Must do in Rotorua?

[Cardy]

definetly the luge and the thermal park

[Moorf]

We'll be in Rotorua in Feb. Which of the hot spring spa-like places would people say is the best in terms of quietness, calm and relaxation vs an activity/family-themed one? We're looking for a relatively quiet spot

Plus - would you stay in one or are they overpriced compared to local accommodation?

[jubjub]

Moorf, we stayed in the Millenium which is right next to Polynesian spa, which I havent been in, but heard great things about, there is a family pool, but also separate pools for quieter adults! (also the hotel was walking distance to CBD)

My friend has just stayed in the Rydges which is a bit further out, she said the service & hotel was great (she is very fussy!) but cant answer for what their spa is like. http://www.rydges.com/hotel/0/RZROTO...el-Rotorua.htm

Other option is Hells Gate, which is further around the lake, but rumoured to be a bit overhyped.... http://www.hellsgate.co.nz/

[Moorf]

Cheers Sal - I recognise the name Waiora (Hells Gate) spa website, I think Smiler recommended it - has anyone been there?

Maybe I should just stick to the good old Top Ten sites - anyone stayed in one in Rotorua?

[Mels]

We stayed in the Blue Lake Top Ten. Quieter out of town and at the time we had been warned off staying at the more central one by some Canadians who had their campervan broken into.

As it turned out the lake was fantastic (even in Sept) with lovely scenary and the lake is just over the road.

http://www.bluelaketop10.co.nz

have a great time

[Mels]

I forgot the forest Whakarewarewa, we went mountain biking there. Bikes were ordered from the forest's gift shop. The chap delivered the bikes to a convenient carpark and then picked us up a couple of hous later. We did the 'baby' track and that was scarey enough!!

[Peter&Liz]

If your looking for somewhere to eat in Rotorua, I would highly recommend Fat Dog Café & Bar 1161 Arawa Street, it has a real unique atmosphere very reasonably priced and the portions are huge.

We eat there twice on our holiday to NZ late 2005 and really enjoyed ourselves, although I would recommend choosing the ‘small’ portion if given the option.

Peter

[Kim39]

You know you wanna!!!

Skyswing.....Rotorua



Kim

[jubjub]

Moorf. not stayed at the top ten, but stayed here...

http://www.rotoruathermal.co.nz/home.html

the lodge is seperate rooms, but shared showers/recreation area. last year when we were there the onsite cafe was lovely, so was the nice warm pool, although small.... so prob best somewhere else for a good sploosh about...

[sizzlingbadger]

We can recommend a lovely bach, about 40 mins outside of Rotorua with views over Lake Rotoehu, very, very quiet spot and beautiful sunsets. The bach was a perfect distance from Rotorua and we managed to do quiet a lot in Rotorua with out having to stay there with the sulphur smell, sorry just couldn't have stayed there for a week It wasn't too expensive either around $100 a night.

Just at the end of the road was a natural thermal pool. Very weird jumping in and it being very hot

Try and avoid Hells Gate, we pulled up on the last day thinking we'll have a treat and ended up driving away again, prices were horrendously expensive especially for a family. There's lots of other places to go.

The drive out to Lake Tarawera is beautiful at the end the Landing Cafe does some really good food as well. There is a boat trip that runs but wasn't running while we were there unfortunately.