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Help - Kia Ora versus Aria
Help - Kia Ora versus Aria
We "think" that we "might" have narrowed down our 11 night stay next year to either Kia Ora (on Rock Ridge Rd.) overlooking Chocolate Hole OR Aria on Ajax Peak overlooking Coral Bay.
We would love to hear anyone's reviews of those villas and/or pros and cons of the areas. We are trying to keep the budget at $250 per night and both these villas fit that bill. We like Kia Ora's proximity to town and modern updates and size. Yet, Aria has always intrigued us and it is a quick ride to our favorite beaches Big Maho and Francis. Yet, we are concerned about the road that we need to take to get to the villa and are worried that driving back and forth to that villa for 11 days might become trying.
FYI: We always rent a Jeep Wrangler and my husband is VERY comfortable with driving it - even if it needed to be in 4 wheel drive to get to Aria.
Again, would love to hear any first-hand or even second-hand comments regarding these 2 villas. And/of course, any "like" villa suggestions.
As always - Thanks,
Sue (& Jim)
We would love to hear anyone's reviews of those villas and/or pros and cons of the areas. We are trying to keep the budget at $250 per night and both these villas fit that bill. We like Kia Ora's proximity to town and modern updates and size. Yet, Aria has always intrigued us and it is a quick ride to our favorite beaches Big Maho and Francis. Yet, we are concerned about the road that we need to take to get to the villa and are worried that driving back and forth to that villa for 11 days might become trying.
FYI: We always rent a Jeep Wrangler and my husband is VERY comfortable with driving it - even if it needed to be in 4 wheel drive to get to Aria.
Again, would love to hear any first-hand or even second-hand comments regarding these 2 villas. And/of course, any "like" villa suggestions.
As always - Thanks,
Sue (& Jim)
Re: Help - Kia Ora versus Aria
I stayed at Kia Ora about a year and a half ago before the updates were done on the inside. Even though it was dated we really liked the location because it's only about a 5 minute drive from Cruz Bay. The outside areas are fantastic and you can't beat the view. I spoke with the villa rental agency about it for later this year and was told that they've moved the front entrance and added a place to store chairs, coolers, beach stuff, etc. (probably by closing off the old front entrance) and not having all the beach thing stacked in the front would give a neater appearance I'm sure. There was a TV/den area that you walked through to get to one of the bedrooms before and it looks like that's what they are now using for the main living room area. We never sat inside much because the outdoor dining area was so comfortable. The eating area, kitchen and new sitting area are at entry level with a bedroom off each side. The master bedroom used to have a "garden" shower which was kinda funky and because that wasn't covered (screening overhead for the plants) the toilet area would get wet when it rained hard. They've reconfigured that now to a conventional shower and taken some of the leftover space to make a half bath with access from the pool area. That makes much more sense plus you won't have to dry off the toilet when it rains! The master bedroom opens up to the pool area and the other upstairs bedroom has a private deck area facing the water. There is a few steps down to what used to be the old livingroom area and other than new windows there it doesn't look like that's changed much in the new pictures. The third bedroom /bath is down some exterior stairs and I don't think anything was done down there either. Other than the bathroom being on the dark side I don't really remember much about that because one of the other women in our group had that room. We thought it was very comfortable and a bargain for the price and now it's even better. If you want something close and convenient to the restaurants and shops, etc. this would be the one.
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mark & susan
- Posts: 99
- Joined: Thu Aug 24, 2006 4:35 pm
- Location: Frederick, Maryland
Re: Help - Kia Ora versus Aria
We stayed at Aria several years ago, and have not returned due to some quirks that did not work for us.
It IS a great location and we have stayed almost every year on Ajax Peak road. The driveway is paved and you have the additional security of a electric gate that provides access to the 3-4? housed past the gate. 4WD is necessary only as the last part of the driveway is gravel and it felt safer to use it - and I think you need 4WD for the N. Shore road when its wet anyway.
We had some issues with the comfort of the furniture (I have heard that that had been rectified).
The view from the upper level is somewhat hampered by the nearness of the "jungle". It was a bit of a tunnel effect off the deck. The could have trimmed the stuff back of course as this was a few years ago.
The other thing that we decided we did not care for is a spiral staircase going from the upper level to the pool. I just don't want to have to think that hard on vacation and be that careful after a few drinks.
It IS a great location and we have stayed almost every year on Ajax Peak road. The driveway is paved and you have the additional security of a electric gate that provides access to the 3-4? housed past the gate. 4WD is necessary only as the last part of the driveway is gravel and it felt safer to use it - and I think you need 4WD for the N. Shore road when its wet anyway.
We had some issues with the comfort of the furniture (I have heard that that had been rectified).
The view from the upper level is somewhat hampered by the nearness of the "jungle". It was a bit of a tunnel effect off the deck. The could have trimmed the stuff back of course as this was a few years ago.
The other thing that we decided we did not care for is a spiral staircase going from the upper level to the pool. I just don't want to have to think that hard on vacation and be that careful after a few drinks.