Photo of Welcome Bay Hot Pools & Campground in Bay of Plenty1 / 2
Swimming Pools

Welcome Bay Hot Pools & Campground

📍 Welcome Bay, Bay of Plenty

3.9(310 Google reviews)💰$7-$37👶All ages

Natural geothermal hot pools in Welcome Bay with a large swimming pool at 29°C and a soaking pool at 39°C. BBQ areas, picnic tables and a café on site.

natural geothermal pools29°C swimming pool39°C soaking poolBBQ and picnic facilitiesprivate spa hireWelcome Bay Tauranga
★★★★Featured review by Korina Grace

Enjoyed our 3 days here. Service was good although not always available. The cabins thou, I was under the assumption we had a mini fridge in our cabin to which we did not. No biggie I should've called ahead and made sure. There should be some kind of health and safety around the temperature inaide the rooms maybe?? Cause it was absolutely stifling hot!!! And when theres no breeze its cooler outside in the sun!!! Definitely read the information paper you're given. So you know how to work things. The hot pools are great for relaxing. I didn't use the kitchen or anything this time around ao can't comment although everything looked pretty tidy.

🏆 Family Action Verdict

The pools themselves deliver — naturally heated, daily-changed water in a quiet location with shelter nearby. Day visits are the strongest use case at present, with the campground closed until May 2026. Pack your own food and towels.

ℹ️ What to Know Before You Go

💡The campground is closed until May 2026 — confirm current operating status before planning an overnight stay
Bring your own towels, food and drinks to make the most of the BBQ and picnic facilities
🎟️Book the private spa in advance if you want a quieter thermal experience — discounted access is available for visitors with disabilities
🚗Pool water is changed daily — the geothermal pools themselves are the most consistently praised element of the venue

Your details go only to the venue you’re contacting, so they can reply — we never sell them or share them with anyone else. By sending an enquiry you agree to our Privacy Policy.

💬 What Families Are Saying

View all reviews →
3.9

310 Google reviews

Geothermal pools and location45%
Facility cleanliness and management35%
BBQ and picnic grounds20%
K

Korina Grace

2 months ago

Enjoyed our 3 days here. Service was good although not always available. The cabins thou, I was under the assumption we had a mini fridge in our cabin to which we did not. No biggie I should've called ahead and made sure. There should be some kind of health and safety around the temperature inaide the rooms maybe?? Cause it was absolutely stifling hot!!! And when theres no breeze its cooler outside in the sun!!! Definitely read the information paper you're given. So you know how to work things. The hot pools are great for relaxing. I didn't use the kitchen or anything this time around ao can't comment although everything looked pretty tidy.

J

Joy Hubilla

3 months ago

Pros: -Nice quiet location -Hot pool water are changed daily -Plenty of shelter choices around the pools -Well equipped kitchen with plenty enough sinks, stoves and fridges to accommodate guests. Cons: -Poorly managing of the facility. Booking people on sites that are still booked where guests only went uptown and came back to their site being occupied already. Caretaker friendly but oblivious to campers over stretching tents onto other campsite causing headaches moving the already pitched up camp to accommodate the new guests. -No definition of site boundaries so guests with really huge tents tend to over extend to the point that the other guests have to cramp their campsite. -Quite small tent/motorhome sites and no other privacy covers. Our motorhome is 7.5m long so it slightly went over the driveway with no room to back into without overlapping to the campsite behind us. -Hot showers work occasionally. There are 3 places in total, 1 shower block costs $2 per 5 mins of hot shower but the other 2 blocks are free. Still 5 mins of hot shower though, activated by pressing the corresponding shower cubicle button on the outside of the block then hot water kicks in after 1 min. -Wifi wasnt offered or mentioned when we checked in but got shared to us by the cleaners?! -Some guests were also caught smoking a bong in the pool side and were also being loud, drinking and blasting sounds throughout the night in the communal dining area without the caretaker/management sorting the issue out. Im sure I missed out some more stuff but those are the only ones that really bothered us. The camp is still good considering it was booked on a short notice on christmas holidays but they could have kept up the upkeep and managing of the campground.

Reviews from Google

Overview

Welcome Bay Hot Pools features two naturally heated geothermal pools — a large swimming pool at 29°C and a smaller soaking pool at 39°C. The site includes BBQ areas, picnic tables, roofed shelter near the pools and a café. Pool water is changed daily. A private spa is bookable with discounted access for visitors with disabilities. The campground is closed until May 2026. Day visitors access the pools only.

🕐 Opening Hours

Monday12:00 – 21:00
Tuesday12:00 – 21:00
Wednesday12:00 – 21:00
Thursday12:00 – 21:00
Friday12:00 – 21:00
Saturday12:00 – 21:00
Sunday12:00 – 21:00

📍 Similar Activities Nearby

View more in Bay of Plenty