Franz Josef Glacier Hot Pools — Local services in South Island

We booked a heli hike which included entrance to the hot pools. Chose to upgrade to the private pool which was the right choice, it was pretty busy in the public pools the day we went. The website is very good and I appreciated the FAQ page in particular.

I thought the system was very clever and efficient. A staff member will take you to your private pool and explain all the features and you have plenty of time to get changed before the pool completely fills which is when your timer begins (45 minutes). When your time is up, the pool starts to drain and you have about 10 minutes to shower in your private room and leave (towels are included in your booking).

While you can go to the public pools afterwards, I felt that there wasn't much point since 45 minutes is a long time in a hot pool anyway and I wanted to take advantage of my own private shower and change room. Also just to note, I'm pretty sure they don't let you in before your booking time (we were asked to take a seat before someone came to get us) so if you did want to try the public pools, you may have to go after your private pool booking.

While it was a pretty warm day when we came, it was still highly enjoyable and I'm sure it'd be even more amazing after a long hike or...

Let me start with the positive things. I do like that there is a drinking water fountain available in the middle. I think it’s good that there is some soap dispensers available at the showers, and It is really cool that there is a small laundry slingshot in the Changing rooms which can dry your bath wear. Now for the room for improvement:

1.) This place is not a natural spring nor does it bear water from a river, glacier or ice. It’s rainwater heated by gas. Don’t expect anything “natural”.

2.) The pools are tiny, and there are only 3 of them (36, 38 and 40 •C). They are made from plastic not stone. There is no view. You can see no mountains and each pool is blocked from the sun by a roof. The “rainforest” are a few ferns around the pool.

3.) There is no place to cool down. No cold water pool, not even a shower that can be turned cold.

4.) There is no place to rest. No deck chairs no sunbath area. Everything is really small.

I feel my 29$ were poorly...

Unbelievable Disaster this place! We had booked a private pool. There was a long que when we reached. After 25 minutes when we reached the attendant, she tells us that you're late and you'll get only 30 of the 45 minutes we booked. When we said that's unfair because of their long waiting que, she said she'll contact her manager and asked us to wait for another 15 minutes meanwhile she started attending to other visitors. Then she tells us their manager says that they cannot do anything about it and she further tells us that now you just have 15 minutes to go. I said that's unacceptable and demanded to speak to their manager. Once we explained him what was happening he only keeps telling us that we were late without any consideration of the long waiting que at the reception. And as if he's doing us a favor he asks us to pay 50 percent extra to reschedule the experience!!! Fool spoilt our entire day on our...