The Islander Hotel

Cook Islands , Rarotonga
Rarotonga, Main Coast Road
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100 reviews shown

10/10

Exceptional

20 Mar 2026

Deborah

My late, after hours, check in went smoothly. All the people working there were courteous and professional.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

17 Mar 2026

jane

Fantastic spot, so close to the airport as we had an overnight and then an early morning flight. food was fantastic, staff very friendly, awesome stay

Friends

8/10

Excellent

22 Feb 2026

Rebecca

Hotel is in a very convenient location to the airport. The rooms are nice and clean. Staff is very friendly.

10/10

Exceptional

10 Feb 2026

Kimberly

Our flight came in late and the Islander was walking distance from the airport. Friendly staff quickly got us to our rooms! Slept great, had a delicious breakfast at their oceanfront restaurant that was included in our stay. All in all it was a great place to stay overnight!

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

09 Feb 2026

mathew

Great dtaff, super clean room and great restaurant

10/10

Exceptional

02 Feb 2026

Sachiko

Very nice people and close to the airport

10/10

Exceptional

24 Jan 2026

Bethwyn

Booked a day use room rate to accommodate a long period between flights. Room was really clean and spacious for what we would consider an “airport hotel”. Restaurant/bar area was awesome and good/drinks really good. Staff were really friendly and helpful, spa onsite to grab a massage before flight home. Thanks for a comfortable few hours :)

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

11 Jan 2026

Timothy

Clean room and wonderful hot breakfast.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

05 Jan 2026

Dave

The AC and Fan combination was amazing, kept the room cool, the room was spacious and the beds comfy, the staff were all friendly and helpful.

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

02 Jan 2026

Noeline

The lady at reception. Can’t remember her name (blonde, curly hair tied back in a ponytail. Pa’paa lady) but she checked me and my family in and out. She made us feel important and comfortable. She delivered great customer service. I would definitely recommend this hotel. Food and ambiance is great and it has met my expectations.

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

01 Jan 2026

Danielle

Property is always a delight to return to but coming in with a late flight we booked and paid for two rooms but only one booking came up at reception.
This was disappointing being tired from our travels from Aus,nz the Raro in 24 hours we wanted to rest.
Took over a hour to sort our 2nd room besides that we were happy once settled in

6/10

Pleasant

01 Jan 2026

Adrian

Good place to stop near the airport when stepping off the plane. Place is dated though rooms are ok

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

30 Dec 2025

steve

Friendly, helpful staff

Leisure Partner

4/10

Poor

08 Dec 2025

Toni

Karaoke right outside my window. No TV. Lack of healthy options for food. Food covered in fatty sauce.

Leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

03 Dec 2025

Mele

It’s a great clean place. Airport practically across the street. Staff very friendly and great service. I would stay here again.

Leisure

10/10

Exceptional

03 Dec 2025

JOSHUA

Everything was amazing

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

02 Dec 2025

Nadia

Busy road for parking but very smooth, friendly and quick check in. We intended to have a drink until time but permitted in early. Very pleasant surprise after the hallway walk and once through our door to the size, beauty and cleanliness of our room. Meals and drinks at restaurant were delicious with beautiful see views - also visible through beer garden for our room number 10 - probably not for some others. Meals are up there with resort quality. Massage facility and service available 10am - 6 pm. Also of note and true to their word regardung Hula Bar music which was completely over by 11pm. Only 1 chanel on tv however free wifi - not an issue for me. No microwave and maybe a couple of bigger glasses or cups and some cutlery however Restaurant is right there and great! Breakfast included. Happy end to our holiday with this last night stay close to Airport for our return home.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

01 Dec 2025

Donna

Loved it here!! Great vibe, beautiful service and everything was amazing x

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

28 Nov 2025

Lea

Walk from airport, clean, great over nighter or short stay lovely staff great breakfast!

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

19 Nov 2025

Anne

Nice cooked breakfast options

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

17 Nov 2025

Wendy

Perfect for a late night arrival.

8/10

Excellent

16 Nov 2025

Kahutoi

Was difficult to find at night, as I was told it’s straight across from the airport only a 1 minute walk. Right next to a bar and was quite noisy, but it soon quietened down by 11.30pm.
Spent a god 1/2 looking for the place walking up and down the road with my bag, thank goodness it wasn’t a big bag and on wheels. Suggested to one of the ladies to just have lights shiny up to the sign that shows the name, as I started to get really panicked. Some people noticed my frustration and tried to help. So went back to the airport security staff to get specific directions again. Finally found it. Other then that it was perfect place to stay for the night.

