Te Puia Hot Springs Hotel

Which Te Puia is this?

“Te Puia” turns up all over New Zealand, so it helps to be precise. This listing is the hotel in Te Puia Springs, a village of a few hundred people on State Highway 35 on the East Coast (Tairāwhiti), about 103 km (64 miles) north of Gisborne. It is not Te Puia in Rotorua, the geothermal park at Whakarewarewa with the Pōhutu geyser, where there is no bathing. It is also not the beach springs at Kāwhia on the west coast, which are listed as Kāwhia Hot Springs (Te Puia), or Hot Water Beach (Te Puia) on the Coromandel.

What to expect

Te Puia Springs sits in the hills of the Ngāti Porou rohe, and natural hot springs run through the village. Local people have long bathed in them. Those springs are not public pools, so do not go looking for them on private or Māori land; the hotel pool is the place for visitors to soak. The village has a hospital, first opened in 1907, a general store, a golf course and the old hotel, which has been a stopover on the coast road for about a century.

The Te Puia Hot Springs Hotel dates from 1918 and describes itself as a registered heritage building. It is a plain, old-style country hotel rather than a spa. Rooms range from backpacker beds to hotel rooms with ensuite or shared bathrooms, and the regional tourism site also mentions camping sites. There is a bar, a billiards table, a garden and a function room for up to 50 people. The restaurant was listed as temporarily closed in October 2026.

The hot pool is behind the hotel. The website calls it a natural mineral hot pool and says it is free for guests. It gives no temperature or pool size. A guest review quoted on the hotel’s own site describes a pool of about 104°F40°C with a cold shower and changing rooms, but that is one visitor’s account, not a published figure. Treat the pool as a pleasant soak after a long drive, not a destination resort.

Reviews are mixed. A September 2026 guest praised the hot pool and complained about the service. A January 2026 guest found nobody at reception on arrival and no food. Go with modest expectations and phone ahead.

Prices and booking

The hotel does not publish room rates or day-use prices online, and its online booking page showed no rooms in October 2026. Book directly:

• Phone: 027 243 2065 (the number on the hotel’s website). The regional tourism listing gives +64 6 864 6755.
• Email: [email protected]
• Address: 4689 Waiapu Road, Te Puia Springs

Third-party listings give check-in from 2:30pm to 6pm. If you will arrive later, arrange it in advance. Hotel guests use the hot pool free. Day visitors may be allowed in for a small fee, but confirm by phone before counting on it.

Rules and etiquette

The hotel publishes no pool rules. Sensible defaults for a small hotel pool apply:

• Ask at reception before you use the pool, and check whether there are set hours.
• Shower before you get in, and keep soap and shampoo out of the water.
• Keep noise down in the evening for other guests.
• No glass by the pool.
• Wear swimwear unless staff tell you otherwise.

Getting there

Te Puia Springs is on State Highway 35, the Pacific Coast Highway that loops around East Cape between Gisborne and Ōpōtiki. From Gisborne, drive north on SH35 through Tolaga Bay and Tokomaru Bay. The hotel is on the main road about ten minutes north of Tokomaru Bay, at 4689 Waiapu Road. Coming from the north, it is south of Ruatōria.

SH35 is a long, winding two-lane road through hill country, and travel takes longer than the distances suggest. Slips and roadworks are common on the East Coast after heavy rain. Check the NZ Transport Agency road status before you set out, and fill up where you can. The Te Puia General Store sells petrol and diesel.

When to go

The pool works in any season, but the coast is at its best from late spring to autumn. Summer is busiest, when holidaymakers drive around East Cape and Waipiro Bay opens for camping. Winter is quiet, with cooler, wetter weather and a greater chance of road disruption. Whenever you go, call the hotel first, because opening, staffing and food service have varied.

Where to stay nearby

The hotel itself is the obvious base, with rooms and camping. Tokomaru Bay, ten minutes south, is the nearest larger settlement. Waipiro Bay, about ten minutes’ drive from the hotel, opens for summer camping each year when daylight saving starts. The Gisborne District Council’s service centre in Te Puia Springs handles camping permits. Gisborne, about 103 km south, has the closest wide choice of motels and hotels.

Safety notes

• Keep your head above water. HealthEd, the Health New Zealand resource site, warns that amoebic meningitis is caused by an amoeba that lives in hot pools, and advises keeping your head above water in geothermal pools. Do not dive, dunk or splash your face in the hot pool.
• Heat. With no published temperature, test the water with your hand and keep soaks short. Get out if you feel dizzy, and drink water.
• Remoteness. Te Puia Springs Hospital is in the village, but this is a sparsely populated coast. Carry what you need, and do not rely on mobile coverage between towns.
• Driving. SH35 has tight bends, stock on the road and log trucks. Avoid driving it tired after a late soak.

Nearby stops worth adding

Waipiro Bay is a quiet, open beach popular for fishing, spearfishing and diving. The Te Puia Springs Golf Club has an 18-hole course with views of the Pacific and Mount Hikurangi. Hikurangi, the sacred maunga of Ngāti Porou, rises inland. It is Māori land, so ask locally about access and tikanga before you plan a climb. Tolaga Bay, farther south, has the long Tolaga Bay Wharf and the Cooks Cove Walkway. South of Gisborne on the road to Wairoa, the Mōrere hot springs at Ngā Hua o Mōrere are the other thermal stop in the region.