The Rarotongan Beach Resort & Lagoonarium

This was such a great place to stay with our kids. We opted for the cheapest room so had 4 of us in one room but it still worked fine! Everything was very clean and comfortable. What made it for us was the staff. They were amazing with our kids and paid so much attention to them. The location is great as you are right in the middle and have great options either side of the resort. Food was amazing. So many options which made it great with little kids. We will definitely be back!

Absolutely stunning lagoon! Wonderful snorkeling right off the beach. Great spot for Kayaks and SUP. We saw 2 turtles. Not too crowded. No sea lice! Yay. Great cocktails, good food, Our family 8 to 78 all loved it. Easy to access the whole island on the bus. It’s not 5 star luxury and rooms are a little worn but for us that didn’t matter at all the location is fabulous, fun activities, lovely staff, quiet at night, family friendly.

We stayed in a Grand Beachfront Suite 7207, well you can't get much closer to the beach than than, it is literally on the beach. Big front patio with tables and chairs, separate lounge, big kitchen with all the mod cons, separate private beach/sand wash shower, separate large bedroom with 4 poster king bed with netting, and another 2 bed bedroom you can put all your luggage in, very nice. 3 TV's in fact and some discovery channels. Highly recommend getting 7207 or 7208 if you are staying here as they are the best rooms in the resort.||Unfortunately the standard of the accommodation leaves a lot to be desired as it is in dire need of renovation. Rather than go into every detail lets just say it would be the equivalent of 3 star accommodation in Australia.||House reef is good, lots of big fish but some of the currents can be very strong depending on the tide even right in next to the beach. Included Kayak and paddle boards are nice.||However staff interactions and food seem to be very inconsistent. Some of the staff were excellent (shout out to the maintenance guy), but a lot of them (all Fijian) weren't that great, look I get it it's not Bali or Thailand but when there are three people standing in the bar but only one will take your food or drink order and the others are just standing around looking stupid it is a bit frustrating when there is a queue.||And the food as well, breakfast was mostly a disappointment and we ended up stopping going. A lot of the hot food was cooked first up and left in bain maries so after a couple of hours it was all luke warm to cold, as was a lot of the food ordered from the restaurant, most of the sides and some of the mains were not hot. Most of the food varied so much you never knew what you would get, for example a Cesar Salad one day would be huge with lots of good bits, and the next day would be small and disappointing.||Also, some times we ordered food and were given a buzzer like in a pub, and had to trot off and pick up our own food from the kitchen which we found very bizarre for a resort (try juggling 3 plates after a few drinks), but other times there was table service even in the middle of the day. Most of the drink orders you need to wait at the bar and carry them to the table yourself.||My overall impression of the accommodation was average, service average to poor, food average as some of the food was really tasty and some of it was really poor. I think if we had have stayed in a lesser room I would have probably given a harsher review.

On arrival, you are greeted with a beautiful view and entrance way. Unfortunately, what we saw online did not match up. We were excited about the kids' club and how it was sold online, but sadly, when we went to take our son there, all we found was an empty room and no staff direction as to what was happening with kids club. We also booked for a beach front room downstairs but instead were given a room overlooking the beach. The location was amazing, and the breakfast service was just what we needed in the morning, esp having the kids feeding the fish. The staff were amazing and very helpful and friendly. Overall enjoyed the time we spent there, just wish we got the room we reserved and paid for and had the chance to send our son to the kids club.

Amazing resort, staff were always friendly and helpful. The lagoon was fantastic and swimming with turtles everyday was awesome! A very clean resort with lots of activities and sun chairs to enjoy the beach or pool. Buffett breakfast was good, we only had dinner twice at resort, while it was ok, it was a bit pricey compared to other restaurants in the area. A special mention to “Bob” who was very funny with the activities he looked after and also Leona at the front desk who was very professional in helping us with a personal situation. Thankyou

This accomodation was the letdown for us during our visits to raro, the staff were not very proactive and didn’t seem to care about the guests. Form activities not running at all, the childrens hangout area was mostly broken and old. The room was fine but not for the price we paid everything is very dated and doesn’t match what they are advertising. We needed to stay longer due to flight issues and the staff did not try to help us at all (we were told we need to look online to make booking at the resort we were in) we managed to find additional accom in the form of a small air bnb, that was very cheap (1/3 the cost) and 100% nicer to stay in.

The lagoon is awesome, honeymoon suite is fantastic, but the rest of the resort is hit or miss. We had 3 amazing nights and one terrible one. Overall, the natural setting is world-class, but the accommodations and service can vary wildly.||We stayed in both the honeymoon suite and a beachside room—night and day experiences. The honeymoon suite was fantastic: private, spacious, with its own sauna, plunge pool, and jetted tub. Worth every extra dollar and we’d absolutely stay again.||In contrast, beachside unit 7504 was one of the worst rooms we’ve ever had—tiny, zero privacy, and extremely noisy from all sides. Patio faces a busy walkway where everyone looks into your room. Bed was the only place to sit.||The lagoon is world-class—abundant fish, coral, clams, even turtles. One of the best house reefs we’ve ever seen.||Breakfast was solid; lunch and dinner were mediocre but fine.||Biggest downside: the staff. We encountered curt, unfriendly service repeatedly when asking simple questions. Among the least welcoming we’ve experienced in our global travels.

The good: * Having access to the Sanctuary next door was a godsend. * Comfy clean bed and pillows. * Beach access to the lagoon, snorkelling and swimming * One or two of the wait staff and reception staff stood out ... but not much more in the way of service - a very mixed experience. * Nice gardens. The average: * The inability of most of the reception staff to even look up from their job to greet people waiting; smiling seemed like an effort. * Room attendants did a reasonable job, when pushed. The poor: *Rooms are very tired, dated and small. There is barely any room on one side of the double bed to get out. Very dark inside room, whether upstairs or downstairs. It might have been better at the Sanctuary. * It's essentially a family/kids resort with 100's of rooms. So don't expect peace and quiet around the pool or even at the beach. * Restaurant food variety is OK, but like anywhere on the Cook Islands, green vegetables and salad is a rarity. Advertised Vegan options were "unavailable". * No matter where we ate, or at what time, the food service was VERY slow. * Reception staff were pretty useless (with the exception of the guy on the RHS nearest the shop) and despite being asked 3 times, forgot to cancel one of our tour bookings, causing great inconvenience to the operator.