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Sunhaven Beach Bungalows – reviews, photos

Main Rd, Arorangi., Arorangi, Cook Islands
Hotel amenities
Special offer
Free scooter or car hire
Sunhaven Beach Bungalows
5.0 of 5 stars 56 Reviews
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56 reviews from our community

    Trip type
Traveller rating
    51
    3
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    2
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Date Rating
Edmonton, Canada
Top Contributor
50 reviews 50 reviews
Reviews in 11 cities Reviews in 11 cities
92 helpful votes 92 helpful votes
“Immaculate Accommodation”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 12 February 2012
5
people found this review helpful

The accommodation was true to its name. SUN because there was abundance of it and HAVEN because it truly was like heaven on earth, very quiet, private, peaceful, beautiful scenery, excellent surroundings, great pool, hammocks, benches, sun tanning chairs, beautiful flowers, you name it and they have got it. Patti, Dennis & their staff keep the place very clean & spotless. They cleaned the room every day, provided new towels & supplies, plenty of tea & coffee, they are very receptive to all your needs. They also provided kitchen stuff (pots, pans, plates, cutlery, etc.) There was also a 2 burner stove, fridge, kettle, jug, and toaster). The shower was great with plenty of flow & hot as well. It rained mostly at night and in 7 days it only rained once most of the day. Even on that day we had some sunny periods. The beach is only steps away. In the morning & evening we laid on the beach listening to the sounds of the ocean waves and in the afternoon when it was hot we would lie down on the hammock and enjoy the ocean breeze. If you feel it is too hot you can go inside your suite and cool down in the air-conditioning. Yes, they have air-condition in the suites but not in the Bungalows. Air-condition is extra cost over & above your room rate. The location is excellent; it is mid-west of the Island so you get beautiful sunsets. It is approx. 5 km from the town of Avarua. They also have a restaurant on the resort for Breakfast & Lunch which is quite good. Prices of food are quite steep all over the Island. You have 5 or 6 restaurants in walking distance; corner stores are located on either side clockwise & anti clockwise direction. There was a very nice Chinese restaurant in the clockwise direction right across from Castaway Beach Villas. Their prices were very reasonable approx. $10NZD a plate. There are also a couple of churches in walking distance. There are 2 buses that run around the Island one in the clockwise direction & the other in the anti-clockwise direction. There are no bus stops so you have to flag it to stop it anywhere you are. We had bought a book of 10 tickets for $25 NZD. Do not miss Koka Lagoon Cruise (or another similar cruise), Te Vara Nui Village (incredible cultural show & Island food) and Punanga Nui (Market on Saturday). People on the Island are wonderful. Patti looked after us like a mother and we felt very homely. She would bring us nice fruit every day and do our laundry as well. Dennis even dropped us at the airport. Thanks a million! to Patti, Dennis & all their staff for making our vacation a “Dream Vacation”. We have travelled a lot around the world but have never felt like home like you guys made us feel. They make you feel like you are part of their family. God bless you all. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Room Tip: Room # 8 is right in front of the ocean.
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  • Stayed January 2012, travelled as a couple
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
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Ask Simba888 about Sunhaven Beach Bungalows
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Dennis Hogan, Owner at Sunhaven Beach Bungalows, responded to this review
19 February 2012
Kia Orana smithani,

Thank you very much for your excellent review. You've provided a huge amount of information about Sunhaven and Rarotonga which I'm sure readers will find most informative and very helpful.

Yes when the sun is shining it's easy to see how we got the name Sunhaven.

Hope to see you again.

Kia manuia,
Dennis and Patti (mother)
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Auckland, New Zealand
1 review
1 helpful vote 1 helpful vote
“Perfect holiday”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 22 January 2012
1
person found this review helpful

Thanks to everyone at SUNHAVEN - I really felt I was at a home away from home - quiet,clean and the best banana cake in the world!. Great relaxed atmosphere, great pool, close to town and I cound't have been looked after any better.
Cheers to you all

Stayed December 2011, travelled solo
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Ask Sandy J about Sunhaven Beach Bungalows
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Dennis Hogan, Owner at Sunhaven Beach Bungalows, responded to this review
27 January 2012
Kia Orana Sandy J,

Thanks for that. We really appreciate your review and we're happy you found Sunhaven so relaxing.

Yes Patti's famous banana cake is hard to turn down for sure. So is her carrot cake and double chocolate cake. My favourite is caramel cake....mmmmm. In fact all her home baked cakes and muffins are mouth watering. Especially topped off with a Brunch Cafe latte or cappuccino.

