It took me some time searching on internet to find this wonderful place in lovely tropical lush surroundings.
From the time that Esa welcomed me at airport (at 1am!!!) until I left 6 days later I enjoyed my stay at Ambala Gardens.
Nancy’s breakfast were simply wonderful and can only endorse what others have said about this. I had the best Eggs Benedict with a smoked Marlin dressing I have ever had.
The accommodation was lovely - I had originally booked the Linden Suite, but was upgraded to the Frangipani Suite. If you are looking for peaceful relaxing accommodation then this is it.
Really enjoyed the several hours Esa spent on his "Raratonga tour" - this was second visit to Raratonga and I Esa showed me aspects of the Cooks that I am sure most visitors do not see.

Would definitely come back to stay.

Apr 10, 2011

Nancy is a very thoughtful hostess. We landed in Rarotonga at 7 am. Nancy was there to pick us up. She took us home and gave us coffee. Later she took us into town to get some things we needed. She listened to us talk about what we'd like to do, made some suggestions and made the phone calls to arrange it. Her breakfasts set us up for the day: juice, fruit, exotic smoothies, huge cooked breakfast, toast, tea or coffee. You don't need lunch! Two examples of her thoughtfulness: When we wanted to walk to a restaurant in the evening she gave us torches (flashlight to Americans) so we could find our way home (it gets very dark) . When we left, she took us to the airport (by the scenic route); then, after returning home she found I'd left some medication in the refrigerator, so she drove right back to the airport and it was handed to me as we boarded the 'plane.
Ambala Garden Lodge is not on the beach; it is five minute walk up a quiet side road. If you prefer the sound of birds (including the feral cockerels!) to the sound of human activity, you will like it.

Stayed there in April 2010. Esa and Nancy were outstanding hosts. Got picked up from the airport by Esa back to the lodge. They upgraded me to the larger room for free since it was vacant. They gave me great recommendations on what activities in town (and they were spot on). The only downside was that the location is a car/scooter ride away from the town but the beach is only a 5-10 minute walk. Even just for their hospitality, warmth, and Nancy's unbelievable breakfasts, they deserve an excellent 5-star grade.

After spending numerous hours researching and reading reviews I honestly thought that we had booked the most idyllic place to spend 9 glorious days with the family relaxing and enjoying the warm weather. This unfortunately was not the case at all and very disappointing. The Garden Suite was dark and dingy, with no natural light. The kitchen was akin to a backpacking hostel with no oven, no kettle a dilapidated fridge and only a camping stove to boil water on if you cared for a cup of coffee - Not something that you would expect when you are asked to pay $ 210 per night. As for the bedrooms there were adequate beds however at the head of both beds there were wires hanging out of the wall with no coverings!! Extremely dangerous and would not pass normal safety standards - Clean sheets/towels were offered on the 5th day however should be changed more regularly considering that there was no air-conditioning. The bathroom too had no natural light, no bath, stank of damp and you shared the toilet with centipedes.

The overall cleanliness of the apartment was appalling and needed a good clean and vacuum. Unfortunately there were no cleaning products/mops available otherwise I would have done it myself! We tired looking for alternative accommodation but Esa would not give us our money back. Fortunately we had family staying around the corner at AITO Apartments and we spent majority of our time there only returning to Ambala Gardens to sleep.

Before you part with your hard earned cash, I strongly recommend that you reconsider and don’t take all of the other reviews as face value and get caught into the same trap that we did. There are other apartments out there that accommodate all needs that are closer to the beach, cleaner, neat and truly show you the spirit of Rarotonga without burning a hole in your pocket.