The Rarotongan Beach Resort & Lagoonarium

I went for a recent trip with my boyfriend and his family, and we stayed at the Rarotongan. There were 7 adults, 1 teenager and a toddler in our party, this meant we needed something for everyone at the accommodations the Rarotonga exceeded expectations and was perfect for our large traveling family. The rooms were beautiful and the most comfortable beds. The facilities were great with the BEST snorkeling right on the beach, with free access to snorkel gear, paddle boards and kayaks. Extremely kid friendly. The food was great & the NYE buffet was INSANE. But the thing that stood out were a few of the staff (Norman, Ringi, Liti and Daisy) they were what made the accommodation that much more enjoyable. They gave us the local tips, went the extra mile and always met us with a genuine smile! If we were to ever return, we would happily return because we would hope to be hosted by these staff!

My wife and I recently stayed at the Rarotongan Beach Resort for a week (regretfully). The location of the accommodation was ideal, the accommodation itself really needs to be addressed. The room we stayed in for a week was furnished and fitted out in the 1950's, very dated and not what is expected of a resort such as this. Our room was listed as "beach side", what we got was the employees carpark and dust. We had lighting in the bath area that just flickered constantly, this was reported to site maintenance. The staff had a look, said they would get it repaired, and as far as I'm aware its still flickering now, a week later. ||Showers were another experience, one day my wife and I would enjoy a warm/hot shower, the next, not a warm/hot drop of water to be found: really poor service. The layout and condition of the bathroom/toilet area is something that needs addressing, privacy is also minimal. ||Housekeeping.....non existent. We would put a "please make up our room" sign each morning, hoping something would be done, most times door sign was still there at 5 in the afternoon. The days the room was maintained, the was rubbish left in the room with the wet used towels etc. We went to the resort reception area on one occasion and requested to have our room made up, the receptionist instructed us to go and find room service personnel ourselves.....?? I think we made up our own room one or twice during our stay.||We spoke to a number of guests staying at the resort while we were there, and all had similar experiences to us to talk about. ||The island itself was beautiful, our experience less than adequate for what we paid for and expected and what we received.||Regards|Mick

Good location for snorkeling, moderate distance from airport. Nice lobby with adjacent covered and comfortable "reading room". Facinating assorted landscaping with banana trees, orchids, and palms swaying in the breeze. Fun pool with artificial waterfall. Rooms and public spaces are a little tired and frayed around the edges, but clean. The original construction (or remodels) are a bit clumsy or weird. The rooms are clean, functional, and housekeeping staff work hard to keep guests happy. Generally, a reasonably good value. Noise was not an issue. Good activities provided for kids. Staff were delightful, but the cashless system of charging to the room needs work, as we had several staff based errors that took some doing to resolve. The breakfasts were "average" hotel fare. Dinner and lunch from the restaurant was only tolerable, and when we discovered Kaena restaurant, a short walk away, we ate there instead. Do NOT miss the Passion Fruit Mojito at the Capt Andy's bar, or Daisy's free cooking class for Ika Mata.

​The "Grand Entrance" is a Grand Illusion. Don’t let the impressive driveway fool you—The Rarotongan has officially transitioned from a hospitality business to a gated fortress. In a bizarre move, they have now banned non-house guests from spending money at their restaurant or even using the pool. It’s a bold strategy to turn away revenue and community goodwill simultaneously. ​Management clearly prefers a scripted response about "caring" over actual service, but the stats tell the real story. While they hide behind their gates, their Value for Money rating has plummeted to a 7.1/10 on major booking sites. Recent reviews are littered with words like "dated," "tired," and "un-loved." It seems that when you stop valuing local trade, the standard of the entire resort follows suit. ​The most tragic part of this decline is the staff. The poor server at the till was visibly mortified to have to enforce such an anti-hospitality policy. It’s clear the team on the ground knows how ridiculous this looks, even if the decision-makers are out of touch. ​If you’re a tourist who isn't staying here, or a local looking to support island business, don't waste your time. They’ve made it clear they don’t want your trade. Do what we did: drive down the road to The Edgewater. They actually value their customers, the food is superior, and they haven't forgotten the meaning of Kia Orana. ​The Rarotongan is proof that you can have a grand entrance and still be a total dead end.

