Aroha Mountain Lodge

Te Aroha sits at the foot of the Kaimai range, and Aroha Mountain Lodge occupies a large villa a short walk from its mineral spas. Hosts Linda and Greg Marshall converted the building themselves. It is a hosted stay, not a hotel. The Verandah Wing holds three en-suite rooms, each named for its own character: the Beach House, Country and Sunset rooms. The Villa Wing adds three further doubles, one en-suite and one with a clawfoot bath in a separate bathroom. Twelve rooms in total spread across the property's three locations, with a guest lounge, a full kitchen and Sky TV shared between them. Trails for walking and mountain biking lead off directly from the gate, including the route up Mount Te Aroha, at 952 metres the high point of the Kaimai Mamaku Forest Park. The town's hot soda water spas sit next door, drawing on springs that made Te Aroha a resort town in the 1890s. In the evening, the verandah looks toward the sunset over the Domain gardens below. Restaurants, cafés and the main street shops are all within easy walking distance, and off-street parking and wireless internet are provided at no extra charge. It is a compact, low-key base for a spa town built around water, not a large-scale resort.