Top resort hotel offers quality and service

Press, 11 September 1986, Page 28

Top resort hotel offers quality and service

The Rarotongan is the Cook Islands’ only luxury resort hotel. It is tucked away beneath the shade of swaying palms alongside a golden beach on the south-western side of Rarotonga, a comfortable 20 minute drive from the international airport. Traditional style buildings set in a landscaped tropical garden ensure a peaceful and secluded holiday for those not into the swinging scene of dance bands and amplified island music. No-one, however, can complain that there’s nothing to do at The Rarotongan. Guests can learn how to scuba dive, windsurf or simply paddle their own way around the crystal clear waters of the lagoon by foot, canoe or seesea board. Scooters, bicycles and horses can be hired; there are two excellent tennis courts, and jazzercise sessions for those with their figures in mind. The hotel has two superb restaurants — the elegant Brandis with its a la carte selection of fine cuisine and the more casual Whitesands. The 151 rooms are spacious with private bathrooms, fans and air conditioning, tea ad coffee-making facilities, refrigerator, mini-bar, telephones and sun-decks. The manager, Mr Ed Zielinski, said his hotel was proud of its record of promoting the Cook Islands in general as a destination. It was not, he said, out to promote its own interests above all else. About $1 million will be spent on major refurbishing and improvements during the next 12 months.

Rooms will be painted inside and out, new curtains and quilted bedspreads will be added along with new vanity tops and cabinets for the minifridges. The suites and Paradise rooms will be provided with queen sized mattresses and new inside and outside furniture. All rooms will have spotlights. Night viewing of the reef from the Whitesands Restaurant will be enhanced by an extension of window space and the beaming of a spotlight on to the reef.

The hotel also has plans for a 100 room expansion, although management claims inconvenience to guests will be minimal as most of the expansionary work is on the periphery of the hotel. A walkway will be constructed across the main road to where four tennis courts will be built with an existing building next to the new courts being used as a club-house. A restaurant/bar complex, eight jacuzzis, a nine hole golf course and an all weather putting green, playground and fitness centre will form part of the new development. A meeting and conference centre seating 400

people will be built on the site of the existing tennis courts. The total cost of these developments is expected to be $l5 million with completion of most projects by 1988. The Rarotongan runs Club Rarotongan and Club Polynesia packages which together account for about 50 per cent of room occupancy. Club Rarotogan is an all-inclusive pre-paid holiday package with economy class travel by Air New Zealand to Rarotonga, transfers, accommodation on a twin share basis, all meals and resort entertain-

ment taken care of in the price. The package includes lessons and use of tennis courts, windsurfing lessons, outrigger canoeing, scuba diving and snorkelling, volleyball, half-day Circle Island tour, reefwalk and shell collecting,backgammon and bingo, Club Rarotongan cocktail party, Sunday champagne brunch, lawn bowls and movie nights. As part of its Club Rarotongan package, The Rarotongan will soon be issuing its guests with vouchers for meals in selected restaurants around the island in place of some hotel meals.