August 2010

Hi Liz

Just to let you know our holiday to Rarotonga was perfect! Thanks so much for all your help. I was the research queen and did attempt to book the whole thing online with wotif.com, airlines etc and came back to you because your knowledge and service was great. Also you could get the best deal and the best flight times compared to anything I saw online. My faith in travel agents is very high now thanks!

Moana Sands Beachfront Hotel is really really good, I would totally recommend it to anyone! Robert and I are not 5 star types so we thought the rooms were really nice! Clean, modern, not worn out or anything. The restaurant attached to the hotel was good and not expensive and had the BEST sticky date pudding (I made Robert go there late one night and get me some even when we were staying at the Pacific Resort). The staff were lovely and the beach probably better than the main Muri really. Better snorkelling, deeper water. It was quieter but not too quiet.

The Pacific Resort Rarotonga was really lovely and we got upgraded to a Garden Suite!!! Yey! It was actually good changing locations half way because we were being such lazy holiday people and mostly ate and drank where we stayed and it was good to have a change and a few more eating/drinking options. The rooms are beautiful, staff all lovely. Restaurant is really good but expensive - we still ate there a lot anyway because we figured we were spending maybe $20 or $30 more per meal than somewhere else and really in the scheme of things on holiday - who cares! Bar was good too. We didn't do the pacific night but I peeked in and it looked a bit lame really.

The island is beautiful and the Rarotongans have such pride in the place. All gardens and lawns are tidy, streets really clean and lovely. I love the fact that the bars and restaurants and shops that the tourists hang out in are exactly the same ones the locals hang in too. There isn't any 'us and them' stuff there. The weather was a bit overcast most of the time but still warm and lovely so it didn't bother us at all. Water was clear, you could still lie on the beach all day - I still got a tan!

We didn't do much adventuring but good places outside of our accom to eat included Trader Jacks (lunch and dinner) and the fishing club for fish and chips. Also cocktails at the 'Shipwreck Hut' - a bar on the west side of the island with a wicked sunset. Quite a young backpackers type bar right on the beach famous for serving cocktails in jars (attached to the Te Aro units). That was fun.

So thanks again!

Belinda Taylor