Rotorua Forest Hot Tub Soak at Secret Spot

About This Experience

This is a 45-minute private soak in a cedar hot tub at the edge of Rotorua's Whakarewarewa Forest, from $26 per person. Secret Spot has twelve western red cedar tubs filled with heated fresh spring water, each tucked into ferns and native planting above the Puarenga Stream, and each takes up to six people. It sits at the Mountain Bike Car Park on Waipa State Mill Road, a short drive from the city centre.

You check in at reception 15 minutes before your slot, change, shower and follow the path to your tub. Drinking water and the cold plunge tubs are free, so you can move between hot and cold as often as you like. Drinks can be ordered from the café and bar and brought to the tub: manuka-roasted coffee, Good George craft beer and cider, and Mills Reef wine. When your time is up, a Shinny Dip foot tub, the campfires and the lawn games keep the evening going.

It suits couples, groups of friends and families with children aged 5 and over who want privacy and a forest setting, and it sits right beside the Waipa Valley mountain bike trails, an easy stop after a day of riding. Keep in mind what it is: a heated hot tub in the forest, not a geothermal or mineral pool, so there is no sulphur smell and no mineral water. If soaking in natural geothermal water matters to you, Polynesian Spa, Wai Ariki or Hell's Gate are the places to look.

Forty-five minutes goes quickly, and a few reviewers wish it were longer. Children under 5 cannot use the tubs, and Viator flags the soak as not recommended in pregnancy or for anyone with poor cardiovascular health. Across 632 Viator reviews it averages 4.8, with guests singling out the privacy of each tub, the view into the forest and drinks waiting at the tub. The same soak is also sold on GetYourGuide.

Highlights

• A 45-minute soak in your own private western red cedar hot tub, filled with heated fresh spring water
• Room for up to six people per tub, so friends or a family can share one booking
• Twelve tubs along the edge of Whakarewarewa Forest, overlooking the Puarenga Stream and screened by ferns
• Free cold plunge tubs to switch between hot and cold during your soak
• Drinks from the café and bar brought to your tub: manuka-roasted coffee, Good George craft beer and cider, Mills Reef wine
• A Shinny Dip foot tub, campfires and lawn games to linger over afterwards

What's Included

• ✓ Private cedar hot tub for a 45-minute soak
• ✓ Access to the cold plunge tubs
• ✓ Complimentary drinking water
• ✓ Secure lockers
• ✓ Parking for cars and buses
• ✓ Changing rooms and a hot shower

Not Included

• Food and drinks (sold at the on-site café and bar)
• Towel, swimwear and robe hire (available on site)
• Hotel pickup and drop-off

What to Bring

• Swimwear
• A towel, or hire one on site
• Passport or ID card (a copy is accepted)
• A warm layer for the walk back from the tub on cool evenings
• Card for drinks and food from the café and bar

Good to Know & Caveats

• The tubs are filled with heated fresh spring water; this is a forest hot tub, not a geothermal pool.
• Arrive 15 minutes before your booked soak to check in at reception.
• Children under 5 are not allowed in the hot tubs. The operator counts children as ages 5 to 14, and they must be with a paying adult.
• Neighbouring tubs are screened by planting; you may glimpse another tub through the greenery.
• Secret Spot is open 9am to 10pm, seven days, and closes from 4pm on Christmas Eve and all of Christmas Day.
• The soak runs rain or shine.
• Dogs and service animals are allowed on site, and prams can be used around the grounds.
• Free cancellation is available on this Viator booking.

Meeting Point

Secret Spot Hot Tubs at the Mountain Bike Car Park, Waipa State Mill Road beside Whakarewarewa Forest; check in at reception 15 minutes before your booked soak.