and very large home and thoroughly enjoyed our stay.

Outstanding and very large home and thoroughly enjoyed our stay.

Glorious house with stunning views from the expansive living areas and upstairs …

Glorious house with stunning views from the expansive living areas and upstairs master and guest bedrooms. 7 couples easily accommodated. We had a ball.

It was fantastic. Wow factor, a piece of paradise. We had a great time there.

It was fantastic. Wow factor, a piece of paradise. We had a great time there.

What a stunning venue for a wedding, we couldn't have asked for a more spectacul…

What a stunning venue for a wedding, we couldn't have asked for a more spectacular vista and sense of luxury. wow

We capped a two week family reunion with a week-long stay here (ending on New Ye…

We capped a two week family reunion with a week-long stay here (ending on New Year’s Day) and our only regret was that we had to leave. As detailed by another reviewer, the home is in an idyllic location and has an abundance of amenities. While I could articulate how great those amenities were, it’s more telling to point out that despite my best laid plans to visit area attractions during our stay, no one wanted to leave after we arrived. Including me. The pool, theater room, and gym were harmoniously incorporated into their environs and all of the common area views of the ocean and Rangitoto Island were breathtaking. The kitchen/dining/pool area induced communal gathering (always a good thing when reconnecting with family) while the theater room provided an immersive respite when one was needed. Mat was great to deal with and was very thorough when walking us through his home and providing operational instructions. We would happily stay here again and highly recommend this home and Mat as its host.

The impressive shiny black door slid open in response to the electronic access…

The impressive shiny black door slid open in response to the electronic access code and we stepped into the grand marble entrance atrium of Mat’s three-storey cliff-top Whangaparaoa mansion, our home for the next five days of our Easter family get together. It looked too good to be true when I booked it but it was even more breathtaking in reality. We had problems deciding which of the seven luxurious bedrooms (six upstairs and one on the ground floor) and five tiled marble bathrooms to occupy. There was hot competition for the two master bedrooms with spectacular views over the Hauraki Gulf and Rangitoto but the other bedrooms also had fabulous views of Gulf Harbour and Auckland city in the distance. The bed linen and towels, like everything else in the house, were of the highest quality. The king and queen beds were all made up with crispest white linen and a myriad of pillows. Mat did not stint on quantity either – there was plenty of everything. The tiled marble bathrooms were gorgeous and stocked with a lovely range of Aromatherapy Co. toiletries – a really nice touch. The two master bathrooms had double vanities and huge walk-in showers fitted with two rain heads and two wall-mounted nozzles while the other three bathrooms had slightly smaller versions. The faucets for the freestanding tubs – one a spa bath the other an egg bath – in the master bathrooms, were cleverly mounted in the ceiling. Floor to ceiling windows slid open so you could lie in the bath in the sun or under the stars, protected by a half wall of safety glass. The same applied to the master bedrooms where glass walls slid aside allowing unencumbered views of the gulf as far as the Coromandel Peninsula. The master bedrooms had large dressing rooms with enviable storage space and full length mirrors while all the other bedrooms had sizeable built-in wardrobes. Parallel staircases ran from the entrance atrium to a bridge linking the two upstairs bedroom/bathroom wings. One of my favourite spots was the comfy couch on the bridge. I never tired of the view from on high over the horizon pool out to Rangitoto and beyond. On the ground floor, the designer kitchen featured a three-metre rimu bench, a large induction cooktop and a smart Rational oven with a sensor probe that cooked the crispiest roast lamb and vegetables we have ever had. The galley-style kitchen was a focal point at meal times and encouraged everyone to congregate to cook, chat, eat and critique local Matakana wines together. One of the males in our family loved the “fire hose” plate-rinsing apparatus in the scullery so he happily manned the commercial dishwasher. The 10-seater bespoke dining table adjacent to the kitchen bench was made of the same exquisite rimu timber as the kitchen bench. A major plus about renting a fully equipped house as opposed to a hotel or motel is that you don’t have to bring absolutely everything with you, food-wise. Mat insisted we use the basic ingredients from his pantry, fridge and garden. At Easter when the shops were shut for two days, it was a God-send to have items like sauces, spices, fresh herbs, vegetables and flour on-hand. On a weekend when the weather was so variable, it was also great to have full laundry facilities. At the far end of the huge downstairs living space was a black leather couch and armchairs all of which reclined for relaxing, snoozing, reading or viewing the 59-inch flat screen television, one of three at the property. One of many “wow” factors was the three-level purpose-built home theatre with reclining leather armchairs and maxi-bean bags which seated 12 in extreme comfort. The theatre had an impressive state of the art sound system and was a popular spot on wet days. A masculine touch was evident in Mat’s spacious study/office with its handsome dark wood desk and cabinetry and chunky armchairs. The 16-metre glass wall, the entire frontage of the ground floor, opened at the touch of a key pad to an awesome outdoor entertainment and fitness complex. Overlooking the sea was a most beautiful infinity pool bookended by a fully-equipped gym on one side and an outdoor BBQ/kitchen/bar on the other. The standard of equipment in the gym was astounding with a full set of weights, resistance training equipment, a treadmill and a Vibra Train. After a workout, you could dive straight from the treadmill into the 15-metre tepid pool, thanks to the sliding glass doors, and swim a length to the swim-up bar at the opposite end of the pool. Behind the gym was a large jacuzzi looking out to Rangitoto and the little island of Kotanui. A few paces from the outside kitchen/bar with its enormous restaurant-size bain marie, chillers and servery was a sturdy solid wood eight-seater table and an L-shaped all-weather lounge suite which comfortably seated 10 or 12. Perfect for large-scale outside entertaining. The exterior, like the interior of the house was wired for high quality sound. The area was surrounded by glass walls which provided shelter and safety but did not impede the gorgeous view. In the basement beside the quad car/boat garage was a games room with a pool table and signed collectors’ rugby, yachting and soccer jerseys. There were All Black jerseys signed by Sean Fitzpatrick and Wayne Smith’s 2001 All Black team, one of the 2000 Team New Zealand America’s Cup-winning jerseys and a signed soccer jersey from the 2014 Liverpool team. I loved the décor – neutral earthy tones with deep, luxurious, fawn carpet in the bedrooms, on the stairs and in the basement and games room, and white walls in the entrance atrium, living and kitchen areas with 800x800mm marble tiles on the floors. The bathrooms had the 300x600mm version of the same tiles on floors and walls. The house has 28 tonnes of imported Verona marble tiles and the top-of-the-range 100 percent wool carpet was a special run by Feltex. Incidentally, I counted eight toilets in total! The house was extraordinarily high-tech, controlled by key pads and ipads. Even the lights were sensor-activated and came on automatically as you entered a room. Mat made it clear the place was ours but he was just a phone call away if we required any assistance with the technology. I cannot imagine why anyone would rent a hotel suite or motel or apartment when for a similar price – divided among seven couples – you can have your own luxury private resort. It’s an absolute no-brainer. * Whangaparaoa is close to many attractions and activities: Rangitoto Island, Shakespear Regional Park open wildlife sanctuary, Matakana Village Farmers’ Market, Matakana Wine Trail, Omaha Beach, Leigh Sawmill Café, Goat Island marine reserve, Tiritiri Matangi Island open scientific reserve, Tawharanui Regional Park open wildlife reserve, Gulf Harbour Country Club golf course, Brick Bay Winery Sculpture Walk and Snow Planet where you can learn to ski or snowboard at New Zealand’s only all-year indoor snow resort.