Premium

Non-Simultaneous exchange 10 nights Jul 2026

Gable Verified

6 exchanges38 nights5 feedback

Monika and Rhys were the best hosts we have ever had. Their hospitality is unmatched. We cannot thank them enough for their efforts during our stay and are truly thankful for the friendship we created. We look forward to seeing them again next year! If you are ever in Aukland--this is the place to stay.

Non-Simultaneous exchange 4 nights Jan 2026

Julie Verified

4 exchanges18 nights5 feedback

The exchange with Monika and Rhys was an utterly satisfying experience! Communication with Monika in the months preceeding our exchange was effortless. Even when I wondered if I was asking too much Monika made me feel that i was not and answered me comprehensively. We also met Rhys and Jacob in person and this too was a real joy-they are lovely people and also excellent communicators. The home is meticulously maintained, super-clean and thoughtfully prepared for visitors. Everything works, everything is comfortable and Cleo the cat is just 'too easy'. We can't wait for your return visit Monika and Rhys!

Non-Simultaneous exchange 4 nights Jan 2026

Alan Verified

2 exchanges79 nights4 feedback

Thank you Monika and Rhys for such a lovely stay. We felt comfortable right away. Monika was great to communicate with—friendly, responsive, and very helpful. The house manual was fantastic and clearly put together, with everything you need to know, which made settling in really simple. The location is excellent, tucked away in a quiet, leafy suburb of Green Bay. Public transport is close and easy to use, and it took us about an hour to get into the city center. It’s also perfectly located for nature lovers, with Piha Beach and Arataki Park nearby, offering some amazing walks and time outdoors. The house itself is very clean, well looked after, and was easy to maintain during our stay. And the cat is just beautiful—such a sweet presence and a real pleasure to share the home with. We’re very grateful for the experience and would happily stay again.

Non-Simultaneous exchange 14 nights Dec 2025

jordi Verified

3 exchanges150 nights2 feedback

We really enjoyed our stay at Monika & Rhys's beautiful property. The property is perfectly located, within a few minutes' drive to the center of Auckland and to absolutely stunning beaches, waterfalls and wildlife parks. Our stay at their place will be forever in our minds. Monika is a very attentive person. She is really proactive, willing to offer help and support. We are looking forward to welcoming them in the near future. Thanks again, Monika, for everything.

Non-Simultaneous exchange 15 nights Apr 2025

Jeff and Ping Verified

9 exchanges149 nights15 feedback

We had the pleasure and the good fortunate to have a non-simultaneous exchange with Monika and Rhys's beautiful Auckland home. It's close to the beautiful Waitakere Ranges Regional Park, where you'll find the pristine Piha Beach, numerous waterfall hikes, and breathtaking costal cliffs hikes (Mercer Bay Loop track and Omanawanui track). Further north, the Muriwai Beach and Muriwai Lookout showcase stunning New Zealand's coastal views. The home is an easy drive to downtown Auckland, which offers a variety of activities, culture, and restaurants. Ferries from downtown Auckland can take you to different nearby islands. Regrettably, we only had the time to visit Rangitoto Island. It's amazing how much you can do just around Auckland and surrounding areas. Monika & Rhys's home is beautiful, clean, and comfortable. The neighborhood is safe and lush with trees and plants. There is also a reserve nearby that has a nice path and is lush with various beautiful trees. The grocery store is only 3 minutes' drive away, making getting our own food very easy. The kitchen is well organized and easy to cook food in. Communications with Monika has been very easy, smooth, and timely. The internet is fast, enabling us to work well remotely. Cleo the cat is super easy to take care of. We highly recommend Monika & Rhys's home for experiencing Auckland and the surrounding areas. You won't run out of things to do.

