The poolside toilets weren’t the tidiest/cleanest during our stay.

Amazing resort. The facilities, communications, staff and activities on offer was so good! - the snorkelling straight out the front was epic. Restaurant and bar was pretty good

Stayed in August 2025

Great facilities. Family friendly and helpful staff. Beautiful location

Stayed in August 2025

Room was very small.

Facilities were good, restaurant was responsible.

Stayed in August 2025

Staff were not very friendly, splash park was covered in mould and needed and had missing steps

Amazing location

Stayed in August 2025

For the room - there was dead insect on the mosquito net above our bed, looks like a spider. The room is a bit old so no place for the fridge, our fridge has been placed between toilet and sink, it doesn’t feel good to grab drinking water beside the toilet especially considering the money we paid. For other facilities in the resort - everything closes at 5pm including gym and spa, so the access is actually limited unless we don’t have any plan for that day.

Staff are friendly most of the time, we had a smooth check-in with a welcome drink, also had one of the staff guide us to the room and showed us the location of restaurant etc. Room is overall clean, with a perfect location. We booked a beachfront room so it’s only 1 mins to go into the water.

Stayed in August 2025

RECETION STAFF

BEACH

Stayed in August 2025

A lot of children

Own Pool

Stayed in August 2025

They made us wait an hour after check in to check in. They called at 10pm at night to our room and woke our new born , for a matter that could have waited untill the a.m.

Stayed in August 2025

The areas for improvement (these were just little blips in our otherwise amazing stay): - we had arranged for to use one of the resort's portacots, however when we arrived (I think around 10pm), the portacot was broken and our baby slumped into the middle. It was completely unsafe, so we called for a replacement. We were told housekeeping had finished and no one could help. It concerns me that there is no manager etc overnight that is able to rectify situations like this. We ended up cosleeping that night which is something we had never done before and super nervous about (so had a terrible sleep). The next day we asked multiple times for a portacot so that our baby could nap, and could not get a solid answer as to when we would get this. After two stressful (for us, the baby loved it) naps in the bed, we gave up and went to hire one. Of course when we got back the portacot has been replaced, however the replacement was a bit broken too and we had no regrets hiring one. Please review your portacots and dispose of any that are broken! - Smoking in the resort. For a family resort it was quite disappointing to see the amount of smoke we were exposed to. Our neighbours for our last few days were smokers and would smoke right outside their room, which meant we either had to sit in their smoke or go inside and shut the door. The smoking hut was also super close to the pool area. Why not have a dedicated block of smoking rooms where you can smoke outside your room, and have everything else smoke free. That way if you really want to book somewhere you can just pop out and smoke you can, but no one else has to suffer. And if you're not worried about walking to a smoking area you can book anywhere. - Communication between teams wasn't always great. We had emailed about a babysitter and filled in forms a month prior, but hadn't had anything confirmed. When we arrived, they only had one of our requests and weren't able to fufil the other.

We really enjoyed our stay at The Rarotongan, but there were a couple of things that could be improved. Firstly the good: - the staff were all so lovely and friendly - the location was incredible - we loved our room and the outdoor area attached - Our room was always cleaned well The neutral: - the food was okay, breakfast was pretty good and Captain Andy's was okay for a convenient option. - There were a few things that were broken in our room and would be quick fixes (curtain rod, window handle), however these did not impact our stay. - I personally wouldn't consider this a 4 star resort if that is something that matters to you. It's definitely a bit run down in areas, but it's amazing where it matters most. Ultimately, we had an amazing trip and would recommend this place to everyone. Our baby loved all of the attention he got and we appreciated the in room baby sitting service. We booked a Beach Side Deluxe and loved sitting outside in the evenings while the baby was in bed and the very short walk to the beach.

Stayed in August 2025

The room.

The grounds were lovely. The interior was horrible and old and looked dirty.

Stayed in August 2025

At the reception — the face of the resort — there was a woman with a tattoo on her neck whose unfriendly and unhelpful attitude was shockingly poor for a check-in experience. Even though I was traveling with a child and carrying three pieces of luggage, she didn’t bother to call a porter. Without checking the room status, she flatly stated that early check-in was not possible. When I asked to store my luggage, she simply told me to “leave it there,” and if I wanted a locked room, I should “go find the staff in charge.” She gave no explanation about the resort, no information about breakfast location or times, no Wi-Fi details — nothing. This single staff member managed to create a severely negative first impression of the entire resort. Later, while walking around the property, this same staff member approached me. It turned out I had unknowingly entered a no-kids area — but no one had ever explained such a rule to me. While looking at the map, I asked if there was a tennis court; she said, “No kids allowed” and pointed somewhere saying, “Go over there.” There was nothing in that direction. When I asked what was there, she replied, “You’ll see when you get there.” Honestly, it made me wonder if she was hired solely to ruin the resort’s image. I’ve stayed at resorts in dozens of countries, but I’ve never encountered a single person capable of single-handedly damaging a resort’s reputation to this extent.

