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4.5
#1 of 3 resorts in Arorangi
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Kia Orana, welcome to the Aro'a Beachside Resort an adult only (16+) resort. Located on western sunset side of Rarotonga, on a stunning white sandy beach with great swimming and snorkeling. We have a great beach bar & restaurant, the Shipwreck Hut, on property which offers a menu with variety for all & local dishes. Live music 5 times a week (Tue - Sunday) from 6pm onwards, and a live Cultural Fire Show every Monday night at 7pm. We have 12 self-contained units, tastefully decorated island style. Breakfast complimentary and daily housekeeping service.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Quaint
Boutique
Languages Spoken
English
Location
Main Road, Arorangi Cook Islands
Aro'a Beachside Resort
246 reviews
Getting there
Car recommended
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Aro'a have a lovely setting with a beach and great snorkeling and lovely grounds. We found the rooms clean but rather uncomfortable because there was no air conditioning only a ceiling fan (which is not on their website nor did our online travel agent know this) and the bed. The bed felt like it was two mattresses on top of each other (even though it wasn't) I could not move without waking up my husband and vv. We had to put the mattress on the floor to get any sleep in the end. I found the service mixed and we had a big problem with communication over the airport transfers. When I checked in they said it would take me back to the airport on my last day at 7pm. The morning I paid they told me 6pm. After waiting outside for 30 mins for the shuttle we were then told it wouldn't come until later, they said they would ring and check and then we were told 7.30pm. It didn't arrive until 8:30pm. With a flight at 10pm and the airline relaxed that was fine but we had of known we could have have arranged to have a final last meal at one of the lovely island restaurants before our 14 hour journey (with no meals provided on our flights).
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Date of stay: January 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from AroaBeach, Owner at Aro'a Beachside Resort
Responded 30 Apr 2018
Kia Orana, Thank you for your review. Firstly, thank you for your lovely comments about our resort and clean rooms, we do have a beautiful setting. I am so sorry that you thought the room was uncomfortable, it was a real shame that you didn't mention anything during your stay. If you had said something while you were here, then we could have done something about it. Unfortunately we cannot fix things if we don't know. We don't say that we have air conditioning on our website etc. because we don't. It does, however, clearly state that we have ceiling fans. Strangely enough we get more requests each year for blankets than we do for air conditioning. In respect to the confusion with the check out. It appears that there was a misunderstanding for which we apologise. When I saw you waiting for the transfer, I immediately spoke to you to let you know that it would not be until later so that you could relax in the resort / bar while you waited. Kia manuia, Steve, Geraldine and the A Team.
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I can't speak highly enough about this place. Like the other reviews on here, the staff and owners were wonderful and very accommodating. The bar had AMAZING cocktails and the food was very homely and very well priced. I loved that the kitchen ran out of certain dishes, showed that the food was fresh and not mass cooked and frozen. The breakfast was far superior to the other free breakfasts on the island that we had. The small capacity meant the owners knew the people staying by name and all the other visitors became friends. Beautiful sunsets, great snorkeling and swimming. Easy access to buses and the owners/staff very knowledgable about the island and helpful letting us know how to plan our day/travel. We are only now on our last night very annoyed that we chose to break up our stay on the island and would have much rathered stayed here for the entirety of our trip. Meitaki ma'ata, we will be back!
