The Rarotongan Beach Resort & Lagoonarium

The hotel is packed with things to do (Tennis, SUP boarding / Kayaking / snorkeling / feeding fish / crab racing etc. We stayed on the family side, but popped to the adults section to play chess & table-tennis in a quieter environment. That being said we didn't notice our surrounding neighbours, so the buildings must be well constructed - it was very quiet & spacious (even though fully booked). Food was brilliant - not the best on the island, but great and reasonably priced. Pay as you go for your breakfast - great selection & way more cost effective for what you get compared to the lack luster cold buffet. The beds were like clouds, best sleep I've had in awhile. Great shelving in bathroom for toiletries and an almost dry cupboard type set up. Had a bath/shower too which proved convenient. Daily newsletter of "what is happening" was awesome and encouraged you to stay on site or check out local attractions. 24 hr access to ice was a hit for us also. I think it's FANTASTIC they offer a $15 room credit if you don't have your room serviced on a particular day. Save the environment, save some money - well done Rarotongan for such a great idea.

Honestly I hate to say it, but the staff let the place down. I wish I could offer more here that is constructive, but one of the reasons I took my time choosing to select this hotel for our holiday, was due to the poor reviews it got. I decided to judge for myself and book for the first part of our stay; we stayed at 2 other places also. What was the issue for me? I feel the staff have to deal with a lot of people and high turnover and they simply don't handle customer questions well, or with pride. And for me it was as simple as that for every staff experience we had. The other warning I will share with anyone that reads this review, if you are expecting a hot buffet breakfast with your additional payment (it's not included in the hotel price), you will be miserably disappointed. I always pay for a breakfast because I like my eggs and toast. The way it was marketed was misleading and it took some convincing for the hotel to credit me the breakfast and we paid as we went each day. Note there are never any refunds here, only credits - but that was okay.