After six years of development, Rotorua's unique Wai Ariki Hot Springs and Spa will officially open its doors to guests on Friday, 16 June.
It's a momentous milestone for everyone involved after surpassing multiple obstacles, including COVID lockdowns, supply issues and a changing economy.
Wai Ariki Hot Springs and Spa General Manager Rania Sears said reaching the opening date milestone is "hugely exciting".
Sears said the timing is particularly auspicious when the Pleiades star cluster starts rising in the early morning sky for Matariki, symbolising a new year and new beginnings.
"While Wai Ariki's Hot Springs and Spa development was impacted by inevitable COVID delays, the collective team involved have made the most of the extra time to refine and enhance every element to ensure it genuinely contributes to health and well-being," said Sears.
"Wai Ariki is genuinely beautiful – like nothing else in the world."
The luxury wellness spa is a 4453m2 development on Rotorua's newly transformed lakefront grounded in te ao Māori.
Wai Ariki Hot Springs and Spa offers two exclusive spa areas - Wai Whakaora (Restorative Journey), a cultural thermal wellness experience and Te Āhuru Mōwai (The Sanctuary), a premium space for bathing and spa treatments. Both were designed to deliver maximum well-being benefits, building on Ngāti Whakaue's centuries-old healing practices.
Every aspect of Wai Ariki Hot Springs and Spa draws on the legacy of Ngāti Whakaue culture, practices and manaakitanga to offer guests an authentic wellness and spa experience. This includes everything from the natural, geothermally heated water drawn directly from the Rachel Spring, which contains numerous beneficial minerals, to the interchange of hot and cold experiences to support body and mind, to the healthy options available in the cafe.
"We can't wait for guests to come and see what we have to offer in Rotorua - we promise it will be everything you've been waiting for," added Sears.
Wai Ariki Hot Springs and Spa takes guests on a unique healing and relaxation journey, with every perfectly designed element contributing to a total well-being experience – the essence of which is a connection to the Ngāti Whakaue people and the places and practices that have defined them through the centuries.