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Date of stay: December 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from AroaBeach, Owner at Aro'a Beachside Resort
Responded 28 Dec 2019
Kia Orana, Thank you so much for your fantastic review, we are all very happy that you enjoyed your time here. It would be great for you to come back for a longer stay so we could all get to know you better. Hope you don't leave it too long. Meitaki ma'ata, Steve, Geraldine and the A Team
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Steve & Geraldine have created a little oasis here. Stunning location facing west (for gorgeous sunsets) with well appointed, fan cooled, comfortable fales (loved the ocean beachfront fales). It’s adults only so it’s calm and peaceful and just a wonderful place to unwind. Dexter can also help with that (the dog!). The cute shipwreck bar with all its wonderful bric-a-brac is the perfect spot for some good simple food and a sundowner. It shuts at 9pm to non residents (from memory) so you won’t be disturbed late doors. Just a short walk up the road is a scooter & bike hire place. BE WARNED: you need a full bike (or at least 125cc) license to hire scooters in Raro... your automatic 50cc allowance on most uk driving licences is not sufficient. Dive shop also close by. One other thing... Internet is expensive in RAro... Aroa has their own private network on a voucher system...eg 500mb for nz$25. It’s blue sky (the only provider in Cooks) that set the rates not Aroa. Bluesky has hot spots around the island. whilst their vouchers are normally on some kind of promotion (1gb for $10) and last for 5/7 days so you can take it to other islands, you have to go to the hot spot for it to work... not so convenient! Just make sure you turn off all your iCloud photo updates etc! Thank you to Steve, geraldine, Anna and all the amazing staff for looking after me so well.
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Date of stay: December 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from AroaBeach, Owner at Aro'a Beachside Resort
Responded 27 Feb 2019
Kia Orana, Very happy that you had a fantastic time at the Aro'a, thank you for your fantastic and informative review. Hope to see you again if you are back this way again. Meitaki ma'ata, Steve, Geraldine and the A Team. :-)
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Steve and Geraldine run a very relaxed resort in a perfect location. We were met at the airport with fragrant garlands of fresh frangipani, then had to wait 1/2 hour for other guests being dropped off by the same transport service but after that it was relaxation all the way. We arrived in time for the Sunday morning omelette special and were able to check in to our room early - this was prearranged for an additional fee.The Inn is ideally situated to hang out at the Shipwreck Hut beach bar watching the sunset looking out over the lagoon.Besides the excellent location Informality and casual relaxation are the main selling points at Aro'a Beachside Inn.The rooms have a slightly worn feel to them but are bright and clean with an excellent hot shower, although our shower door kept opening. There is a small kitchen area including hob, microwave ,kettle , fridge with freezer compartment and french press. Fresh ground coffee in the rooms was a welcome find and a starter carton of milk in the fridge.There were adequate electric power sockets and wifi was available in the rooms.The first 200mb was free and thereafter top up cards could be purchased from reception.There is no air conditioning but the ceiling fan was adequate. Breakfast was included comprising of fresh tropical fruit , bread and toast and homemade cake along with tea and coffee. The "Oceanview" was a mere glimpse from the deck through the greenery but it was only an amble of a few yards to the beach. There was a complimentary welcome cocktail served in their signature jam jar glasses.I needn't have been concerned about noise from the Beach Bar as the atmosphere was actually very chilled and the resort was very quiet .It us an adults only resort (16+) and the Inn is closed to non residents until 5pm. The live music is 3 nights a week - Tuesday ,Thursday and Saturday and was excellent -mainly singing and guitar.There are small grocery stores within 300 metres in both directions, open on Sundays (but alcohol not sold on Sunday) .The snorkelling in Rarotonga generally isn't great but it is as good as it gets right at Aro'a .The coral has suffered some bleaching but is regenerating in parts; there are a large variety of reef fish but in quite low density and the sandy bottom can affect visibility. It was easy enough getting around the island on the bus -there is a stop right outside Aro'a Beachside Inn. It is $5/single or a book of 10 tickets for $30.If we'd known this in advance we might not have booked a relatively expensive private airport transfer in both directions as there is a bus stop right outside the airport also.Steve was a font of information regarding activities and places to eat and every suggestion was excellent. We met a great group of other guests from Switzerland , Australia and New Zealand. My only suggestions for improvement would be thicker towels and toilet paper!If you are looking for a convivial atmosphere in a great location then this is the place to be.
