Cooks: Edgewater or Rarotongan Beach Resort
 

Edgewater seems very cheap, is it nice? How does it compare to other resorts, specifically to Rarotongan Beach, which is more expensive...<BR>Any feedback appresiated.

I plan on going next year and have been reading posts for some time. Quite a few people didn`t like the Edgewater and complained about the service.

Definately Rarotongan over Edgewater. We stayed at the Rarotongan but our favorite was Pacific Resort. The garden rooms are very reasonable with full kitchen on the best beach. Or check out the Pacific's "Island Villa", self-catering apartment down the beach from PR. We loved it, private deck, near good snorkeling & VERY reasonable. Also stayed in Koromiri Villa but that's getting expensive, but worth it. Try to Aitutaki if you can, fantastic lagoon. If you have any questions I'll try to help.

Went to Rarotonga in August this year. We stayed at the Pacific Resort . Checked out most of the hotels on the island and found the Pacific to be the best one. the grounds were spacious, well-maintained and beautiful. Stayed in a beachfront villa which was awesome. Unless there is more than two people,a villa would not be necessary. There are beachfront rooms which looked very nice as well. Went to the Edgewater for their Island show and buffet which was very good. The rooms seemes standard, the grounds o'kay. Nice pool area, but the beach at the Pacific was by far the best of all the hotels. The Cook Islands are a great value for Americans right now, so start packing your bags.

We were in Raro in 1999. If you want a very clean small place to stay then you should go to the Muri Beachcomber. It is run by 2 couples that are in-laws and they take alot of pride in pleasing their guests, you are treated like famil, not to mention being right on one of the BEST areas of beach. When the tide is down you can walk right out to 2 different motus that you can explore on your own or just jump in and snorkel your way over there. We had looked at the larger hotels; Rarotongan Beach Resort and the Edgewater but I am so glad that we stayed at the Muro Beachcomber instead. I also agree with the other response about Aitutaki, we stayed in one of the beach bungalows there for 3 nights, the "turtle" suite and it was very "ritzy". Did a snorkeling trip that stopped at a couple of motus and then had a picnic on "one foot island". Although it was nice, 2 to 3 nights is all that you really need here. We spent the bulk of our time in Raro exploring at our own pace on a motorcycle.

Peggy...which room block of beachfront rooms at the rarotongan is the best ie private but still near the action, best view? Where they very big - they look small on their website. Was it a problem to get watersports equipment, specifically snorkeling gear, and was it free to use? How was the food? What does it cost to rent a scooter for a day? Thanks. <BR>

Hi. We stayed in a deluxe beachfront room but it was small. At the time we had been in the Koromiri Villa at Pacific Resort & one night they had an unseasonable monsoon with almost hurrican strength winds & more rain than I have even seen in my life. Well they resort got flooded & we had to be transferred to the Rarotongan. There was only so many rooms open & though ours said beachfront the rooms run perpendicular to the beach so you had sand ourside your patio but the ocean was a short walk. But they were private. The ocenafront rooms is what I would opt for, they are bigger but being right on the front of the beach they are not so private. We brought our own snorkeling gear so not sure about theirs. The food was very good actually, better than I anticpated. The Mongolian BBQ night was great. The indoor restaurant was a little plain though but I think they have redone it since then. The outdoor restaurant was much more what you expect to see in the South Pacific. Dine out too, we like Sails restaurant at Muri beach & Flamr Tree & Portofinos. Also Ronnies in town. I think scooters were about $12.00 per day. We just rented one on one or two days for fun & had a car for the week. But the local bus system is excellent, clean & timely & easy & you can buy a weekly pass. All said, it is a reasonably priced vacation for a great island experience.

thanks for the info. I have a map of the resort... do you remember your room number? I belive the beachfront deluxe is slightly bigger than the plain beachfront room. What was the average age of the guests? Air conditioned rooms? Activities program interesting and did people participate or keep to themselves? Nationality of guests? Thanks again.

