waikite valley thermal pools

We just went down the road where you could cases the stream for free. Very nice with plenty of young backpackers running around.

Nothing too special other than the pools are normal Jacuzzi's next to a thermal spring. Wouldn't go back.

Nice surroundings, not too busy. A few kids, but they tend to stick to the big pool. Smaller pools were nice and warm but temperatures weren't very different between them all. Perhaps try the private pools instead.Service was friendly, location is great.

Excellent value for money at 15 dollars per adult for as long as you want in the shared pools. Good setting and choice of large and small pools at different temperatures. Staff helpful, did not use cafe other than to have a coffee however it appeared clean with several choices. I would return here.

These thermal pools are really unique and very colorful! The trails are well done so that you can get close yet keep a safe distance.

We spent 2 hours walking through the valley and it was well marked and educational. I would highly recommend this attraction

With 6 kids, we rarely stay in hotels. We love to tent camp and this is one of our favourite campsites. It has nothing to do with the campsite facilities. They are average, and maybe even a little cramped for our tastes, but the thermal pools are HEAVEN!!! When you camp at the campsite, the pools are included in your camping fee and they are open to camping guests exclusively from 6AM until 10AM when they open to the public. There is nothing as wonderful as an early morning soak in natural, non-smelly thermal pools to start a day of exploring the Rotorua region!! My wife and I have often been the only people in the pools during those early morning hours. PURE KIWI DELIGHT!!

The woman from our hotel recommended this spot over the Polynesian. She said it is where the locals go and will not be as crowded. It is about 30 minutes outside of town, but worth the trip. The baths were clean and appealing. There is an interesting Eco-Walk to the hot spring that feeds the baths. It is run by the municipality so it is a good price performer. As predicted, it was not crowded, which made it even better.

I've been to so many thermal pools here in NZ like Polynesian spa / The lost springs /etc and I found the owner of these places kind and pleasant to talk to but unfortunately , not in this place. Here is my story, I let my family go and have a seat while I'm waiting in the busy line to pay the fees , meanwhile , my family was bothered twice by the staff asking them to pay !! And Finally , the owner shouted from behind the till " Did these people pay , pointing to them ?!?"" Add to that she did not smile at all to the customers. The owner should go and attend a course about business management. That is my advise.

We brought our campervan and had a powered site for a night. The $22 a head fee included entrance to the thermal pools, which were wonderful. A huge swimming pool of hot water and several lounging pools and tubs of varying temperature. We used then in the afternoon and early next morning, as you don't have to leave before midday. The campsite facilities are very basic and dated (no dump station), but the thermal pools make up for it. There is also a short walk to where the spring of boiling water emerges, which is the largest in NZ. The stream then runs beside the campsite.Pools are drained every evening at 8.30 and refill overnight. You can use the from 6.00 am but, as the temp isn't regulated until 9.00 am, you use them at your own risk.We found the staff to be friendly and didn't use the cafe, so can't comment.One negative, I agree with previous comments about scrubbing out the pools where the temperature allows some Alfie to grow.

Went as family of four, 2 kids under 5yrs. Staff un friendly, food very over priced, pools could do with a scrub once a fortnight at least, quite sure they don't get one often at all!Change rooms clean, but everything is VERY dated. If you want just a refreshing stop on route to destination for young kiddies to stretch legs in un pretentious surroundings it works well.

Pools are very nice, you can choose which one is better for yourself and terraces provide uniques viewsA quite friendly reception

This place has an amazing little walk where you can see the water ferociously bubbling up. The pools are a great range of temperatures however a high perch to sit on in the hottest pool would have been very welcome (gets a bit too hot!)With the pools being drained every night you would think this would provide an opportunity to scrub the shallower pools to keep them clean. The white stones lining the pools are a very very dark green and this feels very slimy. It also comes loose and floats around in the pool....

A local pool, not too many tourists, open air, facing the mountains, open until late. Just think about sitting in a hot pool looking at a lush green mountain, in the wild, with nothing else around. That's why I'm back.

We had a good lunch there and a relaxing soak in the pools. We were so relaxed afterwards we found it hard to walk up the path back to the car park.