10/10

Exceptional

02 Nov 2025

mathew

Both meals dinner and breakfast excellently prepared and more than generous quantity of food.
Staff always friendly helped with all queries.
Room large, clean and AC worked perfectly to keep temperatures constant and comfortable

Friends_and_family Family

4/10

Poor

26 Oct 2025

Jackie

House keeping was very poor, had to ask them to clean our room. Service was slow and not very attentive to small details.
Staff members were lovely, HuluBar was awesome. Islander night is definitely worth the show. Food was amazing do recommend for people to Wine&Dine there. Close to everything.
Thankyou for the hospitality.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

24 Oct 2025

Thomas

Ideal location for anyone that needs to be near the airport, very smooth check-in
/check-out, large well cooled rooms with all the necessities .

10/10

Exceptional

24 Oct 2025

Lilyiokalani

The staff are AMAZINGGGG from the reception, cook, the waiters & housekeepers !! Everyone was so welcoming & helpful which made our stay one to remember. L

Leisure Family

6/10

Pleasant

24 Oct 2025

Gary

Basic old motel style accommodation.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

23 Oct 2025

Teuila

So accomodating and perfect during our stay! Every single staff member was so nice & always so helpful when need be. Literally a few steps away from the airport, restaurants, cafes, petrol station & less than 5 minute drive from town! We had an elderly with us & it was perfect for her. Food was was also really goood & decent priced!! Our room had everything we needed & always kept clean & tidy for us! Couldn’t have chosen a more perfect place to stay. We will miss you all so much, literally felt like a family!! So highly recommend if you’re looking for a place to stay!

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

22 Oct 2025

Emmanuella

The staff were absolutely amazing, such lovely people. The rooms were clean and very cool for the hot weather. The breakfast menu had a variety of options to choose from. The nightlife was amazing and our overall stay was very welcoming

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

20 Oct 2025

William

Great location close to airport, very accommodating staff, great facilities and good value

Business_and_leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

20 Oct 2025

Janine

Very handy and nice staff. Enjoyed the breakfast each morning. We had 2 lost drunk people enter our room on 2 occasions in the middle of the night. Parking was hard at night. Air con leaked but we were happy with the fan.

10/10

Exceptional

17 Oct 2025

Ponia

Great

Business_and_leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

14 Oct 2025

Peter

10/10

Exceptional

13 Oct 2025

Christina

Breakfast was amazing, entrie food menu was amazing. Staff were great to the kids. So happy we stayed here - it is a must go if we ever return.

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

10 Oct 2025

Shania

Really easy to get to and from the airport, just a few minutes walk away. Rooms are spacious and clean, the restaurant and bar are an added bonus!

Leisure Partner

6/10

Pleasant

09 Oct 2025

jacqueline

Clean room, good size bathroom, comfy beds, great food, awesome customer service only down fall is its the dj music 8pm to 11pm ever night which is disruptive to sleeping and the rooms are down a communal hallway. The music wasnt advised until 2 days prior to arrival by email. The booking cannot be cancelled, which I tried to do when I got the email.
The pool is clean however you would be swimming while people who use the restaurant eat their food- slightly awkward.
There are no sun loungers unlike the photos.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

05 Oct 2025

Paul

Very clean room / Staff were very friendly / Heavenly view to the ocean / Awsome

8/10

Excellent

01 Oct 2025

Grand

Stay was good just not long enough and didn’t help we miss a day of our booking

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

27 Sep 2025

Marc

The lady we had at reception to welcome us was super friendly and helpful. Easily walkable from the airport even with young kids.

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

24 Sep 2025

Theres

Alle waren sehr nett. Das Zimmer war sehr schön. Wir würden wieder kommen.

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

21 Sep 2025

Brenda

Nice and close to the airport. The included breakfast was great.

Leisure Partner

6/10

Pleasant

18 Sep 2025

Chrissy

The property is dated and the room we had very basic., the rate we were charged was not as quoted thru Expedia as it was charged in U S dollars which wasn’t disclosed at the start of the transaction.
Wouldn’t use Expedia for booking again Island uses NZ dollars and that was what I expected to pay.
Ended up being well overpriced.