Hospitality exchange 2 nights Mar 2025

Lone Verified

54 exchanges566 nights85 feedback

Before COVID Monika and I ahd been in touch chatting about a potential exchange, but that was put on hold for obvious reasons as the worl closed down. Fast forward some years and finally NZ was back on the radar. When Monika saw a post of mine in the FB grous, she reached out and kindly offered to host us. As I was very keen of meeting Monika and family after all this time, we managed to organize a hospitality stay with them at the end of your trip in NZ before flying back to Denmark. We arrived at Monikas home on a Sunday afternoon after coming back from Matamata on the intercity bus to Aucklan and then renting a car at hte airport. From the moment we arrived Monika and her lovely family just embraced us with such generousity. We sat and chatted eating snacks all afternoon and they cooked us us a delicious dinner all while we were just chatting away. It was such a nice evening hanging out and getting to know them. We took an easy morning the next day and then headed out to explore some of the waterfalls and Piha Beach in the afternoon. They invited us for dinner again and we had another lovely dinner with Rhys and the kids as Monika was working. We had to leave Tuesday lunch time to return the rental car befodre hitting the airport, but had the good fortune to have a bit of time with the family before taking off. Their home is light and spacious with a lovely outdoor patio that I wish I had had have time to enjoy as the weather was amazing. Their location in Green Bay is excellent for exploring, only about 30 mins drive to the black sand beaches on the other coastal side. No doubt one could spend days hanging out there or surfing if one fancys that. There are also lots of waterfalls and hikes to enjoy which a easy reachable from their home. We went to Fairy Falls and Kite Kite Falls on our way to Piha Beach. Ran out of time but otherwise we'd have squeezed in KareKare Falls and Mercer Bay Loop. I think a lots of people tend to spend very little time in and around Auckland, and not really giving is a chance to show all it has to offer. But if you are happy to stay in the area, I can highly recommend exchanging with Monika and Rhys as they are such wonderful, funny and kind people and you'll def be staing in a great location with both easy access to Auckland main city stuff as well as lots of gorgeous scenic places around. thank you so much Monika, Rhys, Jacob and Ella for opening your home to us and spoiling us big time. It was such a pleasure to finalyl meeting you and we had staying with you guys. Don't forget that next time you go coem to Europe to look us up! ;-)

Non-Simultaneous exchange 5 nights Jan 2025

Ross and Glenis

5 exchanges36 nights7 feedback

Staying at Monicas home was an excellent venue for us and is well located . The house is clean and tidy and has all necessary facilities for a comfortable stay . Monica had lots of pamphlets , tour brochure's available when we arrived and was readily available by phone with helpful advice and suggestions in the lead up to our stay and during our stay . Excellent host and home .

Non-Simultaneous exchange 13 nights Dec 2024

Julia Verified

1 exchange27 nights2 feedback

We had the absolute best time during our stay at Monika & Rhys’ home! They truly represent all the values and philosophy PLU is based on! Monika was super quick to respond to messages and communication was very clear from the start. Our very first exchange experience exceeded expectations. all thanks to how wonderful Monika and her family are. (Including their adorable cat Cleo, who stole our hearts 😻) Their home was lovely and absolutely immaculate! We felt very comfortable and welcome there. I loved waking to the sound of the birds singing and enjoyed the view of palm trees from their living room windows. Monika gave us great suggestions on what to see and do in their area. Their home is in a great location, very close to shops and beaches. We are very much looking forward to seeing our new friends again when it’s our turn to host them in Canada next summer! We can say without a doubt, we highly recommend exchanging with them! Thank you Monika & Rhys for your warm hospitality! ❤️

Monika & Rhys replied · 1 year ago

Thank you for such kind words, Julia! We are glad you enjoyed your time here and are looking forward to seeing you in Canada. 🧡

Non-Reciprocal exchange 24 nights Dec 2023

Valerie

1 exchange24 nights1 feedback

We had the opportunity to stay at Rhys & Monika's lovely home for a few weeks in Summer. It's in a leafy suburb of Auckland which we enjoyed walking around. The home is unique and extremely comfortable - we felt at home instantly. We particularly liked sitting on the private patio and watching the birds. We also enjoyed having Cleo (the outdoor cat) there while we were staying, which was no trouble at all. We decided not to have a car while we stayed. We found many places to walk to and discovered the transit system was quite easy to navigate from there.

Simultaneous exchange 4 nights Jul 2023

Agnes and Enric

7 exchanges493 nights15 feedback

We had the most wonderful experience staying at Monika & Rhys' house! The space was perfect for our needs. The house was spotless and well-maintained, making it feel like we were staying at an AirBnB superhost's place. The location on a cul-de-sac in a quiet neighborhood was perfect for a relaxing getaway. Our kids loved the selection of board games, Legos and Barbies in the house. Monika & Rhys were excellent hosts, providing us with all the necessary information and making sure we had everything we needed for our stay. Overall, we couldn't have asked for a better weekend getaway. Monika & Rhys' house provided us with everything we needed and more, and we highly recommend it to anyone looking for a comfortable and enjoyable stay in Auckland.