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Date of stay: January 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from AroaBeach, Owner at Aro'a Beachside Resort
Responded 3 Feb 2019
Kia Orana, Thank you for your great, and very informative review. Very happy that you enjoyed your stay with us. We hope that you will come back and see us again soon. Thank you again for your kind words. Meitaki ma'ata, Steve, Geraldine and the A Team. :-)
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We stayed for 5 nights. The location being right on the beach was superb. You can swim all tides which is great. Very friendly, helpful staff. The shipwreck bar on the beach was great and we thoroughly enjoyed the fabulous live music on 3 nights we were there. We had a very relaxing enjoyable time.
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Date of stay: May 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from AroaBeach, Owner at Aro'a Beachside Resort
Responded 24 May 2018
Kia Orana, Thank you for your fantastic review, we are very happy that you had a wonderful time at the Aro'a. I will pass your feedback on to everyone, It was a pleasure to host you and your sisters here. Hope to see you all back again. Steve, Geraldine and the A Team.
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A very standard little inn by the beach with quirky expat owners. A bit of a hippie vibe, not everything super clean, not everything makes a ton of sense, but overall a pleasant stay. Best were the local employees who were all fabulous!
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Date of stay: October 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from AroaBeach, Owner at Aro'a Beachside Resort
Responded 19 Jan 2018
Kia Orana Bfrealnose, Thank you for your review. I must admit I do find your comments a little odd.... I think that maybe you’re confusing Rarotonga "island culture" with "hippy culture" as no one has ever made a "hippy vibe" comment before. I did think about this and yes, people here do wear bright clothes and many of the local ladies do wear flowers in their hair but this is a very different culture to that of ‘flower-power’ Hippies to which you allude. In my experience, some people just don't understand Rarotonga - as you stated your review title. Probably because it is very different from the world / country in which they live or are from. The disconnect is sometimes from travellers that are only here for a day or two and don’t spend enough time here to understand this beautiful island and its culture. This is possibly the case here as you have no other reviews on anything else, culture shows, beaches, restaurants, bars, cafes, tours, buses, in fact anything on Rarotonga or any of the other Cook Islands. Thank you for your kind words about our awesome staff I will pass your review comments on to them.
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We stayed here in 2011, and decided to return this year, mainly for the position. West coast, great beach, safe snorkelling friendly staff. The new owners have been here two & a half years. The rooms have been repainted on the outside. The breakfast remains the same: fresh fruit, tea, toast, juice, coffee and fresh cooked muffins. Mostly these were delicious. Actually I'd also say the fruit selection has improved. As have the meals on site. The Shipwreck Bar is part of the resort, and the meals we had there were much improved on what we'd had six years ago. The Saturday BBQ was good value. Two small entrees, plenty of well cooked food, and the background music, provided by one of the owners was a pleasant surprise. His singing and guitar playing made for a lovely ambiance. We had paid for a late check out of 6pm, but were able to stay until 9pm, when we were to be picked up.
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Date of stay: July 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from AroaBeach, Owner at Aro'a Beachside Resort
Responded 1 Aug 2017
Kia Orana, Thank you for your great review, very happy that we have managed to improve the resort and your experience on a number of fronts. :-) Thank you for your kind words about the Saturday BBQ, very happy that you enjoyed my live music. We hope to see you back again very soon. Meitaki ma'ata, Steve, Geraldine and the A Team.
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Pros. Amazing snorkelling best we have encountered in all the islands. Beach to ourselves most of the time. Clean and comfortable rooms, basic but have everything you need. Amazing staff, owners and Dexter the dog made the holiday very special. Shipwreck hut is a gem best place to view sunsets and cocktails too bad either :)
Cons: None
We will be back
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Date of stay: July 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from AroaBeach, Owner at Aro'a Beachside Resort
Responded 31 Jul 2017
Kia Orana Sally, Thank you so much for your perfect, informative review, your comments are really appreciated. I will pass you kind words on to everyone (including Dexter...). :-) We look forward to seeing you back again, just let us know and we'll book you in. Meitaki ma'ata, Steve, Geraldine and the A Team.
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Stayed on our way back from Aitutaki so it was always going to be a hard act to follow.