Leisure Family

6/10

Pleasant

17 Sep 2025

Garrie

Islander Hotel was OK for a nights sleep after arriving to Rarotonga on a late night flight. We arrived late and unfortunately everything was closed for the night but were able to bed diwn after a shower prior to heading to our more expensive accommodation.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

16 Sep 2025

Sala

Staff were friendly, Kind & hospitable. Rooms were clean and tidy. Had a great stay at the premises

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

15 Sep 2025

Grace

Check in was so easy and quick considering we landed at 2am. The bed was very comfortable and the room stayed a great temperature all night. Breakfast in the morning was lovely and the staff were friendly and welcoming

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

13 Sep 2025

Juliana

Great staff that were very helpful. Location to the airport is the reason to stay. Its right across the road. Excellent food and drinks.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

10 Sep 2025

stephanie

Staff were very freindly and helpful. The Island night was great and food and menu delicious. Love the location of the Islander and enjoyed being able to sit, have a great coffee, see the sea and work on my laptop during the day. thanks so much

Business_and_leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

06 Sep 2025

Trish

Great place to rest and refresh after a late flight in. Easy walk from airport and 24 hr service. Great views at breakfast.

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

05 Sep 2025

Carol

Perfect for stopovers before flying off to an island. Across the road from the airport. Great food and drink menu

10/10

Exceptional

04 Sep 2025

Information

Fantastic cultural night, lovely friendly customer service, great for the young adults though as hula bar us right next to the rooms :) loved this place food was yum

Business_and_leisure Family_with_children

8/10

Excellent

03 Sep 2025

Solomon

Late arrival into RAR. Easy, short walk from the airport. Very clean and comfortable room. Perfect for an overnight stay.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

03 Sep 2025

Subhash

Great location. Friendly staff and great service. Rooms were nice and clean. Free Wifi. Memorable cultural night show too.

Leisure Family_with_children

8/10

Excellent

03 Sep 2025

Christine

Walkable location from airport after long flight. Very convenient.

Leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

02 Sep 2025

Velmor

Friendly staff once you are able to locate them. Not a lot of signage that you are actually within The Islander Hotel as it mostly showing the restaurant and bar. Music coming from the bar is audible from my room but they are reliable in finishing at 11pm.

Leisure Family_with_children

6/10

Pleasant

01 Sep 2025

Verified traveler

Nice room but noisy. No black out. Some staff very nice, except in the bar. No beach to swim. No chairs around the pool to sunbathing. Some nights kitchen closed. Close to aiport. There is a beach that you can go walking. Also there is bus in front of the hotel that goes around the island.

10/10

Exceptional

30 Aug 2025

Paul

We got in late at 2300 hours. Staff were waiing for our arrival. We had booked food from the menu for our arrival. Which was waiting in our room. Delicious. Room.was.clean and aircon on, so room was.nice and cool. 😊

Leisure Partner

2/10

Poor

27 Aug 2025

Ram

TV not working no remote hot water jug not working air conditioner not good not enough hand towels

Leisure Partner

6/10

Pleasant

26 Aug 2025

Metua

Everything was fine with the room. Just the loud music from the hula bar kept us up late, when trying to sleep for our flight the next morning.

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

25 Aug 2025

Grace

Great place amazing staff

Leisure

10/10

Exceptional

25 Aug 2025

Sue

Such a convenient spot. When you come in late from a flight just walk across the road to stay. Also you can leave your bags there after check out for $5 if you want to fill in time before your next flight. It was great too when I returned from a domestic flight and had a long wait for my international flight I sat in the restaurant and had a nice meal and watched the Whales passing by.

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

24 Aug 2025

Amanda

Leisure

10/10

Exceptional

23 Aug 2025

Kim

Great place, very short walk from the airport, good food.

8/10

Excellent

22 Aug 2025

Deidre

Very accommodating for a 3am check in and easy

Leisure Family

4/10

Poor

18 Aug 2025

Adam

I really wanted to give this place a good rating. First, the positives.

- Food: The restaurant was excellent. I ate there a few times and every meal was wonderful.
- Bar/Lounge: It's a great environment, looking out on the ocean and sheltered from the full sun most of the day. A nice place to sit and relax with a nice drink.
- Room: Room was clean and functional. A little dated but well serviceable nonetheless.
- Staff: The staff were all extremely friendly and a pleasure to interact with.

Now the bad:

- The noise. The damned bloody noise. Despite not mentioning it on the listing and getting a message from the hotel that the party bar is only on one night a week, it was every night until late, right outside the rooms. If you want a party hotel then this is the place. If you want a quiet undisturbed stay or need early nights for any reason then this is not the place for you.

- The pool: The pool is bang in the middle of the restaurant, which is quite busy at all the times you might want to relax by the pool. It's not really conducive and nor did it feel comfortable to swim in while restaurant goers were eating their meals right next to the pool.

- The airport. It's right near the end of a runway so the departing jets are noisy. I didn't think it would be so bad until the 3AM departures started mid-week. So just after the party bar has shut down and you've finally wound down and got an hour or two of sleep you get woken up by the roar of a large jet taking off.

