Reviews

A WARM THANK YOU FOR YOUR FEEDBACK. WE LOVE HEARING FROM OUR GUESTS!  

Jeremy Falconer, New Zealand

A few posts have popped up about The Rarotongan Beach Resort. Yes it’s a little dated, but we had a great time staying there recently, with great snorkeling and definitely kid friendly!

Here’s a video I made of our trip that gives a glimpse of the Rarotongan at the start of August so that you can see for yourself

CLICK HERE to watch video

Sarah, New Zealand

Watch the fish swimming whilst enjoying a cocktail 
We dined here for lunch. Ultimate Toblerone cocktail was delicious! Enjoyed tasty food on the deck whilst watching the fish swimming below. Service was good. We missed the live music that was getting set up to start in the arvo which looked like the perfect setting to listen to music whilst enjoying cocktails!

Linos, United Kingdom

Loved the staff at the resort, they really made the stay that little bit more special. We loved the beach and the coral right outside the resort is amazing. The free kayaks, SUPs, and snorkeling gear are great fun. The daily activities the resort offers are fun, and the bar and restaurant were lovely. The public bus picks up right outside reception and goes round the whole island for $5 which was great. We had a perfect holiday relaxing on Rarotonga. I highly recommend this resort. Maybe as a couple we could have chosen the adult only Sanctuary section which looked nice, but we were perfectly happy in the resort.

Nikki, New Zealand

It is like staying in a movie. The pool is fantastic, staff lovely and helpful and the location right on the beach, with walk-in snorkeling is fantastic.

Johanna, New Zealand

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The natural beauty of the resort is beautiful, including snorkeling in the protected marine preserve and stunning sunsets!!! All the staff were exceptional and a special mention to the chefs who worked tirelessly to produce excellent meals every time!! CAN'T WAIT to return!

Avinash, New Zealand

Kia Orana! On behalf of my family, I want to acknowledge the brilliant staff of your resort during our stay.  Upon arrival it was evident that guest numbers were near to full capacity at the facility. As frequent travellers, we held nil expectation for service levels to be at least standard due to pressure on limited staffing. But boy were we in for a pleasant surprise! From reception to restaurant to bar to activity centre to pools, service was top notch. Staff catered to even the smallest of requests. A special thanks to Lote and Daisy in kids’ activity room for providing the x factor in attending to my 5-year-old (over) energetic son. In my son’s parting words “this was the best holiday ever”. Needless to say, we will be back in the (very) near future. Meitaki.

Gail, New Zealand, TripAdvisor

Great family accommodation. Very warm. The island was very clean and tidy. Daily Kids Club. A lovely, sandy beach to walk on. Clean, clear water with good snorkeling just off the beach, whether high tide or low tide. Great food. Each morning we enjoyed breakfast and looking over the balcony at all the fish swimming by. The 34 km cycling around the island had lots of food and coffee stops. There is a Saturday market and evening markets to explore. Very friendly staff. Definitely returning

Sarie & Darren, New Zealand, TripAdvisor
A True Blessing Right On Our Doorstep!
After the tough last 18 months it was wonderful to escape to paradise. The Cook Islands have been hit hard because Covid stopped tourism completely. There was no work available so many Cook Islanders came to NZ to earn and send money home. Now there is a big staff shortage in the Cooks. So, if you were expecting to go to the Cooks and receive the same level of service as pre-Covid days, then you haven't been paying attention to world news!
Come on Kiwis. We should be giving our Cook Island neighbours kindness, compassion and financial security - not moaning and whingeing. They are doing an amazing job with what they have. As tourism increases, so too will their staff and supplies. We are so blessed to have paradise on our doorstep. Go to the Cook Islands - it's the only safe destination in the whole world right now. Spend your money there, support our neighbours, and have a wonderful, relaxing holiday in the sun. The Rarotongan is a great resort. The snorkeling straight off the beach is fabulous. The food and rooms are great, and the staff are so lovely and welcoming. The warm weather and water are a balm to our winter bodies. It’s beautiful, relaxing and a true paradise-getaway. Go, enjoy, spread your money around as many businesses as you can. You will love it!

Rachel Brown & Family, New Zealand
Fabulous Family Friendly. Just been here for 10 days. Booked last minute so ended up entry level rooms, which were fine. Honestly couldn’t speak more highly of all the staff. Beautiful people. Special thanks to Lottie, Daisy (kids club) the activities desk are wonderful, reception always helpful, especially Reservations:-) restaurant and bar staff all lovely. A smile and Kia Orana from us visitors helps as they are super busy and understaffed (not their fault) many staff have left the island to NZ in search of jobs during Covid. If you want your room serviced leave card out, and chat to housekeeping in the am to arrange a time. Sometimes meals can take a while, don’t stress - if you need to feed hungry mouths maybe order a bit earlier. Grab a drink and watch the gorgeous sunset. The breakfast included was more than adequate, pancakes, cereals, fruit, yogurt, toast etc. I never saw anything run out in 10 days peak time. We did a lagoon cruise and snorkeling out by the reef which was amazing (Kokas) and honestly, I can say the snorkeling out the front of this resort was just as good, if not better.Plenty of snorkeling gear, kayaks, SUPS and all the gear you need is here. We hired a car after day 5 as felt we wanted to explore a bit more. Definitely night market for food in Muri and sat am market in town 8-12pm, awesome shopping. We usually do Fiji in July, this is our new July destination (in a beachfront, deluxe beachfront suite next time). The small niggles were minor compared to the fabulous time we had here at The Rarotongan. Thanks to all the team, see you again soon!

Ben E, New Zealand

Perfect snorkeling trip
Enjoyed my stay here. The bar and activities staff were fabulous, always had a ready smile and remembered my name. Wish I could do the same in return (Neke?). I went for the snorkeling and that’s pretty much all I did. It’s like an aquarium out there and the water is like a bath. This place was perfect for what I wanted out of my holiday.

5/5 Excellent, Verified traveler Expedia 
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This was our second time here in 6 months. We really enjoyed it last time so booked it again . The resort is being updated throughout and is in a pretty good state of repair! The staff recognized (us) and seemed even more friendly, some even remembering my name. That goes a long way! I think it’s time they changed the menu as it was unchanged since my last visit. Although the food was very good and good value!

5/5 Excellent, Verified traveler, New Zealand Expedia 
Wedding Our day was beyond perfect and Tai and Joka went above and beyond to ensure it was perfect. They exceeded our expectations. On the morning of our wedding, husband-to-be and I were swimming in the lagoon at 10am, knowing the girls had everything under control, it was such a beautiful and relaxing morning. (I’m sure lots of wedding mornings are not that relaxed!) They got everything right, in our wedding planning meeting we were all on the same page and nothing had been missed off (we had so much correspondence with the resort over the 16 month lead up, so was extremely impressed nothing was missed off). We made a few changes during the week and none of this was an issue. Tai stayed with us the whole day, until midnight and she made sure everything ran smoothly. Tai couldn’t have done a better job and it felt like she cared as much as if it were one of her own family members weddings. The Rarotongan is a perfect venue for weddings, the location with the stunning beach and the different facilities they have that you can use for your wedding day. We used them all! The food and staff were amazing, both for our wedding and during our stay. The resort staff made us feel extra special leading up to our wedding and after it. I highly recommend The Rarotongan for both accommodation on the island and weddings. I wish we could do it all over again! We will be going back there next year to stay! Thanks again to all the staff there that made our day so perfect. We are forever grateful.