Shaftesbury Glade Cottages – the location of the world famous 'Hooters Hotel'.
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Visit Te Aroha; the born again ‘Spa Town’
Te Aroha was officially born with the opening of the Waiorongomai Goldfields in 1880. The “hot springs” along with the surrounding land was gifted to the Crown as a reserve by local Maori Chief, Te Mokena Hau in 1882. The naturally flowing Soda Spa spring flows through the magnificent native flora on the lower slopes of Mount Te Aroha into the area which the Te Aroha Hot Springs Domain occupies today. When the curative values of the spring water were discovered by Europeans, a bore was sunk, resulting in a geyser of hot soda water…the only one of its kind in the world. It was named the Mokena Geyser, in honour of the Maori chief. In its prime, the geyser gave a spectacular display at regular time intervals whereas today, it still performs but in a much more sedate manner.
The 1880’s saw the Domain planted out and promoted in the fashion of the European Spas. Te Aroha became the first geothermal spa town to annually receive thousands of visitors, many travelling by coach, boat and or train to ‘partake in the remedial waters’. The township of Te Aroha became a thriving spa town and a welcome rest stop, sometimes for many days, between the region’s main destinations. In its heyday, Te Aroha spas were much more renowned and famous than those of its distant neighbour, the Rotorua Thermal Region.
The Te Aroha Hot Springs Domain is unique in that it is the only complete Edwardian Domain in New Zealand. In the 70’s and 80’s, the interest in the mineral spas wained but recently there has been revival of interest in spa treatments. The natural mineral water means that Te Aroha is once again becoming known as ‘the Spa Town’. The word ‘Spa’ – Salus per Aquam or healing through waters, refers to the therapeutic benefits of mineral water bathing and drinking. Modernised to resort standard, the Te Aroha Mineral Spa baths are now an important feature of the town and have become a ‘must do’ when people visit the town.
So one thing you must do, when you visit our piece of paradise, is enjoy the quiet relaxing atmosphere of Te Aroha and partake in a natural mineral spa in the Te Aroha Hot Springs Domain. Plan to stay at Te Aroha’s best kept accommodation secret, Shaftesbury Glade Cottages which are located at a quiet, rural retreat only 10 minutes drive from the Spa town of Te Aroha. When you finally leave the region, it will be in a much more relaxed and unstressed state than how you arrived.