Quote: The Grand Tiara Hotel, situated away from the centre of the city, made a lovely getaway in Rotorua. From the outside it doesn’t look like much, but indoors it appears much larger, with restaurants, laundry facilities, a gym, and an outdoor pool area. I booked a special dinner B&B for the first night and B&B for the second night.

The friendly, helpful people at reception assured a smooth check-in. After dropping our bags in the room, we headed out to move the car when a bottle of champagne arrived, on ice with two glasses-—a nice, unexpected touch. I booked us in one of the large suites, so I was expecting something plush and roomy, and that is what we got. The suite had a large bedroom with a huge closet, TV, luggage storage, and balcony. Off the bedroom was a large seating area with a couch, two upholstered chairs, coffee table, TV, and a desk/mini-bar. As you enter the suite, you find a small kitchen area with a small fridge, sink, tea/coffee facility, and dishes. The bedroom had extra pillows and blankets and bathrobes. The clean, spacious bathroom had ample room for toiletries. The décor was up-to-date and things were in good repair. I had no complaints about the room and immediately felt comfortable.

We were thrilled to have laundry available. Clothes from two long-haul flights plus a couple of days needed to be washed.

Not wasting a moment of time for exploring, we grabbed our swimsuits and headed for the pool with a quick stop at the front desk for pool towels. There is a changing area available in an out-building near the pool but nowhere to store your clothing, which isn’t so bad until it starts to rain.

The pool area had a warm kidney-shaped pool and a sizzling hot tub, including a loud, sickly-sounding pump. The pool area also features an eerie grotto area. Three caves—one with a waterfall, one hot tub, and I don’t remember the other one. It was just so creepy I couldn’t stand to be in there. I imagine children would really enjoy it. We spent quite a bit of time going between the pool and the hot tub until a rainstorm forced us inside.

On our way through I checked out the gym and laundry area—small but sufficient. There was a trampoline, treadmill, stationary bicycle, and multi-purpose weight machine. I used the treadmill whilst waiting for laundry. Large American-style washers and dryers made small work of our laundry. (Why do I have to deal with this awfully small washer/dryer combo machine in England?)

The hotel also has three restaurants and a bar: Caravel SeaFresh buffet, The Pavillion, Mr. Yakitori, and McLardy’s Irish Pub. Our package deal included the buffet at Caravel, which I will write about separately.

Overall, I would highly recommend the Grand Tiara to anyone visiting the area. It turned out to be one of the nicest places we stayed during our time in New Zealand.
From journals Rotorua: Maori Culture and Geothermal Delights