Wai Ariki Hot Springs & Spa — Attraction in North Island

I didn’t really know what to expect with Wai Ariki. All I really knew was that it was expensive. I purchased the $595 Tanga Makoha Relaxation & Tranquility Experience.

I was very pleasantly surprised.

Every thought and care has been taken with the building and the cultural experience.

The place was spotlessly clean, even the mud room. The artwork was beautiful and thoughtful. I loved the tukutuku panels and a mosaic of Tarawera. The staff were excellent. Nothing was too much trouble. The blue & bronze poolside tiles were fantastic and shone when the sun did finally come out late in the day. You are welcomed with a karakia and blessing of a rock and given a tour and then left to experience the sensory filled restorative journey. Cold, hot, frigid, warm, textural. There were themes of waterfalls, volcanoes, geothermal, steam, mud, fire, ice, stars/sky throughout.

Tiny touches like blankets for the sun loungers, kawakawa tea, drinking water everywhere, robes, Maori music. It looks over Rotorua Lake, which was blowing a gale and pouring with rain most of the day I was there. This just added to the wonderful sensory experience as you sat in 38 degree pool with the cold rain and wind hitting your face. A perfect rainy winter’s day activity. I did struggle with the 10 degree cold pool – I could only get up to just above my knees but it gave me weird tingles when I immediately plunged into the 40 degree pool.

In all fairness, the full package I paid for included all the above plus a 60 minutes massage and 60 minutes facial and a grazing platter and I was there for 5 hours. I really enjoyed both the massage & facial, again with small cultural touches that were really cool. This was certainly the best facial I have ever had. The final touch was a wellbeing card with ideas to help you de-stress. I think by the time you add it up to the 5 hours I was there it didn’t feel quite so expensive but just right.

My only very, very tiny niggles, • Graze platter – need a couple of dietary options. I honestly can’t remember if I was given options as I had booked it some time ago, but there were too many sweet (but natural) items including a big chunk of what I think was honey. As a diabetic I probably needed an option with less sweet items however I ate all the non-sweet items – which were yum. I also needed this earlier in the experience rather than near the end. This is something I could have communicated better as well, but I didn’t really know what to expect initially. When I go back, ( because I will) I’ll be sure to communicate this better. • The gift shop items had no prices on them. Big red flag there and it is one of my pet peeves. This did not detract from my overall very positive experience, but for me, it just means I won’t purchase gift shop items. If pricing is clear on all items, this could change.

It wasn’t very busy the day I was there (a cold, wet, winter, non-holiday Sunday) , which I really like (and much prefer) but I hope at other times it is much busier. I will always try and book off-peak. I really hope this place succeeds. It is an excellent cultural experience for tourists and New Zealanders alike and I congratulate the owners, designers, operators & staff for their vision for something really quite unique. This is a superb, luxury facility and I felt great when I left. I intend to save up and go once a year. I stayed in a $100 per night Cabin to save on the cost. It’s not cheap, but I highly recommend this experience and in the end I felt it was worth...

I just came out of this spa after booking the "Restorative Journey" which I was so excited to try after reading some rave reviews on Reddit. I honestly cannot recommend against this place enough. I basically never post reviews but I feel like I need to warn others after what I just experienced. To make a long story short, I booked the Restorative Journey and was scheduled in a group of 10-12 people that were obviously traveling as a family group (+3 others that were outside this family group). Sina was the employee who walked us step by step through the process, but she could barely get through 10 seconds of instructions without being interrupted from someone in this group, usually one of the adult men. One of the other visitors (not from the larger group) tried to ask a question at one point and was told that "there was no time for more questions" after being pelted with questions from the family group. The family group talked loudly during the entire instructional process and I honestly had a hard time hearing any of it. At the end, Sina said she would be nearby if we needed help with anything and that was the last time I saw her, despite looking for her not 5 minutes later for reasons below. We were directed to the gender specific locker rooms and I began undressing to get into my swimsuit. The female members of the family group almost immediately called 3 of the adult men into the women's locker room to help with understanding how to work the lockers, so that's a fun surprise as you're half naked in a place that's supposed to feel safe. I grabbed a robe and bolted out, going in the direction that Sina pointed to to find her later and she was nowhere to be found. I did flag down another employee to tell her about the situation and she stepped out to help me. By the time we made it back to the locker room the men were standing between the two locker rooms and ignored me when I told them not to enter the women's locker room again. I went into a stall to change after that because I was anxious. The employee helped the women with the lockers but nothing else really came of it. I'm already writing a novel here so I'll be brief. I had to rush through the entire experience trying to stay ahead of this group to get any solitude whatsoever in any of the saunas or pools. Screaming, yelling, loud conversations were happening in all of the "quiet areas" and I basically cut my time in half trying to keep ahead enough to get some quiet. I was nervous in the changing room again after the experience and used the stall again to change. The employee who helped me earlier did try to briefly apologize and give a light-hearted comment about "cultural differences" but I was honestly so frustrated I could barely speak. I felt like I wasted $175 and would never have booked this if I had any idea that this would be the experience. I understand they can't control who books with you, but at least acknowledgement to me and the other affected patrons would have been nice. Maybe they could limit sizes of groups or require groups of larger sizes to do a private booking? I gave them two stars because the facilities and staff were great but I would never recommend this to a friend. I feel bad even leaving this review but I am fuming. There were 3 other patrons outside of this family group for the 2p session that were also annoyed during the experience and commented that it didn't end up being...

Some parts of this are amazing. Others leave something to be desired. I chose a full day of activities, including the Restorative Journey, a facial, a massage, private, bathing, pools, and a drink and light snack. I had expected to be able to set my bag down somewhere when I arrived, but instead had to carry it around on the tour with me. It’s a small thing, but I think it would be a nice touch to add comfort to the experience. Most of the Restorative Journey was explained well, but none was given for the mudroom leaving me to believe that the sprayers on the floor in the mudroom was how rinse off. I missed out on the last end of the experience because of this. I was also rushed through. I have been given a timetable, and someone came to get me 15 minutes early. It would have been fine if I had been told in advance, but instead, I was rushed through the end of the experience. After I did come out, no one was to be found to start in the spa anyway. I waited for five minutes at the desk until someone showed up. The facial and massage were both OK. However, after all the rushing, those ended 15 minutes early. Then I was given after instructions for my facial to not touch or wash my face for 24 hours. I really think that is the kind of instruction. You should offer when booking a service. I get facials regularly and have never been given any similar instructions. When I asked one of the other technicians for a dry towel, I was given a look up and down. I think that dry towels should be readily available throughout. I paid close to $550 and was given just one towel for an estimated four hour experience. I asked that technician her input on why I couldn’t wash or touch my face, and she simply said “if you do, what’s the point of the facial?” Sure because I had never been given instructions like that before, and was wondering if it was a certain product that was used. She offered no explanation. The “semi private” outdoor pools were nice and the platter of food I was given was beautiful and delicious. Unfortunately, the end of the experience was a disappointment. The changing rooms and shower on the private side are a total disappointment. The shower wouldn’t warm up, and I had to wait in the lobby to get some assistance. It was explained to me to turn it toward hot, but not all the way to hot. Also, oddly the showers only turn on for 20 seconds at a time. You have to keep pressing the button over and over. After having been told not to get my face wet, this became a little bit of an acrobatic adventure turning around all the time. The lockers are small so your clothes or bag have to sit on top of your shoes. I had to ask where I should put my wet togs/bathing suit well I had my massage. No one had pointed out that there were additional lockers. The Restorative Journey was amazing and I would highly recommend to anyone. I would suggest for going other treatments or maybe...