The service was awesome and friendly and happy. Can't fault anything. Perfect. Made our stay very pleasurable. The food was amazing. The best place on the island for eating. The battered fish and chips were cooked to perfection. Thank you sooo much for your hospitality, amazing stay, so happy we stayed there. Will miss you all and everything there. Also got a facial and massage at the RESORT while i was staying there which was sooo amazing. Stayed on the Beachfront. The snorkeling right out front is so neat. Saw so many beautiful colored fish and stingray

The Perfect Family Holiday! We recently stayed at The Rarotongan Beach Resort and Lagoonarium with our five adult children and five grandchildren, and it truly was the best family holiday we’ve ever had! The location is absolutely perfect — right on a stunning beach with incredible snorkelling just steps from our rooms. The rooms themselves were great — comfortable, clean, and perfectly suited to our big family group. What really made the stay unforgettable, though, was the phenomenal staff. Every single person we met was warm, friendly, and went above and beyond to make sure we had a great time. From helping us organise activities to making the little ones feel special, they were amazing. We loved relaxing at the bar (bonus points for showing the NRL finals live!), enjoyed delicious meals, and had an absolute blast at the Island Night — such a fun and vibrant experience. The kids (and adults!) couldn’t get enough of the hermit crab hunting and crab races. Everything about this resort made it the perfect choice for our family. We left with full hearts and so many wonderful memories. We can’t wait to come back! 🌴💙

We had the best time here! We booked one of the beachfront rooms and the view through coconut trees out to sea was stunning. Sleeping to the sound of the moonlit ocean was a magic experience. |It was my partners 50th birthday during our stay and the team were kind enough to decorate our room with balloons (thanks Sue!) |We booked the Monday night island dinner and the restaurant team kindly sang happy birthday to him with some birthday treats. Such a special fun evening, the MC was great!…make sure you book this dinner in advance as it gets very busy. Lots of laughs and dancing entertainment. |Other highlights of our stay here included happy hour on the sundeck, we were lucky enough to see heaps of whales breaching!! Snorkelling right outside the front of the resort, we saw a turtle and lots of cool fish species. Nice safe bay to snorkel in. |Good location and easy distance to Muri beach and the West side beaches and bars if you have a car or scooter. |Friendly helpful staff and excellent Pina Coladas! (try the chilli one if you are feeling adventurous lol)|For couples they also have the Sanctuary side which is adults only and has a cool swim up bar. |Just loved our stay and already want to go back! Thanks Rarotongan team!!

Rooms need a lot of care and updating. They actually store brooms and dustpans in the clothes closet in each room. No kidding. They also had a fridge in a clothes closet leaving NO ROOM to hang clothes. Disgusting. Cockroaches in the bathroom and slugs crawl in from under the doors. No screen doors in the patio. The menu has just one or two vegetarian items excluding some salads. The beach is poorly maintained... a half filled wine glass stayed on one of the beach tables for over three days before it was picked! The overall beach is not inviting at all especially if you compare it with the other side on the Sanctuary rooms beachfront. This hotel is dated and needs major refurbishment. Everything seems to be a second thought. One or two reception staff were excellent like Daphne and a couple of chefs Balaram, Thushar were thoughtful in offering us vegetarian dishes not on the menu. Puneet and Jayesh in the dinning hall were very helpful and looked after us nicely. Their twice a week cultural show is decent but the sound system is atrocious. And I do not know why but they allow guests to walk barefoot into the main dinning hall. That is so disgusting and unacceptable. The whole experience at this hotel, for us, was much below expectations. They do have a guest lounge which looks more like a railway station waiting room. At a minimum they should have better decor with a water station and ideally a tea and coffee station as well. The have these most ugly yellow curtains that stretch all across the front and give this room an unsavory taste. They said it was one of the oldest hotels on the island. It sure felt like that in a rough and uninviting way.