tiare village

i recently returned from the cook islands and loved the place EXCEPT for the first place i stayed. i booked into tiare village via the internet for 2 nights and paid by credit card. when i arrived i was picked up at the airport and transported to tiare and when i saw how filthy it was, i asked for my money back and was told i could only get back one nights accommodation so i took that and moved to rarotonga backpackers which was great. i was in rarotonga for 5 weeks and can attest that there are a number of good accommodation there in the 20-25 new zealand dollar range. in addition to rarotonga backpackers, there is are renga motel, ariana bungalows, varas and several others. like to hear from anyone else who got ripped off by booking into tiare village sight unseen

How interesting, this the 3rd bad review of Tiare Village by a one post wonder.

Joe Williams - http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/message.jspa?messageID=13739483#13739483
wrote: "if traveling to the cook islands avoid tiare village at all costs as the place is filthy.
there are a number of very nice budget places available at the same or a lesser price, including aquarius, are renga, rarotonga backpackers, backpackers international and several others."

xet925 - http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?messageID=12228110&#12228110
wrote: "i'm in the cook islands now and nearing the end of my year long trip round-the-world trip. Rarotonga is great but do NOT stay at Tiare Village.
The place is filthy and loaded with bugs. I stayed there one night then moved to Are Renga which was slightly cheaper and very clean."

I just find it hard to believe that someone like xet925 who did a RTW saw fit to only post about this one place, nothing else stood out on his entire trip?

There was a negative post about Tiare Village just prior to my last trip to Rarotonga. As this was a spot I had recommended in my first book, I took the time to revisit Tiare Village. I found a clean well maintained lodging and reported such in the soon to be released second edition of Papa Mike's Cook Islands Handbook I really agree with Silvanocat, it appears someone has it in for this lodging. I personally viewed several units, they were clean and a good value. I talked to several guests and they had nothing but praise for the place.

Papa Mike
[http://www.mikehollywood.com]

Yes, I also noticed that it seems someone is out to get them.

I stayed at Tiare Village exclusively whilst in Rarotonga... A greater part of 3 weeks in 2005. I thought it was great and no one else who was staying there seemed to have any complaints.

I've seen the odd complaint over the past seven or eight years, but as above, I am always suspicious of "one-post wonders".

Places in the Cooks are reviewed yearly by the tourist office, and if they also have a lot of complaints during the year they risk losing their accreditation or having it suspended. This would greatly hurth thbeir business, so 95% of places are kept very clean.

While there will always be a few times when a backpacker place may have dirty dishes in the AM before the staff arrives, in general they are all pretty clean. There may just be some selfish slobs who haven't cleaned up when they had a late snack before they departed on the middle-of-the-night flight you arrived on, etc., this is the cause of most kitchen messes So, I wouldn't discount a place if only the kitchen were dirty. However, if the bed or room you are assigned is filthy, do complain to the management, and if it's not fixed, complain to the CITA.

Tiare Village always gets medium-to-high ratings, so it was either an aberration, or the OP has some axe to grind.