Maruia Hot Springs

I love maruia springs and stay a couple times a year mostly in pods but have staying in the rooms. Love being in the mountains with natural hot pools and love the saunas. Must say I'm not impressed with the $60 a night price increase in the pods in a very short time. Price not reflect tourists only and would think alot off people like myself who live close will no longer book.

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 is certainly unique! It is a picturesque location, away from the hub bub of life. The amenities are good, the rooms spacious, the pools fantastic and the guest lounge a cozy haven on a winters day. However, to enjoy Maruia you must lower your expectations of four star service. An error in booking meant our organiser failed to book enough rooms for our group. The reception staff informed us they were fully booked and seemed to think the matter resolved - despite us travelling more than 4 hours and a plane ride before that to reach the location. We said a member of our party was happy to sleep on the floor if a mattress could be provided - we were happy to pay a fee, of course. It took three requests by three separate members of our group til they ultimately said "it's not possible" with zero empathy or alternative solutions offered. Finally we approached a fourth staff member - Joe - who had some empathy - and he arranged for a mattress in one of the rooms. The next morning, a room had become available, but they did not mention it to us and when I enquired at reception - to the same ambivalent, slow, rude and unhelpful person as the day prior- was told I was lucky "as they'd listed the room online and no one had taken it". We had asked them the night prior to let us know if a room became available and they assured us they would. For $357 a night, I'd expect better and more accommodating service than this. It's almost comical how disorganised staff are, and how disinterested some of them are in helping you. We arrived for a dinner reservation two minutes early and were told "you're too early, we can't serve you" and they sent us away. The manner is brusque, apathetic and poor. Joe was wonderful and allayed some of the issues, but service was wildly inconsistent. It's a beautiful spot and I would hate to see the consistent poor reviews regarding customer service here derail a once flourishing hospitality venture. Without Joe's efforts, I wouldn't have been able to recommended this place to friends.

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

Having driven past this hotel many times, I was excited to book in for a night with a friend and to enjoy the hot pools and what looked like a cosy and relaxing place to be. Positives: The lovely young American man on reception when we arrived was super helpful and friendly when we arrived. The location is stunning and the outdoor hot pools were a real treat. The deep tissue massage I booked - the masseuse did a wonderful job. Loose leaf tea in the rooms was delicious Negatives: Where to start.... Paper thin walls/ceilings in the room - I could hear someone snoring all night in the room above me and it kept me awake. The rooms were small and while renovated, not worth the price. The bin in the bathroom had not been emptied from the previous guests. The room was not worth the price. The dinner - the entree of soup was served without any bread and was very small. My friends lamb was tough and chewy. Overall an underwhelming meal for the price. I left something behind in my room (cleanser) and when I contacted the hotel less than 24 hours later to say I would call past and pick it up, I was told that it had been thrown out for 'hygiene' reasons - I was not even given a chance to recover it. Very costly to me! We went to check out at 7.30 am and reception was closed and inaccessible and there was no key drop area or advice around reception hours in the window. It is a lovely setting and the potential for this hotel to be a fantastic place to visit it there. It did not live up to my expectations however, and I doubt that I will go back or recommend it - especially for the very high prices.

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