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

14 Aug 2025

Chris

Good conveniently placed stay. Bit difficult initially to find entrance to reception from road ( the place just looked like a bar). Good stay overall, nice food and friendly.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

13 Aug 2025

Raewyn Jane

Staff were so helpful, food choice was great, with everything from fresh fruit, seafood, choice of meats, & pizza, all at reasonable prices. Best of all was the open dining area with views out to sea where we saw whales nearly every day. Highly recommended

Leisure Friends

4/10

Poor

11 Aug 2025

Anna

I booked this property as had a 3 am flight so wanted to get some sleep before getting to airport at 1am. I would not have booked this property if I knew there was a loud DJ outside the rooms until 11pm. Impossible to sleep until then. On the plus size it has bar with a great view. Saw whales. Overall the staff were generally helpful although we did get mixed messages from different staff members. Appreciated the early check in and breakfast supplied early.

10/10

Exceptional

11 Aug 2025

Claire

Very close to the airport!

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

10 Aug 2025

Julie

This is an ideal transit hotel for stopping on your way if you have a late flight into Rarotonga or if you island hop to one of the outer Cook Islands.
The rooms were clean and the shower was hot.
Ths staff were frendly and very helpful
We ate an evening meal,mine was delicous but hubbys was not as nice as mine .
We had a great deal our breakfast was included ,the choice was meal with either tea,coffee or juice .
Beware some of the cabanas are located next to Hula bar which has a disco 8pm till 11pm with loud music .

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

10 Aug 2025

Aileen

Lovely staff and awesome service. Definitely recomment.

8/10

Excellent

10 Aug 2025

Mark

Great vibe

10/10

Exceptional

06 Aug 2025

Joan

Walk to the airport

It’s all about location. Walk to and from the airport. The room is clean and comfortable. There is a bar outside the rooms that is noisy. I was able to fall asleep. The staff are all very friendly. Will stay here again I’m sure.

Self

2/10

Poor

05 Aug 2025

Kathryn

What was a cheap basic but ok hotel for short airport transfers has turned into a loud crass drinking hole for locals, not a pleasant crowd. Tardy wait staff. Rude bar staff. Got No sleep. Couldn’t wait to leave. Will never go back ever.

Leisure Partner

2/10

Poor

05 Aug 2025

Kathryn

This cheap overnight airport transfer hotel has become an expensive badly run local nightlife spot for locals. It’s loud! Concert the night we arrived that ran outside our room until after midnight with yahoo crowd. Staff don’t care. We sadly had booked a room on our way home from Aitutaki also so had to torture ourselves both ends of our trip. So much for a few hours sleep!! I also got attacked by fleas on our last 5 hour stay. Hideous place, loud and crass, sloppy staff and terrible service at restaurant. After many ok stays in previous years I was incredibly disappointed as had very low expectations to start with. Expensive stressful and itchy!

Leisure Partner

4/10

Poor

03 Aug 2025

Puawai

Kia ora,
Thank you for having us.
We had a few things that could have been better. The customer service was very poor especially from our reception staff.
When asking for assistance from reception, the attitude and lack of respect from the elder ladies was disgusting. We did not feel comfortable from the complaints. We asked for assistance for transport and the response was with negative attitude. The room had a tv with no channels and an HDMI input. We called reception to ask if they had a cord to connect our laptop to watch shows and they didn’t even know what an HDMI was. We had been asking the bartender to fill our water bottles up which was very nice and during dinner, we were charged for a glass of water. The food is expensive and we waited a while for our food. We had tsunami warnings a couple of days ago and none of staff knew anything about it and we’re not as alert as we were scared.
Over all, the service specifically from reception staff was very poor. We would not recommend this property to

10/10

Exceptional

30 Jul 2025

Aileen

What a fantastic stay we had. We absolutely loved our time here, and a huge part of that was due to Bhara and overall staff membes, who made our experience truly amazing. We would love to come back!
The food options were amazing and affordable, with a great variety to choose from. The functions available were also amazing. We particularly enjoyed the Kuki Jams and the Islander with Akirata dancing group. They added so much to our trip experience

Friends

10/10

Exceptional

27 Jul 2025

Kerry

Great overnight stop before flying out.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

26 Jul 2025

Alexandra

Really good for a layover between flights

8/10

Excellent

25 Jul 2025

Susan

Neat and clean and so convenient for airport. Straight across the road!
Also you can stop the Island bus straight outside the hotel going in either direction.
Staff were friendly if a bit difficult to find in weekends ( but that’s probably island time).

