Rotorua: Forest Hot Tub Soak & Craft Bar by Puarenga Stream

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.83 (630 reviews) 87% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/15

Duration45m

GroupPrivate

Mobile ticketAccepted

Soak in cedar tubs by the forest stream then linger for coffee or craft beer

You’ll slip into your own private hot tub beside Rotorua’s forest stream, with drinks delivered right to you and time to unwind after adventure or travel. Enjoy a fresh-water soak with friends or family, then linger over coffee or craft beer at the forest café before heading back—just simple comfort surrounded by trees.

45m

Step-by-step itinerary

Relaxing soak and forest café visit

Check in 15 minutes early
Soak in cedar hot tub
Enjoy tub-side bar service
Use complimentary cold plunge tubs
Visit café and bar
Have a bite to eat
Play lawn games
Relax by outdoor campfires
Unwind with Shinny Dip foot hot tub

The Experience

I didn’t realize how much I needed to just sit still until we got to Secret Spot in Rotorua. After a muddy morning biking through Whakarewarewa Forest (my socks are probably still stained), the idea of sinking into a steaming cedar hot tub felt almost too good to be true. The place is tucked right along the Puarenga Stream—close enough that you can hear water trickling over rocks if you stop talking for a second. Our local host, Jess, handed us towels and grinned when she saw our faces after that first step into the water. “Best part of my job,” she said, “watching people melt.” She wasn’t wrong.

The air smelled like wet earth and manuka wood smoke from the campfires out back. I kept reaching for my drink (they bring it right to your tub—dangerous) and letting my fingers trail through the hot water, which comes from some aquifer under the valley instead of the usual geothermal stuff around Rotorua. It’s fresh and clean, not that sulfur smell you sometimes get here. There was this moment where someone started laughing about how we’d all forgotten our swimwear but ended up renting these slightly-too-big shorts—nobody cared though; everyone looked equally ridiculous and relaxed.

We only had 45 minutes in the hot tub (goes faster than you think), but afterwards we wandered over to the café for manuka-roasted coffee and something sweet. There were families playing lawn games on one side, a couple quietly sharing cider near a fire pit on the other. I tried their Shinny Dip foot soak—free if you buy a drink—and honestly, I’d come back just for that after a long walk. It’s not fancy or fussy; it just feels easy, like someone built it for people who actually live here as much as visitors passing through. I still think about that warm cedar smell mixed with cold air on my face.

What’s included

Your experience includes access to your own private cedar hot tub for a 45-minute soak with fresh spring water heated just right, plus complimentary drinking water and secure lockers for your stuff. You’ll also have access to cold plunge tubs and free Shinny Dip foot soaks with any drinks purchase at the café-bar area nearby—parking is available too.

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearbyNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditions

Operated by Secret Spot Hot Tubs