There are 17 places available. There are no toilets in the car park, but you’ll find some a 5-minute walk away, in the museum grounds. They close at 9 pm. It’s fine for one night but the smell is awful

Good, free space for one night. We had 3 of 4 bars of 5G reception. It smelled a bit of sulfur. You can park on both sides of the parking lot. There are approximately 17 seats available.

Stinky sulphur but that’s what this place is all about. Toilets were open all night. Worth splashing out in the spa across the road to enjoy the hot sulphur pools and have a shower (you probably smell from all the van life)

Good central spot, we slept great had no issues despite being central. Of course being in the centre of a geothermal area it is going to smell so if you don’t want that you will need to drive outside of the area!

17 parking spaces, very centrally located, opposite the Polynesian Spa. Less than a 10-minute walk to PaknSave, about a 10-minute walk to the CBD. The parking lot is video-monitored and secure. It's busy and fills up by mid-morning, even in the off-season. Public restrooms are a few minutes' walk away, and there are trash cans on site. It's close to the lake's geothermal area, so it will smell; not for the faint of heart.

Really great spot. No hassle, bathrooms around (closed at night as others have said), fun nature features, and super close to everything.

Stayed here in August… was busy, but we arrived at 1530 and spaces were available… and people kept leaving too. Yes, there was the Smell… but that s across Rotarura..! Great for access to things in town… bars, restaurants, laundry and the spa.

Positives ( may be negatives for some travellers) to this spot make it a reasonable spot to stay. Proximity to Polynesian spa is enticing. Easy walk to shops and lake. Over head lights are very bright and a constant water feature bubbling.

Firstly, the smell is not nearly as bad as people are making out. there are no gates or barriers on the parking area so I dont really know what the comments about being locked in are about either. I stayed for two consecutive nights. I arrived fairly early one day one and there were plenty of spaces but it does fill up. Pak n save just around the corner, few minutes walk into town and good Spark mobile reception (I work remotely and had no issues)

We had to arrive early to have the last free seat (1pm). The toilets are clean, are 3 minutes from parking and close at night. We were checked at 8pm to check the self contained green.