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Rotorua, Bay of Plenty.
Froude Hall is in the heart of the Rotorua thermal wonderland, just steps from the Pohutu geysers, the Maori Thermal Village and Te Puia. It is about 10 min from the airport and less than 4 min from Rotorua City Focus. There are also cafés, bars and restaurants steps away, and from the house you can see Whaka Forest, with its world renowned mountain biking trails. For those of you on foot, there is a bus stop just around the corner.
A year round destination Froude Hall is a great place to stay anytime of the year with good heating and cooling and a sunny deck with a picnic table. Froude Hall is a great place for a base for seeing all of Rotorua's great places to visit. Many of our guests have especially enjoyed staying at the house because it is so close to Rotorua's world famous thermal attractions. Some of our guests have come to Rotorua to mountain bike, while others have come for one of Rotorua's many weekend events. Others have come just for a weekend away to relax with friends, while many have sampled quite a number of Rotorua's many things to see and do. Some of our guests have stayed for several weeks, and others have stayed for only a weekend. What do our guests say? Guests leave especially nice comments in our guest book citing the cleanliness and comfort of the house. Only the best linens are provided and furniture and beds are of a high quality. The kitchen is fully equipped with quality cooking equipment and nice china. Families find Froude Hall to be especially nice because it has much more space for children than would the typical hotel room. You can see some of the comments that our guests have made and more photos and information about Froude Hall on our website at www.froudehall.co.nz. There is also a calendar showing availability.
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The Village Froude Hall is in the Whakarewarewa Village. The homes in the area were built in the 1940s, when the heart of the Whaka Village (which is set amongst the hot pools and over the steam vents of the Whaka Valley) needed space to expand. The homes are of solid stucco construction, built from durable native timbers. Most of the homes in the area are still owned and occupied by families of the original owners. Residents are part of the Whanau (family) that makes up the Whakarewarewa Village. Flax is still collected from behind the house to process for weaving the goods sold in Whaka Village. This is because there are three different varieties of flax growing on the property, each suited to a different purpose.
Out & About You can explore some thermal areas on foot from Froude Hall that most visitors don't see. If you go across the street along the fence next to the Park Heritage, you will come to an especially beautiful turquoise pool behind the hotel. If you then go away from the hotel you will find a walkway with a bridge over the river, where you can view some other interesting thermal features. This walkway is part of the network of Rotorua walkways that go around the city. If you continue down the walkway you will transverse sulfur point, which is a very interesting walkway through the large thermal area along the lake front renown for its birdlife. The walkway then goes to the Polynesian Pools and along the lake to the Rotorua Bath House (where the Rotorua Museum and cafe is housed). This is next to the new Rotorua Events Centre and the lovely Government Gardens, which are always worth a stroll. The walkway continues around to the Rotorua Lake Front and the lake end of town with the Streat, where there are numerous restaurants and café's.
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Our Favourite Cafes There are a number of cafes, restaurants and bars within a few hundred meters of Froude Hall, including Chapman's restaurant and bar across the road at the Park Heritage Hotel, with its renowned seafood buffet. If you ask them they are usually more than happy for you to take a dip in their thermal pool after you meal. Pepper's Café, which is just around the corner, has great lunches, and the Wild Bean Café at the BP at the end of Froude St has great sandwiches and coffee. Don't miss a visit to... If you come to Rotorua to see the sights, don't miss seeing Pohutu geyser and the Whaka thermal valley. There aren't many places in the world where you can see thermal activity of this type. The Pohutu geyser sits on a rise where there are about 6 or 8 geysers. I have never visited where there wasn't at least one that was playing almost all of the time.
Your Hosts Your hosts at Froude Hall are Sue and Mike Carson, Katrina Laurie, and Carryn Ellery. Sue and Mike own Froude Hall and have lived in Rotorua for 25 years. Sue is American and came to New Zealand after she met Mike in the States when they were both studying forest genetics at University in North Carolina. All three of their children were born in NZ and Sue now considers it her home. Katrina looks after bookings and is very interested in hospitality as a career. Carryn does the housekeeping, and treats the home as her own. We all would welcome you as our guests at Froude Hall. If you would like to book this bach or find out more, you can view the listing here. |
