Where can I eat near Waves Luxury Apartments?

You are steps from Kaikoura Beach, and a short walk brings you to several good spots. Try Thai Siam Kaikoura or Groper Garage, both about 800 m away, or Zephyr Restaurant at 850 m. Closer still, Cafe Encounter and Encounter Kaikoura are about a 5-minute walk. For a quick bite, The Coffee Hit, Bean Me Up, and Why Not Cafe are all within about 700 m. The Whaler and Pot Belly Bakery & Cafe are also nearby, around 820 to 870 m. You will have plenty of choices for a meal or coffee without going far.

What is the area around Waves Luxury Apartments like?

You are right on the Esplanade, with Kaikoura Beach just steps away and sea views from the apartments. The town centre is about a 900-metre walk, where you will find shops, a supermarket, and the Kaikoura Visitor Information Centre. Encounter Kaikoura (Dolphin Encounter) is a 1-minute walk, and the Kaikoura Museum is 7 minutes away. For a longer stroll, the Kaikoura Lookout is a 16-minute walk, while the Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway and Point Kean Viewpoint are 3.1 km away. Nearby cafes and restaurants include Thai Siam Kaikoura, Groper Garage, Zephyr Restaurant, and Cafe Encounter. The area is a good base for whale watching and other coastal activities.

How do I get to Waves Luxury Apartments from the airport or main train station?

From Kaikoura Airport, about 7 km away, a taxi or pre-booked transfer is the straightforward way to reach the apartments. The nearest bus stop is Kaikoura Intercity, within walking distance, so you can also arrive by intercity bus. Once you are on Esplanade, the apartments are right on the beachfront, a short stroll from the town center. If you are driving, there is private parking on site. The airport is roughly a 13-minute drive, making the trip quick and easy.

What's there to do near Waves Luxury Apartments in the evening?

In the evening, you can take a short stroll to the beach right at your doorstep, or walk 7 minutes to the Kaikoura Visitor Information Centre and Kaikoura Museum area. For a bite, nearby options include Thai Siam Kaikoura, Groper Garage, and Zephyr Restaurant, all within about 800-850 meters. The Kaikoura Lookout, a 16-minute walk, offers a nice spot to watch the sunset. If you're up for a longer walk, Whale Watch Kaikoura is 17 minutes away, though it's mainly a daytime activity. For a relaxed evening, the beach and local cafes are your best bet.

Is Waves Luxury Apartments a good base for exploring Kaikoura?

Waves Luxury Apartments is a great base for exploring Kaikoura. You can walk to Encounter Kaikoura in 1 minute, EcoZip Adventures in 7 minutes, and the Kaikoura Museum in 7 minutes. The Kaikoura Lookout is a 16-minute walk, and Whale Watch Kaikoura is 17 minutes away. For the Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway and Point Kean Viewpoint, it's a 3.1 km trip, so you'll want a car or a taxi to reach those. The beach is right at your doorstep, and the town center is about a 900-meter stroll. From here, you can easily join whale watching, seal swimming, or kayaking tours.

Waves Luxury Apartments Kaikoura: Location & Reviews

Name: Waves Luxury Apartments
Address: 78 Esplanade, Kaikoura, 新西兰

Guest reviews

4.3Very good(41)

Excellent28
Good4
Average6
Poor0
Terrible3

What guests say about…

Room
Property

Guests like

Spacious Apartments: Guests describe large apartments with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a lounge, dining area and balcony, well equipped for longer stays.
Comfortable Beds: Several reviews mention super comfortable beds and massive king beds, contributing to a good night's sleep.
Scenic Views: Guests praise the stunning views of the mountains and coast, with some apartments offering sea and mountain views.

Guests mention

Room Heating: Some guests mention issues with heaters in the apartment and bathrooms, so it's worth checking the heating works on arrival and asking the front desk for help if needed.
Check-In Timing: A guest mentions arriving at 2pm and the room was still being cleaned, so it may help to confirm your arrival time with the hotel in advance.

Summary for your reference

Reviews from

Google4.3/5 · 41 reviews

Amy Z

1/5

Google· 7 months ago

Racist. The rooms were fine, but the customer service was deeply upsetting and unacceptable. At the reception was an older man who, despite me being a native English speaker and having already greeted him and exchanged several sentences in ENGLISH, asked whether anyone in my family spoke English…this was an assumption clearly based on our appearance. When I asked for clarification on the directions to our rooms and the parking, he became visibly irritated and made insulting remarks about our ability to understand. The interaction was uncomfortable, discriminatory, and extremely unprofessional. Had it not been late at night, I would have left.