Hope to see you again when you need more R & R Sunhaven style.

Kia manuia,
Dennis and patti
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Vancouver, Canada
Reviewer
5 reviews 5 reviews
Reviews in 4 cities Reviews in 4 cities
7 helpful votes 7 helpful votes
“Laid Back Cook Islands”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 26 December 2011
4
people found this review helpful

Clean, quiet and beautiful location. We appreciated the access to facilities - nice pool, kayaks, bbq. Staff were very friendly and helpful - gave us some good restaurant tips. We liked the laid back atmosphere. Beach is rocky making swimming in the ocean difficult, although there were some sandier beaches within walking distance. Although the weather was warm - we had mostly clouds with some rain. When we had a sunset - it was spectacular. Bring mosquito repellant - can't see them, but they're plentiful. Internet was slow and no 3G network which probably made vacation better. We appreciated the international travelers atmosphere without the all inclusive vacation compound feel. We'll be back!

Room Tip: We chose pool side bungalow - corner units have better airflow through rooms.
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  • Stayed November 2011, travelled as a couple
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 4 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 3 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
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Ask BubiSchmidt about Sunhaven Beach Bungalows
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Dennis Hogan, Owner at Sunhaven Beach Bungalows, responded to this review
28 December 2011
Kia Orana BubiSchmidt,

Appreciate your positive review... thank you so much.

Yes we do sometimes get spectacular sunsets at the end of a wet day. The suns rays radiate through the clouds bouncing off the water droplets producing awsome colours in the same way a rainbow is formed. Glad you got to see one. Yes the internet is slow but that's to remind you that you are in the "Laid Back Cook Islands".

We do our best to groom the sandy beach every day ridding it of small rocks but regulations prevent us taking rocks out of the lagoon itself. But as you say there are better spots for swimming a few minutes walk along the beach.

Happy New Year and we hope to see you again.

Kia manuia,
Dennis and Patti
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Wanganui NZ
Reviewer
4 reviews 4 reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
2 helpful votes 2 helpful votes
“Awsome holiday”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 19 December 2011
1
person found this review helpful

Sunhaven and Rarotonga was the best. Sunhaven was so accomodating. The resort is quiet, private and sooo clean. We had a pool to cool off, the ocean 3 feet away, a 5 minute walk along the beach (day and night) to the Shipwreck bar.
Everybody at the resort where so helpful, booked us into the Waterline for dinner on our first night, sorted out our scooters and the scooter place down the road picked us up and gave us A++ scooters and service. Thanx Patti & Dennis, we will be back, in a heartbeat.

Room Tip: The seperate bungalows have a seperate bedroom (for those early rises)
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  • Stayed October 2011, travelled with friends
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
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Ask TraceycWanganuiNZ about Sunhaven Beach Bungalows
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Dennis Hogan, Owner at Sunhaven Beach Bungalows, responded to this review
28 December 2011
Kia Orana Tracey,

Thank you so much for posting this nice review. We're happy to have fulfilled all your needs and that you had an "awsome" holiday at Sunhaven. Keep the heart beating and we'll see you again when you need more of the same.

Happy New Near and Kia manuia,
Dennis and Patti
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Melbourne, Australia
1 review
“An Excellent place to stay”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 15 December 2011

Sunhaven is an excellent place to stay on the island. We felt were welcomed and looked after.
We like the place as being a nice, tranquil where you can relax and have great vacation.
It was great going out in the morning exploring the lagoon with the kayaks or snorkel just outside
on the beach.
The room was nice,clean and kept to high standard.I especially loved having the fresh flowers in room everyday- a nice personal touch :)

  • Stayed November 2011, travelled as a couple
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 4 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
Was this review helpful? Yes
Ask Daliya G about Sunhaven Beach Bungalows
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Dennis Hogan, Owner at Sunhaven Beach Bungalows, responded to this review
16 December 2011
Kia Orana Daliya G,

We really appreciate you taking the time to post a review. Thanks very much. Glad you found Sunhaven tranquil and relaxing and that you enjoyed your stay with us. We hope you can come back again sometime to enjoy the flowers.

Merry Christmas and Kia manuia,

Dennis and Patti
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Additional Information about Sunhaven Beach Bungalows

Main Rd, Arorangi., Arorangi, Cook Islands
Price range (per night):* INR7,169 - 13,050

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