When Visiting Rotorua Local Knowledge Is The Only Way For Tourists
By Phillip Quay – MediaPA Travel and Mike Gallagher- Arista of Rotorua
When it comes to the tourist mecca of Rotorua there is no doubt that in-depth local knoweldge will provide a huge advantage for visitors.
Mike Gallagher, co-proprietor of Arista Of Rotorua in Fenton St along with his wife Annemarie, is a classic case of a motel owner who can help make a visitor’s life far easier by giving out helpful information and valuable savings to ensure a unique and personal holiday experience. And certainly staying with owner operators can provide the edge on local knowledge.
Mike Gallagher says Fenton St is undoubtedly the hub of the accommodation sector in Rotorua and from this point most of the major attractions are well and truly within a driving distance.
A local provider has all the inside information for visitors and can save tourists a lot of money and get the best options available with this local knowledge.
“Guests often ask us to recommend things to do and see and we are happy to make arrangements for them and contact the attractions to make sure they will get the best deal, we have a range of discount vouchers that we offer to guests.”
“You don’t need to spend a fortune either.There are lots of beautiful short bush walks, hot streams and local markets to go to,” Mike says.
“There is so much to see and do here and with multiple tourist products available some guests can find it confusing and overwhelming. When the guest arrives we find out what research they have done, their interests and their budget and from that we are able to streamline the guests intinerary to maximise their adventures and time spent in Rotorua,” he says.
Mike and Annemarie Gallagher have been in charge of Arista Of Rotorua for more than three years and you can tell that they thrive in the hospitality industry by the way they go out of their way to make their guests feel welcome.
As mentioned above, every inquiry they receive from guests is carefully listened to and a suitable result found. After all they want their guests to have the best experience they can of Rotorua and customer service is paramount in their minds.
In the course of his day at Arista Of Rotorua, Mike has a number of recommendations to make for visitors – whether they be from overseas or domestic travellers.
These could include the Mitai Maori Village, Raftabout (white water rafting), Skyline Gondola and Luge rides, Rainbow Springs, numerous thermal hot pool options (such as the Polynesian Spa Pools), farm and forest trails, mountain biking and scenic picnic spots. But if time is limited the team at Arista Of Rotorua certainly know how to pack in an adventure over a short time frame.
Mike recommends that anything less than a three or four night family stay will not do Rotorua justice as there is so much to see and do. Rotorua is also a great location to base yourself for day trips to towns an hour or so away such as Whakatane, Taupo, Matamata (Hobbiton) and Tauranga to name a few.
“No matter what someone wants to see or do we pride ourselves on finding an option for them,” Mike says.
“One of the great things about Rotorua is that it caters for just about everyone’s bucket list. We have over 10 lakes and three major rivers dotted around the city which makes Rotorua the perfect place for a summer getaway. Not to mention some amazing fresh water springs.
“In the winter time when it’s cold, it is hard to beat Rotorua’s local thermal hot pools. Its also great to explore the vase thermal parks in Rotorua with the extra steam activity in the cool air. And certainly having thermal heaters in the rooms at Arista means the rooms are always warm.
“One of the best things is that we are only just under a three hour drive from Auckland. When people get here we like to let them relax and allow us to help make the choices for them.
For fine dining Rotorua has great restaurants and bar choices that cater for all tastes
“We have the new Eat Street development which offers an alfresco open dining area which has been designed to an open plan concept. This enables the guest to explore whats on offer, not to mention explore the local Rotorua brewed beers,” Mike says.
Mike says where ever you choose to stay in Rotorua ensure that you choose somewhere with great local knowledge and do your homework on review sites first.
“Some guests will save hard for years for a trip of a life time and we get that. The team at Arista of Rotorua want to ensure that your stay is comfortable, enjoyable and you leave thinking Wow! That was fun,” says Mike.
One more important tip: Book direct with the accommodation provider either through their official website or email. More offen you get a better deal and certainly much easier to modifiy bookings if required.
Our saying here at Arista is .. Its Rotorua – Go Hard!
Contact Arista Of Rotorua
Address: 296 Fenton Street, Rotorua, New Zealand
Phone: +64(7)349 0300
0800 114 562 (NZ only)
Email: stay@aristaofrotorua.co.nz
Website: www.aristaofrotorua.co.nz
Contact MediaPA:
Phone: 0274 587 724
Email: phillip@mediapa.co.nz
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