Nice self contained rooms, more like apartments, clustered near the beach and bar with friendly and helpful staff. A little isolated compared to say Muri with no local shopping or restaurants of note but we did ok using the local bus an restaurant pickups.
Don't expect a high end resort, more like a beach side rental with a communal bar and very friendly neighbours; good value for money. In fact we heard some other groups complaining about a couple of the high end resorts at 2 to 3 times the price. Go to CI for the environment and people not to lounge by a pool.
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Date of stay: July 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from AroaBeach, Owner at Aro'a Beachside Resort
Responded 15 Jul 2017
Kia Orana, Thank you for your great review. Just to clarify some of your comments. There are several restaurants that we recommend on this side of the island, all are excellent, and will pick you up and bring you back for free. There are also small convenience stores approx 250 - 300 m from the resort. We have a fish and chip shop - Pacific Fish & Chips and a lovely little lunch time cafe - Beluga both are easily walk-able. If you want more shops then you need to go into Avarua, which is the same situation for the whole island. We don't bill ourselves as a high end resort. We are a friendly little place right on a beautiful (deserted) beach with fantastic snorkelling and an awesome little beach bar where you can enjoy a cocktail or ice cold beer and watch the best sunsets on the island. Thank you again for your review and we hope to see you back again soon. Meitaki, Steve, Geraldine and the A Team.
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Just back from 8 nights at this small but perfectly formed resort 😊 As soon as we alighted from the airport transfer bus we could hear the waves, and the view from our beachside Deluxe room was of the lagoon and waves beyond. I didn't miss having air con although my husband did. I found the fan ample though we couldn't keep it on at night as it was too noisy. A coffee plunger,kettle and toaster are in the room, there's also delicious espresso coffee available at a small cafe next to a convenience store a short 5 minute walk along the beach. ( I can't do human without decent coffee ! ) The bar is great and open to guests during the day if you want a cooling beer whilst relaxing on a hammock or lounger.There's also a little book exchange library and the local paper each day. . We didn't hear many roosters, I think the sound of the sea blotted them out! Fresh fruit with breakfast was a welcome and refreshing addition, as was the fruit juice along with tea and coffee. Sliced bread and spreads are provided to make toast and a freshly baked muffin is also provided. We got around by bus the whole time which was very easy during the day, not so good at night if you want to go out for dinner and come straight back. There are some recommended and very nice restaurants that do pick up and drop off but I think you have to be more organized than us and book the day before as we had issues each time. The lovely Stephanie and Alone actually drove us one night which was much appreciated. It's worth noting that you can only take the kayaks out on this part of the lagoon during high tide as it's quite shallow which can be a bit limiting if you like being out on the water. On one occasion we were told we couldn't take them out as they were about to open the bar (just before 4pm) Luckily you can snorkel,swim, paddle anytime. The bus stops right outside and it's very straight forward to get it to the airport so we didn't need the transfer bus going back. This is a lovely resort if you want peace, quiet and natural beauty.
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Date of stay: May 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from AroaBeach, Owner at Aro'a Beachside Resort
Responded 9 May 2017
Kia Orana Joanne, Thank you so much for your very informative review of our perfectly formed little resort. We are very happy that you had a peaceful and relaxing holiday. :-) We would love to see you back again if you venture over to beautiful Rarotonga again. Meitaki ma'ata, Steve, Geraldine and the A Team.
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There is a boat cruise down on Miri Brach that is really well done. But the best BY FAR. Is the Vaka Cruise on Aitutaki. The staff at the Aroa can help you set up either.
Auckland, New Zealand1 contribution7 helpful votes
Kia Orana, Steve here, owner of the Aro'a Beachside Inn. We are constantly improving our property. This was the first ever comment that we had about pillows. We had ordered replacement pillows for all rooms (before this comment was made...) they should be here any day soon.
As is often the case, guests leave comments on this public forum anonymous website. If people are not happy with something it is far better to say something at the time, then we can rectify any problems, if we don't know we can't do anything.
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