Philly2 anywhere

3/5

Google· a year ago

"Ocean view" if you strategically look from within the apartment living room. Terrible wifi. Views from bedrooms are a wall. If your neighbors are awake before you, good news, so are you. The washer/dryer are loud and ineffective. The soap scent was delightful. The size of the apartment was good. Easy and friendly check in & check out. Nespresso coffee was great!

GEORGE JUNGE

5/5

Google· a year ago

We had upper 2 king-bed apartment that required 4 short flights of stairs. Stunning view of mountains & coast. Beds super comfortable. All the bits & pieces needed for a longer stay. TV's could do with upgrade

Claire harmon-bell

1/5

Google· a year ago

I hate to write this as we are pretty relaxed people and things don't usually bother us, but this stay really grinded our gears and created more stress in an already stressful time. We unfortunately didn't have the best experience on our stay. Not a good start when we arrived for check in at 2pm only to be told they were still cleaning the room, which was completely fine, but the receptionist made us feel as though it was our fault by saying "well if you had called us to tell us you would be arriving at 2pm, then we would have had the room ready" since when do we need to tell our arrival time when check in is at 2pm?? News to me? And then called the cleaners while we were standing there and said " the people for this rooms have arrived, sorry mate, Murphys law. I know its a pain. Sorry mate." Which again made us feel like we were the problem. When we got to our apartment, it was beautiful and a great location. We hung around to a while, kids had nap and then we went out for dinner. When we came back with our food, we found someone in our car park. We asked if they would be long, only to find out that there had been a room mess up and the room we had was actually meant to be their room! The door to our room where all our belongings were was wide open where anyone could have helped themselves. Surely they should just close the door and wait for it to be sorted?? A receptionist came over and told us there was a mess up and we needed to move rooms. We had to pack up our things and completely empty the apartment we were in, we had ALOT of luggage. All while our young kids are crying in the car because they wanted their dinner. We had to wait for the man to figure out what room we were meant to be in, a good 15, 20min process. When he came back with the key, he told us what room and when further directions were asked for, he just pointed up and said "it is one of those ones". We had to cart all our luggage up to the top floor by the stairs and try to calm our kids who were so over it by that stage. No offer of help and all we got was a "sorry about that" as he raced away after giving us the key. No compensation, no nothing! Noone followed up and Noone was there at check out to follow up. The way it was all handled was atrocious! Absolute radio silent. Were the apartments worth the stay? 100%. They were modern and clean and had great amenities. Would we stay again? Nope. The lack of customer service and the way we were made to feel like a problem, ruined the experience for us.

Grant Dykes

5/5

Google· 2 years ago

With two bedrooms, two bathrooms, large lounge dining, balcony and off-street covered parking, what more could you want? The apartment was well-equipped with everything. Tasteful modern furnishings and comfy beds. A great option for a luxury leisure stay.

Response from the property

Thanks for your fantastic review Grant. We really appreciate it. All the very best and warm regards

5/5

Google· 5 years ago

Loved our stay here. Excellent view. Walkable distance to all restaurants and shops. The rooms were spacious and had massive king beds with two bathrooms and heating in both rooms and bathrooms. Love that they don’t offer small shampoo and conditioners which saves the plastic. Has all amenities needed for a home away from home. Free parking on site.

Response from the property

Hi Kezia, Thank you so much for taking the time to review your stay with us here at Waves Apartments, we really appreciate it. We are so pleased you enjoyed your stay with us, it was our absolute pleasure to welcome you to our beautiful town of Kaikoura. We hope you will choose to stay with us again on your next visit to Kaikoura. Warmest Regards, Lydia and all the staff here at Waves Apartments

Robyn Edwards

5/5

Google· 3 years ago

Had a issue with the ferry. Told the staff would not be able to make it to reception to grab our keys via email, the staff made other arrangements so we could enter the room @ almost 1am. Room was presented in an awesome manner. Very tidy, warm (perfect for my mother, too warm for me 🤣) awesome sea view + mountain view. All around worth the cash in our opinion

grace liu

1/5

Google· 3 years ago

First bad review I’m giving in my life. This is the most shocking hotel experience ever! It was unbelievable how rude the staff was to us. He literally told us to go find another hotel at 8pm at night if we can’t deal with their dysfunctional heaters in the apartment and freezing bathrooms. He asked why we can’t just deal with the cold or use other bathrooms? Is this reasonable? We spoke very nicely from the start asking if he could have a look as the not working heater. But he was very reluctant to even come and look. After we insisted, he came brought over two oil heaters with one not working, again. After we contacted him again, he refused to do anything about it, told us it’s not his problem, and that we are the ones being unreasonable when we paid for warm and working rooms? Will never ever ever visits again.