Wai Ariki Hot Springs & Spa Wins Top Honours at the 2025 Spa & Wellness Awards
The landmark wellness destination on the shores of Lake Rotorua was named “Most Unique Property” and runner-up in the “Best Tourism Wellness-Focused Attraction” category.
These prestigious awards honour excellence and innovation in the global wellness industry, recognising projects that redefine the meaning of wellbeing in today's world. Wai Ariki's success is a testament to the power of cultural authenticity and forward-thinking design. It is also thanks to Myrtha technology for thermal pools and wellness cabins, which fuse Māori tradition with modern wellness innovation.
Where Culture, Nature, and Wellness Unite
“We are deeply honoured to be named Most Unique Property in the 2025 Spa and Wellness Awards,” said the Wai Ariki team. “Wai Ariki is more than a spa, it is a journey of healing and connection, grounded in the rich cultural traditions of Te Ao Māori. This award celebrates our commitment to creating a space that is truly unique: where culture, wellness and nature come together in harmony.”
Wai Ariki offers far more than a traditional spa experience: the result is a journey of renewal that honours the land and its stories, creating a wellness experience unlike any other in the world.
Myrtha Wellness: Innovation at the Heart of Design
Beneath the serenity and symbolism of Wai Ariki lies an advanced technical foundation, one that ensures both performance and longevity. To realise the spa’s ambitious vision, Myrtha Wellness provided: hydrotherapy and thermal pools engineered for precision and durability, as well as herbal baths and spa pools that are built using modular stainless steel technology that is tailored to New Zealand’s geothermal and seismic environment. Myrtha’s solutions within the spa’s 4,453 square metres of immersive spaces also include saunas, frigidariums and emotional showers. However, the architectural centrepiece is the extraordinary 25-metre-perimeter Omoroa circular hammam, a stainless-steel structure. Together, these features create an environment where engineering precision meets ancestral wisdom.
