Holidaymakers at one of the country’s busiest resorts say it is so filthy and unsafe it should be shut down.
Waingaro Hot Springs, west of Ngaruawahia, has previously been criticised by the coroner and water safety experts after a child drowned there.
Now there are fresh calls for the Waikato District Council which owns the lease of the complex’s grounds to review the tenancy.
A Sunday News investigation has revealed:
* Customers have complained Waingaro is “disgusting”, “shabby” and lacks proper lifeguard supervision.
* Drinking water at the resort has six times the normal level of E. coli.
* Toenails, pubic hair and stained linen have greeted customers checking into the resort’s motel.
* Toilets at the complex tested positive for high levels of bacteria.
On tourism website nzhotpools.co.nz dedicated to New Zealand thermal pools a long list of dissatisfied customers have posted comments about their experiences of staying at Waingaro.
Several have called for health authorities to investigate the hygiene and cleaning standards, while others say the place has deteriorated to the point it should be closed.
Sunday News commissioned independent testing company, Auckland-based SGS, to analyse water samples and swabs taken from surface areas at the Waingaro resort.
Otago University’s head of Microbiology and Immunology department, Professor Frank Griffin, said the results showed people were unlikely to die by visiting Waingaro but there was a chance they could fall ill.
Griffin concluded the drinking water sampled from a $110-per-night motel unit contained six times the normal level of E coli that should be found in drinking water.
Some strains of E coli can cause serious food poisoning. They are an ideal indicator organism to test environmental samples for faecal contamination.
Swabs taken from the toilet seats and washing basins also suggested “the place needs a really good clean”, Griffin said.
A fortnight ago when Sunday News checked in to the motel unit and inspected the bedding, a number of white stains were found on the sheets, blood stains on the duvets and a number of pubic hairs lay among the bedding. On the couch was a large toenail.
Waingaro Hot Springs co-director, Amro Singh who has run the establishment for almost two decades told Sunday News her business was “a lovely place” catering for families. She was surprised to hear the results from SGS.
“I don’t think it’s dirty, it is an older style unit my units are old but I think they are very clean,” Singh said.
She was unsure why the toilets tested positive for high levels of bacteria, saying staff clean the toilets with chlorine.
Singh described the remarks on the tourism website as “nasty”, saying they were racially motivated because she and her husband were Indian.
Last night, Chief Executive of the Motel Association of New Zealand, Michael Baines, said his organisation would investigate Waingaro.
“Whenever we find out about this sort of thing we are extraordinarily upset. ” Baines said. “These allegations are quite frightening.”
Water Safety New Zealand and New Zealand Recreation said they would also check claims lifeguards did not properly patrol the pool. In 2002, three-year-old Aranui Rawiri drowned while swimming at Waingaro. The tot had been left unsupervised by his mother and pool staff.
An inquest was held and Huntly coroner Bob McDermott found the swimming pool operators had failed to provide a safe facility.
In his 2006 findings, McDermott said Waikato District Council should undertake a review of its lease agreement with the Singhs and said Waingaro should attain and maintain an industry-standard Accident Compensation Corporation Poolsafe Accreditation. Waingaro achieved that accreditation last year but has not been inspected within the last six months.
The council undertook the review and “considered the existing lease with the Singhs to be appropriate”.
On Friday, Waikato District Council spokeswoman Jackie Fitchman told Sunday News the drinking water at Waingaro was not supplied by the council,Family Doctor instead it comes from a bore managed by the Singhs.
Fitchman said the water was chlorinated before it was distributed to the whole complex. Singh last night refused to discuss the E coli levels.
Tags: abby, amp, authorities, decade, dissatisfied customers, family, Family Doctor, fortnight, holidaymakers, indicator organism, lori, microbiology and immunology, pool, professor frank, safety experts, surface areas, universi, vet, waikato district council