Hot pool plans making a splash
Hot pools are back on the drawing board for downtown Queenstown.
Queenstown Hot Pools plans to open a new venture in Brecon Street by April next year, with 10 private spas, two plunge pools, change rooms and an office / reception building. It will surround the existing Queenstown Mini Golf site, which will continue to operate.
Meanwhile, Ngāi Tahu is again interested in building a much larger communal hot pools attraction at the nearby multi-billion dollar Lakeview site. It is partnering with Lakeview developer Ninety Four-Feet. Ngāi Tahu representatives presented their plans to councillors at a workshop last week, although they are still in the early stages.
Queenstown Hot Pools Limited's Tim McMahon tells Lakes Weekly Bulletin the Brecon St project is much more advanced, with resource consent already submitted to council.
"If everything progresses smoothly, we anticipate opening in April 2025, ready to welcome locals and visitors in time for the cooler months," McMahon says.
The facility will feature nine private small hot pools and and one larger hot pool, as well as the plunge pools, all provided with privacy by a serpentine wall. It will employ 5-10 staff initially, across operations, customer service, and maintenance. Pricing is still being worked through but McMahon says the aim is to cater for a range of budgets and make it accessible to locals and visitors alike.
It's more similar in scope to the Instagram-famous Onsen Hot Pools Retreat and Day Spa in Arthurs Point, than the Ngāi Tahu Lakeview project, which has been mooted for more than a decade. McMahon believes Queenstown Hot Pools and Lakeview will complement each other, "adding diversity to Queenstown’s wellness and leisure landscape".
The Brecon St site, near the new bottom terminal for Skyline's Gondola, has long been earmarked for a multi-million hotel development. The street itself has been upgraded through the streetscapes project and the massive Upper Village development, anchored by Kingpin, has opened in recent years, although one of its landmark premises has struggled to retain tenants, with The Bavarian replaced by The Assembly Gastropub, which itself was only open a matter of months.
McMahon says the hot pools offer a much-needed leisure activity for Queenstown that can be delivered in a relatively short time frame. "The hotel is a much bigger and longer-term project which we will keep as an option going forward."
That means Queenstown Mini Golf will remain open. "The feedback we have been getting from the community has been overwhelmingly positive and it's great to have such a unique attraction in town. Having said that, we will keep our options open."
Melbourne-based entrepreneur McMahon is also behind plans for floating sauna and plunge experience ‘Aluume’ at Frankton Marina, although that resource consent application is presently on hold. Meanwhile, Aucklanders Dominic Bowden, the former host of The X Factor NZ, and Andrew Glenn are progressing their plans for a floating sauna and plunge pools near St Omer Wharf downtown.
