Hi Everyone,
Living so close to New Zealand, we try to make short visits when we have a chance. We love going to New Zealand for our snow trips where is fraction of the price and you can make a holiday out of it, but we did visit once with the aim of just visiting Zealand in winter with no snowboarding involved. The only difference of this trip is we have a toddler in tow so our activities are catered to be more child friendly. New Zealand’s winter is pretty cold hence why they have some great snow there so the aim of this trip is to visit some hot springs/baths. After doing some research, I was able to find a private spa with an amazing view and the most important part it is child friendly. Geothermal hot springs are great for the body and unfortunately there aren’t many in Australia and if there is, it is super expensive it is hard to justify the price.
Rotorua is a nice little town in New Zealand with a number of big thermal pools. Making bookings are essential so I made sure we booked our visits ahead of time matching Baby E’s nap times and to ensure it is private so we can enjoy the pool as a family. Polynesian Spa ticked all the boxes so I decided to make our booking months before we arrived. With the beautiful view, we were hoping when we arrived it didn’t rain and the weather was just perfect on the day. Due to privacy, we did not take photos of the inside change rooms as there are other patrons on site changing but it was very sufficient for the family even with a toddler. We made sure Baby E had his swimming nappies which is the bare minimum to enter the pools. The other thing to note is that the pools are very shallow so kids won’t feel overwhelmed with the height of the water and the heat at the same time. Each booking is only in 30 minute intervals which was great for families like us.
After we got changed to our swimmers, we were taken to our private hot pools. Gosh what a view! Polynesian Spa have a number of private hot pools so we could hear there were people next door but wasn’t loud enough to disturb us. Baby E was already in the pool enjoying the warm water. It was big enough to move around and stretch out our legs. The view of Lake Rotorua was just spectacular from where we were sitting. With the water and mountain in front of us was pure relaxation. Baby E was occupied looking at the birds and clouds while my hubby and I just enjoyed our surroundings. We both agreed that 30 minutes probably wasn’t long enough but for Baby E was sufficient as his skin was already getting wrinkly by the end.
We got changed quickly in the heated change rooms and was giving some water which was a nice touch. Towels were included but we used our own towel for Baby E in case it irritated his skin. We did worry that the minerals might irritate his skin as he has mild sensitive skin but there was no issues during our session. We actually wanted to go back again during our trip but they were all booked out unfortunately. For the price we paid which was just $30 each adult and free for Baby E, it was such great value for what we received. Highly recommend this spa if you would like a deluxe hot spring experience, you won’t be disappointed!
animation by @catwomanteresa
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Hiya, @ybanezkim26 here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Daily Travel Digest #1226.
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Hope you and your family will be able to travel to Rotorua again in near future, after the end of this d*mn covid-19 pandemic...
That pool looks relaxing.