Kia Orana “birchwoodfarm”

Thank you for your TripAdvisor review in regards to your recent stay with us at The Rarotongan Beach Resort & Spa.

For adults 16yrs and over, we would most certainly recommend our adult’s only boutique resort, Sanctuary Rarotonga-on the beach, located directly adjacent to The Rarotongan. The Sanctuary Rarotonga offers guests a tranquil and relaxing holiday experience with all the facilities and services available to guests at The Rarotongan as well:)

We are pleased to read that you enjoyed the comprehensive (and complimentary) daily changing Activities Program and equipment available to our in-house guests and the team of friendly staff located at the hut. And with our resorts located directly on the Aroa Marine Reserve, the snorkelling available almost at the doorstep of your room is stunning.
Night snorkeling is one of our most popular activities as the fish at night is a totally different group of fish from the “day shift” making for a unique experience.

Our A La Carte menus in our three restaurants currently offer almost 100 different meal selections and are competitively priced with other restaurants in the Cook Islands and the South Pacific. We also regularly review our menus to ensure our guests have a great variety of dishes to select from to suit their needs.

Finally, we are excited to hear that you are definitely looking at returning to stay with us at The Rarotongan Beach Resort & Spa – do not hesitate to contact us for your special return guest offer.

Kia Manuia & Kind Regards

Kia Orana “flossy2you”

Thank you for your TripAdvisor review in regards to your recent stay with us at The Rarotongan Beach Resort & Spa.

We are pleased to read that you enjoyed the wonderful service provided by our Activities and Front Desk staff – we have passed your comments on and they are absolutely delighted that they were able to help you enjoy your stay in Rarotonga and at The Rarotongan.

We are also happy that your air conditioning problem was able to be resolved quickly and efficiently by our staff to allow you to continue with enjoying your holiday  For the air conditioning to work effectively all windows and doors need to be closed otherwise the unit will condensate i.e. leak.
We have an ongoing, comprehensive maintenance schedule as well as a program of upgrades to our guest rooms and public areas.

The Cook Islands do a have a wide variety of tours and activities that appeal to all age groups and we are pleased that you were able to sample many of these activities during your stay. For our in-house guests, our Best of the Islands Tour Desk is able to organize a large number of activities and tours to keep guests occupied from fishing safari’s to cultural village tours and 4WD Safari Tours.

Thank you once again for your review and we hope to be able to welcome you back to The Rarotongan Beach Resort & Spa in the very near future.

Kia Manuia & Kind Regards

Kia Orana Vanessa P

Thank you for the opportunity to address your complaint of not being able to use our resort facilities and amenities for free when recently having lunch at our resort.

Our resorts offer an extensive range of facilities and amenities including accommodation, restaurants, bars, spa, activities centre, water sports, air conditioned gym, outdoor fitness trail, tennis, beach volleyball, kids club, teen zone, crèche, kids water park, night club, gift shops, business centre, tour desk etc.

Guests staying with us have many of these included in their room rate. Guests visiting our resorts but not staying with us are welcome to pay for those services, facilities and amenities that they wish to use on an “a la carte” basis. We are pleased to welcome many such visitors each day from other resorts around the island.

For those wishing to use all the facilities there is a “Day Pass” for a very reasonable $50 per adult per day plus a $50 refundable deposit and half price for children. This entitles the Day Pass holder to participate in;

• Activities Program: allowing for participation in all the daily changing activities on the day’s extensive Activities Program of which some highlights include try scuba lessons, snorkeling and kayak tours, tennis, beach volleyball, ukulele and island dancing lessons, fish feeding, traditional games, historical walks, crab hunting, karaoke, coconut show, pareu tying, flower garland “ei” making, beach touch rugby, coconut frond hat making, bingo, legends of the Cook Islands, waterfall walk etc; and
• Water Sports Equipment: such as fresh beach towels, reef shoes, snorkels, masks, fins, kayaks, canoes etc; and
• Beach Equipment: includes use of the beach, sun loungers, hammocks, picnic tables, hot showers etc; and
• Games Room: including Big Screen Sky TV, table tennis, giant chess, foosball, board games, guest library etc; and
• Swimming Pool: and
• Tennis Courts: including tennis racquets and balls; and
• Beach Volleyball Courts; and
• Air Conditioned Gym; and
• Outdoor Fitness Trail.

There is nothing to stop anyone wishing to swim in the lagoon in front of the resort from doing so as long as they respect the “raui” or traditional marine sanctuary that means that no fish or sea life is to be touched or removed. Similarly, the beach area below the “high water mark” (the line of the medium high tide between the spring and neap tides) is Crown land and accessible to all. Above this line forms private property. This is the same throughout the Cook Islands and indeed most of the British Commonwealth.

When you were at the resort our staff member offered you the opportunity to raise your concerns with the Resort Manager but you declined. We have no record of you having left a message with the Resort Manager either on the main resort telephone line or his personal mobile. He is still available to discuss your concerns with you should you choose to do so.

It was unnecessary and inappropriate for you to personally mention the staff member that you dealt with in your complaint to the local newspaper and Minister for Tourism and again in your Tripadvisor review. Many in our small community view this as a personal attack on her.

Without authority she contacted your parents who live on the island who gave her your phone number. She wished to discuss the matter with you but you were abusive and hung up on her. She has been counselled that it was not appropriate for her to have called you as this matter was being handled by management.

We trust that the above has addressed your concerns however if you would like further information or clarification, please do not hesitate to contact me or our Resort Manager directly.

Kia Manuia & Kind Regards

Kia Orana ‘Nicky H”

Thank you for your TripAdvisor review in regards to your recent stay with us at The Rarotongan Beach Resort & Spa.

We are pleased to hear that your group of family and friends enjoyed your tropical Rarotongan holiday with us. There certainly are a large number of facilities and services that we are able to provide to cater to wide range of ages and we host a large number of groups of family and friends.

For infants 0-3yrs inclusive, we offer our BANANA BEACH PLAYLAND crèche (charges apply); open Monday-Saturday, 9am-12noon, 2-5pm and 7-9pm. This now also has a fantastic new kid’s mini waterpark too, which is proving a big hit!

For children (4-11yrs), here at The Rarotongan we offer our renowned MOKO’S KIDS CLUB – the Cook Islands’ only kids club - where KIDS PLAY FREE. Kids Club is open Mon-Sat, 9am-12noon, 2-5pm and 7-9pm, and our young in-house guests also receive a Free Kids Welcome Pack and free snacks and drinks at kids club sessions. This is a real kids club, with an actual clubhouse jam-packed with toys and games, and dedicated kids club staff.

And for teens, we have a FREE TEEN ZONE for teens aged 12 to 16 years which includes snorkelling in the marine reserve, kayaking, beach volleyball, tennis, arcade games (charges apply), special teen events and much more. Plus Teens also STAY FREE too!

We are also happy that you were able to enjoy our comprehensive and daily changing Activities program and the array of complimentary activities equipment available for our in-house guests. From traditional dancing lessons, through to ei making and historical talks and walks – there is always something to suit everyone 

The Beachfront Rooms are also a fantastic option for larger families staying with us as these are all available as interconnecting – PLUS these are located only a few steps from the magnificent Aroa Lagoon and Marine Reserve, offering spectacular snorkelling opportunities!

Once again, we would like to thank you for your wonderful review and hope to welcome you back to The Rarotongan Beach Resort & Spa again in the near future.

Kia Manuia & Kind Regards