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

25 Jul 2025

phillip

The staff were outstanding, they helped with any thing we needed 🙂 food was amazing and great prices. Rooms were super clean. Absolutely loved it

Leisure Family_with_children

8/10

Excellent

24 Jul 2025

Angie

1 night stay, hot shower, nice bed. Courteous staff. Nice breakfast.

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

23 Jul 2025

Peter

Close to the airport and a great place to stay if you arrive early or have a connecting flight. Staff are fabulous and food is good. Place is a bit like a 1960's motel very cool.

10/10

Exceptional

23 Jul 2025

Anjalin

Excellent location and breakfast options.

6/10

Pleasant

19 Jul 2025

Cynthia

That it is across the road from the airport, and a bar that is open till l8

10/10

Exceptional

17 Jul 2025

Bill

Location. Location, Location.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

16 Jul 2025

Vasuki

Food was excellent. Hospitality was good. Divine Spa was great. Thank you.

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

14 Jul 2025

Alesha

Great for a stop over right across from the airport

10/10

Exceptional

13 Jul 2025

Simone

Staff were really helpful and efficient for our late check in. We’re able to easily leave our bags with the staff when we were out for the day. Lovely stay. Thank you

10/10

Exceptional

12 Jul 2025

Melissa

Great room, we stayed for around 8 hours as we had a horrific flight at 1am, but thought the room was wonderfully spacious and clean, and showed pressure was amazing! Lovely restaurant and bar, so happy that we booked it. So convenient that you can just walk over to the airport to check in. Highly recommend and would stay again if we had another early morning flight!

6/10

Pleasant

11 Jul 2025

Janet

A lovely place handy to the airport. Unfortunately it was rather noisy and as we had children in our party and a 3 a m. flight, it wasn't ideal. We had a very enjoyable meal there and the staff were excellent.

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

11 Jul 2025

Norman

I recommend this hotel due to its location, just 3 minutes walk from the airport. The extraordinary vie of on the ocean and its fantastic dance show in the evenings.
Emma and the people in the restaurant, were very welcoming.

2/10

Poor

03 Jul 2025

Deborah

Clean, friendly staff.

10/10

Exceptional

29 Jun 2025

Robert

Excellent for what we needed.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

28 Jun 2025

Rhys

This hotel is right across the road from the airport, so very convenient and easy to walk to and from the terminal without needing a rental car or other transport, though there are rental car options right at the airport and just down the road also. The airport is very quiet, not many flights, so don't worry about any noise from it.

The official hotel signage outside doesn't really stand out, so you will probably spot the big sign for \"Island Night! Dancing and buffet\" first, which is right outside the hotel.

Staff are all very friendly and helpful, and all quite lovely. Rooms and the overall facility are clean and well maintained, and appear recently refurbished. Rooms are stocked with a minifridge, kettle, teacups and some instant coffee, tea, hot chocolate. However no microwave.

The hotel restaurant has fantastic food, excellent options for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and great barista coffee. The restaurant is partially \"open air\" so you can see the waves right next to your table and feel the warm ocean breeze.

Although it's located on the seaside, there is no sand on the beach, just rocks and crabs, so not suitable for swimming. But it's still a beautiful view and we even saw a whale while having breakfast one day! There are much nicer beaches for swimming etc close by.

Tuesday night is Island Night buffet and dance performance, well worth the experience. The Hula Bar beside is not too noisy but does play music until 11pm each night.

Overall 10/10 highly recommend

Leisure Family_with_children

8/10

Excellent

26 Jun 2025

JEFFREY

Happy helpfull staff.

Leisure

8/10

Excellent

21 Jun 2025

Roshni

Staff are friendly and helpful…4 minutes walk to the Airport…delicious food and drinks available all times..island night was spectacular.. just by the sea cool breeze with nice sea view…clean and tidy environment…house keepers kept my room tidy…Bus service right on the door…had am amazing experience and would recommend as well…

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

21 Jun 2025

Thomas

Wir waren hier nach einem 3wöchigen Segeltörn und genossen die Unterkunft. Essen, Frühstück, Nähe zum Flughafen, alles war wunderbar.

Leisure Partner

6/10

Pleasant

18 Jun 2025

Lisa

The loction to airport was the reason for booking this accommodation

10/10

Exceptional

18 Jun 2025

Josh

Was a rainy muggy day. The air con was fantastic. They do decent meals and have a bar right on the waters edge

Leisure Self

4/10

Poor

17 Jun 2025

Claire

Booked this hotel so my family and I (including two young children) could sleep for a few hours before getting on a late flight.
Very basic but that is ok for just a few hours stay. Beds had only a sheet.
There was very loud music from the bar which made it impossible to sleep.
Would not recommend for this reason.

Leisure Family_with_children