Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020

Raratonga Accomodation

Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Cook Islands

Hi,

I am thinking of heading to the Cook Islands and staying at maybe the Rarotongan Beach Resort. I have two children 8 & 5, plus hubby. I have had different reports about this resort, some good some not so good. I would appreciate any feedback from people who have stayed there, or if anyone else has some accom idea's that would be great.

Thanks guys.

We loved our stay at The Raro Beach Resort in 2001. We didn't have kids then (do now) but it looked great for kids too.
I'm not sure what the management and service is like now but then it was excellent.

1

My friends stayed there last year and thought it was looking about tired. I stayed at the new Muri Beach Resort and it was lovely.

2

We stayed at the Rarotongan Beach Resort a few days ago. Overall, its a good place to stay if you have kids as they have a lot of activities and facilities for kids and family. However, I would not recommend staying there if you are seeking peace and quite or a romantic getaway. They have everything there and you won't even need to leave the resort if you want. Great place for snorkeling, they provide snorkel, mask, fins, beach towels, and kayaks for free, but you can only use it for two hours at a time. Your kids will also get kick with feeding the fishes bread from the breakfast buffet (continental). There is also guest laundry for $11NZD. Local phone calls are $0.30NZD. The restaurant food wasn't that great.

If you need to get into town, you can take the Cook Passenger bus, which stops right at the resort main entrance. You can share a ten ride pass with your husband $22NZD and get a children ten ride pass for your kids (cheaper). There is also a family all day pass for 2 adults and 2 children.

Have a great trip. We already miss the Cook Islands.

3

Good place for kids is all I can say, having stayed there as a kid, and a lot more recently as well.

Plenty of activities to keep them busy!

4

It's a good choice, as it has a lot of activities for kids. Kids club, etc. etc. Also, it is fairly safe, as it is a long distance from the beach to the main road, and most of the area near the main road is fenced off, so less worry about kids wandering near the road, although you do need to keep an eye on them at all times, of course.

It's definitely nicer than the Edgewater, the other large resort.

5

ive just returned from a holiday there, im 18 so a bit diffrent to 8 but the rarotongan is a awsome resort there were alot of young kids and they allways had activities to do. and some of the best snorkeling on the island is infront of the rarotongan. Your and your kids will ove it defently go there.

6