Maruia Hot Springs

Third time here and we had a wonderful time. Every detail here with the food, staff, service, smiles down to the decor is just beautiful. The sauna infusion is defo worth a shot and for anyone brave enough to take a dip in the cold plunge… I had made an error with my booking and the man at check out helped hugely which I appreciate. Thank you for a peaceful escape at Maruia Hot Springs.

Maruia offers the perfect blend of Resort life meets Wes Anderson and Fawlty Towers. Our fave staffer is Joe, who manages to deliver seamless and fabulous 5 star service amongst the chaos of various family groups, tour groups, and urbanites there for a wee 'trip'. We love Joe! We love Maruia! We love its Japanese heritage and the fact the staff seem to do everything. The guy that makes your coffee also takes the sauna infusion, then serves you dinner two hours later. It's the best blend of quirky resort life and there's nothing else like it

Maruia Hot Springs is not as advertised. I will preface this by saying that I am an avid traveler (and a low-maintenance one at that) who has stayed in countless hostels, bunk houses and tents, as well as the occasional four or five star hotel across the globe. Throughout all of my travels, this is only the second time I’ve had such a poor experience that I felt compelled to write a review. No matter what the positive reviews may say, this is not the 4 star hotel the owners proclaim it to be. The cost of accommodation was quite high for very low quality service and the experience did not align with the costs whatsoever. While the pictures on the website make Maruia look like a luxury wellness retreat, the reality is quite a different story. The natural landscape is beautiful, but that’s where it ends. The 4 star experience is a total facade. The whole place gives the impression that the owners are cheap and it feels like they are cutting corners every step of the way. Above all, the staff were terrible - especially reception. With high hopes, we arrived at Maruia about an hour before check in, and our rooms were not yet ready. The receptionist told us we could go to the pools until the room was ready, which we were happy to do. We asked for some towels and robes, and he reluctantly went in a back closet and pulled a few robes and towels out of a heap in a laundry bin and gave them to us, to the point we questioned whether they were even clean - not exactly the presentation you would expect at a 4 star resort. After an hour or so of getting attacked by sandflies at the pools, we searched for a place to go inside to read a book and relax while we waited for our room. Unfortunately no such room exists except for the lounge area next to the kitchen and reception which was loud and absolutely filthy with discarded plates and dishes from other guests who had long since left the room. Staff was nearby at reception, but couldn’t be bothered to deal with the mess. Upon finally checking in we were assigned our rooms and given directions to get to them. I was traveling with my elderly parents who had booked a mountain view room while I had booked a separate glamping pod for myself in the camping area. The receptionist explained where the bathrooms and showers were for the glamping pods, revealing that they were far from the camping area. I was surprised by this, but even more stunned by the comment that followed, which was their suggestion that I should just use the shower/toilets in my parents room instead of the camping facilities. This was shocking, and quite presumptive as I had paid for my own room and expected I would have access to sufficient facilities, rather than being told to use the facilities in my parents’ room. Other cost cutting measures and poor service include the lack of free wifi (supposedly this is to make it more zen, but in reality they don’t want to pay the extras costs for guests to use wifi), poor quality towels and robes, and no