Simultaneous exchange 9 nights Apr 2023

Judy Verified

27 exchanges235 nights30 feedback

We had a wonderful first PLU exchange to Monika and Rhys’s home. We were very comfortable and had everything we needed, including the use of their car for which we were most grateful. Some welcoming touches on arrival. The double storey house was very spacious and clean with a well equipped kitchen and a lovely deck outside the sun room, complete with table tennis table and BBQ. Monika left plenty of information about the house and the local area plus a folder full of tourist brochures. There are plenty of eateries close by and we can recommend The Street Feast Food Hall and Ambrosia Restaurant at Titirangi Village and The Olive Kitchen and Bar along Scenic Drive. Green Bay allows easy access to Waitakere Ranges National Park and the Western Beaches. We found the easiest way to get into Auckland was to drive (or Uber) to New Lynn station then take the train right into the centre (Britomart). The highlight of our stay was a visit to Waiheke Island. The ferry runs regularly and is a short walk from the Britomart Train Station. We purchased an AT HOP card for our public transport needs - this covers trains, ferries and buses on both the mainland and the island and credit can be topped up as needed. The communication with Monika was excellent - both leading up to the exchange and also every day once there. It was just a pity we didn’t manage to cross paths. It would have been lovely to meet up. Highly recommended. NZ is certainly a beautiful country.

Non-Reciprocal exchange 16 nights Dec 2022

Michael Verified

2 exchanges37 nights2 feedback

We stayed for two weeks in Monika's home, and it was both spacious and spotless. There were four of us but we could have easily accommodated one or two more people. The kitchen and living room were very comfortable and we had a great stay. It's very comfortable with a great outdoor space with an eating table and a ping ping table. The neighbourhood is quiet and a car seems important here although there are some nearby bus stops. Fast access to lovely west coast beaches, and a well stocked grocery store nearby.

Non-Simultaneous exchange 6 nights Apr 2022

Beth

9 exchanges44 nights9 feedback

Can highly recommend Monika as an exchange friend. It was our very first exchange and she was so friendly and easy to communicate with. We so enjoyed staying at her beautiful home. It was lovely to visit the big city of Auckland but feel like we were staying in a friendly, tree filled community. So close to beaches and the beauty of the Waitakere Ranges, but also super easy to explore all the big city adventures of Auckland. We went to the Zoo, Kelly Tarltons Aquarium, Auckland Museum and the Sky Tower. Monika's home was so comfortable and welcoming. Our boys loved having their own rooms and trying out the puzzles and games that were left out for them. And Chris & I really enjoyed retreating to the luxury of the upstairs bedroom suite. It felt like a tropical oasis. In case anyone worries about our family connections, we also loved gathering together on the big couch and watching movies. And sitting around the dining table for meals that were so easy to cook in the well laid out kitchen. Thanks again Monika and Rhys.

Simultaneous exchange 3 nights Jul 2020

Gemma

6 exchanges75 nights10 feedback

We had a fantastic stay at Monika’s house with our three young children. Very quiet lovely street with great parks and walks close by. We had a great time at the zoo and MOTAT both been very easy to get too. Spacious house which had everything we needed and it was immaculate and very well organised. Great communication leading up to and throughout our stay.

Non-Simultaneous exchange 14 nights Dec 2019

Brett and Brett Verified

10 exchanges117 nights18 feedback

Our home exchange with Monika and Rhys was a wonderful experience. We stayed at their home for two weeks and found it to be the perfect place to explore Auckland and the surrounding areas. We took full advantage of all the wonderful hiking trails located nearby. The home itself is a spacious contemporary styled retreat. Clean, comfortable, and beautifully updated. The backyard has a large private deck surrounded by tropical foliage. Working with Monika on exchange plans was smooth and efficient. They even made a special point to meet with us on arrival to show us the home and get acquainted. I'm so happy to have done this exchange with Monika and Rhys. Aside from the house being perfect for us, they showed such amazing hospitality in so many ways. Now we have new friends in New Zealand and I can't wait for them to come visit us later this year! Brett and Brett

Non-Reciprocal exchange 4 nights Dec 2019

Mark

5 exchanges39 nights6 feedback

Monika's house was excellent and she was lovely to deal with and very kind. I would highly recommend her.

Premium #1431

Between city and beach

House • Auckland New Zealand

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Statistics

General Overview

Features

Fridge

WiFi

Bed sheets

Oven

Towels

Washer

TV

Heating

Hair dryer

Microwave

Iron

Dishwasher

Smoke alarms

Workspace

Clothes dryer

Coffee machine

High Speed Internet

Garden / yard

Bathtub

Air conditioning

Deck / patio / courtyard / terrace

BBQ

First aid kit

Fire extinguisher

Balcony

Fireplace

Toys

Covered porch / verandah

Bikes

Pool

Gym

Wheelchair accessible

Home cinema

Hot tub

Gated community

EV Home Charger

Standup paddleboard

Camping gear

Kayak

Sauna

Tennis court

Meat-free kitchen

Kosher home

Piano

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Monika & Rhys

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