Palm Grove

When we booked this through wotif the photos of this unit weren’t pictured via either palm grove website or wotif. When we arrived and were informed of the unit it was not at all what we intended. The feeling at the time was that we had been cheated, and false advertising forced us to believe something that wasnt, the unit is dated and right next to the road. We will not book through wotif again. However with this being said, Palm Grove does not deserve a bad rating, the unit was clean, facilities were great, location was great and service from staff was excellent. Wotif is entirely to blame.

The unit was very clean and the bed comfortable. The cleaning and maintenance staff were very friendly, nice people. The restaurant staff were the same and the food was great and reasonably priced. The office staff tended to be a bit humourless and the wifi almost nonexistant. Otherwise we really enjoyed our stay there and would recommend it

Great location, friendly staff and good restaurant. Beautiful beach!!! Reception closing at 5pm weekdays and half day Saturday and not at all Sundays was a little annoying when you had a quick query.

Palm Grove Resort was a great escape. Reasonably well maintained, given it’s humid tropical climate, the grounds and pool area are beautiful. A new bbq arrived during our stay. The beach furniture, kayaks, snorkels and fins were all well maintained. The rooms could use some updating. Some had received partial renovations in the kitchen and bathroom areas and others had not. Some appliances were newer and others were starting to rust. I also found it difficult to cook, unless you just bbq’d. Larger pots and microwave bowls or casseroles would help out here. AC worked well, but was rigged to go off when you left the room. The beds were very comfortable. Maid daily service included making the bed, a towel change, sometimes a sweep, garbage removal, but not any wipe down of surfaces in the bathroom, shower, vanity, coffee or dining tables during our 9 day stay. The Sunday BBQ and Friday Happy Hour were great, as was the music supplied. Food at the restaurant was good. An adequate breakfast was included and given this is not the norm on the island, was appreciated. The front desk did a good job at coordinating airport transfer, wifi purchase, snorkel rental and outings. They also rented scooters. There is a car rental a couple of blocks away along with a reasonably well stocked convenience store. Rarotonga is very remote, with sporadic wifi only in HOT SPOTS There is one TV channel and life becomes the beach, relaxing and socializing.

I loved my stay here. I stayed in a beachfront studio and it was perfect. To go to sleep hearing the waves every night was divine and the beach area and snorkelling were both very good. I would definitely stay here again.

Palm Grove was the perfect place to spend a few days breaking the jet lag cycle between two continents. It was a quiet pleasant step back in time. The locals were friendly but unobtrusive. Palm Grive was nicely situated on the southern side of the island - all of which could be navigated in about an hour in the local bus - in either a clockwise or anticlockwise direction.

We loved the gorgeous location at the edge of great snorkelling and on the bus route to all amenities and sights of Rarotonga. The Yellow Hibiscus restaurant on the property laid out a tasty breakfast each morning and we ate like royalty..

We were very pleased. Comfortable in all ways. Aircon, which we didn't use as the ceiling fan was great. Private deck over the sand . Ranch slider access with louvre slider alternative for ventilation. Great snorkeling at your door step. The Yellow Hibiscus is the on site restaurant which is very good. A nice touch was the book exchange. Just help yourself and return when read. Great books too. Kayaks, pool and BBQ available. A two minute work to Wigmores Superette. A five minute walk down the beach, or road to Vaima Restaurant for a cocktail at sunset. All very convenient.

This is the third time we have stayed at Palm Grove. We really enjoy the beachfront bungalow and the proximity to the beach. We collected our scooters from Palm Grove reception and renewed our licence at the police station. Don't forget to take your passport now for your licence. The local roosters are still too loud, but theres not much that can be done about them. The long lunch at Antipode was a highlight. You get your own dog and cat:) A wonderful place and cannot wait to come back. Thank you

Our daughter loved the pool; the kids had tons of fun in there. There's a white sand beach with kayaks and snorkel gear provided. The waves are very small close to the beach due to the reef. The whole outside of the island is beach so none of it was crowded; it was always very easy to go walking, sitting, swimming, kayaking, etc. I quite liked the superior bungalows for more space and privacy. Breakfast was good here. The island bus that comes in front of the hotel is a good way to get around with the only difficulties being the lax times and only coming once an hour. The Tuk-tuk tour was very informative; I'd recommend doing that early on in a trip.