The entire property is very kid-friendly, with complimentary activities available daily from morning to late afternoon. Canoes and snorkeling gear are provided, and the beach right in front of the resort has abundant marine life, including several turtles. Also, unlike many resorts in countries where New Zealand tourists are the main target, breakfast was not a simple Continental Breakfast, offered a variety of dishes.

Stayed in August 2025

Did not have sauna and spa bath.

The location, staff, food.

Stayed in July 2025

The rooms are so very tired. They need upgrading. I was very disappointed when we got shown to our room.

the breakfast was great. The beach was fantastic. The room was disappointing. It is very tired and needs updating. The lighting is terrible - ie: the lights above the bed are basically sitting on your pillow so you hit them all the time. The staff were great and the place was kept impeccably clean

Stayed in July 2025

Some areas were a little tired and needed updating and a good clean. Housekeeping of the room was very random and not thorough. Had to request for room to be restocked etc

Great location on the beach with the lagoon which made it the perfect location for children to snorkel safely. Resort had all we needed for water fun with children. Great buffet breakfast for whole family. Helpful and friendly staff. Great meal options for children at the restaurant.

Stayed in July 2025

Our room was alittle run down even though we were in a more expensive room, door handles were broken, TV didn't work, the kids water play ground was quite run down and almost verging unsafe.

Staff were amazing and so friendly Beautiful spot and snorkeling

Stayed in June 2025

Standard of accommodation below expectation.

Great location

Stayed in June 2025

Just a bit old and less clean

Location was good

Stayed in June 2025

The room is admittedly tired & very small & quite dark. Quite cramped with kids. The bunk beds blocked the view. But we weren’t in the room much!! We hardly got housekeeping. If only the resort could control the weather!!! We had a lot of very windy days & it is a tropical destination so have to expect rain, usually passes briefly.

Its location on the marine reserve is second to none. We felt it was the best snorkelling on the island & we travelled around the island for 3 weeks so we snorkelled a lot! There was so much beauty to see from turtles, fish, eels, pretty coral. Great for families with younger kids to snorkel, feels so safe protected in the lagoon. On a calm non windy day the water clarity, aqua colour & visibility was exceptional. We had an amazing time. However bear in mind we stayed at the resort for 10nts & only had 3 perfect weather/water days, 3 not so perfect days but still good & more than 3 days we couldn’t even go out there! They are also clearly making efforts to improve the resort which was great to see. I had been worried about the breakfast after reading previous reviews but they had recently revamped it & it was amazing. They had everything you could want for breakfast, one of the best we’ve had, variety of milks, hot dishes, cold dishes, cereals, fruits, we loved they even had salad. Great way to start the day. Impressive for a remote island. Staff are lovely too & really good at continuing to restock the breakfast food. Supermarkets are very expensive so recommend having breakfast included. The rooms need updating & can see the resort is trying to. The bed must have been new, excellent huge super king bed, slept so well & comfy. Was impressed with a Nespresso coffee machine, mini fridge, microwave & kettle. Every hotel should have this, made such a difference to the comfort of our stay esp with kids! Lovely view of palms & water from balcony. Dinner at restaurant was fine, expensive for what you get. There are some great options around the island. Recommend having a car, on windy days we headed to the protected beaches.

Stayed in April 2025

Some beautiful staff and some not as friendly.

Location, location, location. Had everything we wanted.

Stayed in June 2025

Maintenance of common facilities ie Gym Equipment (half didn’t work or were broken), lounge areas tired and activity gear broken. Restaurant staff all over the show and menu quite restrictive and lacking in variety/selection. Same cocktail menu as 15 years ago. Staff particularly at activity hutt made you feel like a burden/criminal for borrowing equipment… ie I always felt like I was in trouble getting gear to use.

Overall great facilities and location, exceeded expectations given some of the other bad reviews.

Stayed in June 2025

Everything was satisfactory

Location was great for snorkeling, staff were pleasant.

Stayed in June 2025

The food menu and quality could be improved

Stayed in June 2025

Dinner menu was average for vegetarians but the portions were huge. The menus are identical for both sides of the resort and I expected different options for the adults only side. Bathroom was small and tired but the shower was powerful and always had hot water. The spa treatment room needs some decorating, low light, warmth - it was very clinical.

Staff were all very friendly. The lagoon is great for snorkeling. The room was comfortable, good bed, with good facilities. Breakfast was varied and plentiful. I stayed in the family side but had access to the adults only side which was peaceful.

Stayed in June 2025

Restaurant menu is not great for vegetarians. The ocean front room I had on my first night was very run down.

The lagoon was amazing for snorkeling and it's great to have a private beach. Breakfast is varied and plentiful. The grounds are beautiful. Staff are all lovely.

Stayed in May 2025