Don't remember the room number but as the rooms run back from the beach we were closer to the center walkway. Yes the beachfron deluxe are larger. You really won't be in your room that much though but I also appreciate nice surroundings on vacation even if I'm outdoors most of the time. The rooms are airconditioned though it is seldom needed. The Cooks are far enough south it have cooler temps (mid 80's) than most of the South Pacific. There seemed to be people of all ages, honeymooners, mid-age, families & I'd say mostly New Zealanders, Americans predominately & the remaining other nationalities. We met people from France & Italy. Lots of activites, teaching snorkeling & scuba & about the local sealife, tours outside the resort, etc., that some people join in & others go off to do their own thing, it is up to you.

Thanks for the continued information Peggy! The AC is a must for my husband as he is extremely sensitive to heat/sun stroke so he needs a room to cool off in later in the evening so he can sleep. Does the temp go down in the evening much (need a light sweater?). Our current plans are to go next october. Our experience in sunny places in entirely caribbean, where it just seems to get more humid and hot after the sun goes down. <BR><BR>The size of the room does not really matter to us, as we are very active and will probably spend little time in the room. Do you think it is worth paying for beachfront, or should we just go with the garden rooms? <BR><BR>WHere there many kids at the resort? We don't mind a few, somewhat well behaved kids, just don't want it to be crawling with little ones doing "cannon balls" into the pool all day screaming. Thanks again.

Well if I am remembering right, the beachfront are one story only & the garden are multilevel with balconies. Only thing with the garden rooms you could get one that faces the road rather than the beach for a view. Or you could ask them about the location & see if you can specify. Yes it can be cool enough for a sweater in the evenings. We have gone in April & May. It is not a hot, humid area as can be the case in Tahiti or Hawaii. I think your husband will be quite comfortable there. Of all the tropical places we have gone was the least humid, even after a rain. Of course weather is unpredictable but that was my experience. We were always just comfortable. I don't remember being bothered by too many kids there. I've experienced that in day visits to some of the bigger resorts in Mexico but didn't encounter it at the Rarotongan. I'm sure you will have a great time. I think Costco travel has a good package to the Rarotongan. It was on LuxuryLink.com but not currently being offered.

Thanks for the great info. i think we will go for the beachfront room if we decide to book. ITs either the cooks or cozumel (decision will likely depend on the $$$ situation at the time as cooks is more expensive). Unfortunately, being from canada, we can't get the good deals with some of the internet offers, agents in the US. Well, we can get the deals, but then we have to add more airfare to get to the US departure city, and by the time you do that, its not a deal anymore! Canada3000 was a option, but not anymore i guess - they used to advertise 12 nights for Cdn 2400 beachfront (about 1600US). That leaves Air new Zealand vacations as the only airline that flys to cooks from western canada (i think)

Well Cozumel is a great vacation destination also! Good restaurants, snorkeling, ruins. It's been a few years since we went & it has grown some but still a well contained area with lots to do. Hope it all works out!

hiya<BR>i stayed at the rarotaongan beach resort last year and found the service to be appalling. make sure you get a room on the right hand sidde of the resrt (as you look out to sea) as theres an unsightly groyne thing which stops the beach subsiding on the left hand side. the island's beautiful and people friendly but i'm afraid i found the staff at the raro to be rude, slow and forgetful. the food's pretty basic and you can get sick of taro and fish. careful too - all the rooms now have aircon so dont pay for an upgrade to one with like we did!<BR>i think muri beach resort was lovelier and more atmospheric than the roro beach resort.<BR>enjoy your time, im sre it will be lovely!<BR>claire

Hi Claire...<BR><BR>I am afraid i don't understand... what is an...<BR><BR> "unsightly groyne thing which stops the beach subsiding on the left hand side"<BR><BR>spelling mistake? what do you mean by "beach subsiding" <BR><BR>please clarify. What category room did you stay in? Thanks.