$10m spa resort opens at Rotorua's Holden's Bay

by Anita Moran anita.moran@dailypost.co.nz
A multimillion-dollar spa resort on the shores of Lake Rotorua is now open.

The $10 million Wai Ora Lakeside Spa Resort is thought to be the first of its kind in the country.

Developer of the project and director of the Wai Ora Group, Bryan Hughes, said the resort focused on indigenous Maori elements and was full of modern cultural design. The resort has spa facilities, conference rooms, restaurant and bar along with 20 studios and 10 suites.

The Holdens Bay resort has the spa as its central feature.

The spa facilities will be available for guests using the accommodation and conference facilities.

The spa technology and treatments, developed by the Wai Ora Group at Rotorua's Hell's Gate, have been incorporated into the packages available at the resort. Mr Hughes said the key points of difference offered by the new resort were the on-site spa facilities and the infusion of Maori cultural elements into the guest facilities.

"We can very confidently say that the indigenous-styled cuisine we have created at this resort will set it apart from any other fine dining facility in New Zealand," he said.

"We have taken traditional kai and ingredients and put them into a contemporary-themed restaurant setting, as well as offering them to guests as they unwind in the spa and relaxation areas."

With the new Lakeside Spa Resort now open, the Wai Ora Group will embark on marketing it to the world, in conjunction with its other activities-based experiences - tours to Mokoia Island and the Hell's Gate geothermal valley excursions.

Mr Hughes said the new resort is the third strand in a uniquely-Rotorua tourism package.

"It is a contemporary spa that complements the natural spa available at Mokoia Island and the historic spa which has existed, in various forms, at Hell's Gate for centuries," he said. The resort was declared open by National Party leader John Key on Saturday afternoon.

The launch began at dawn with a blessing by local kaumatua and chairman of the Tikitere Trust, Tai Eru, accompanied by local kaumatua Jim Gray.