Palm Grove Resort: Your Private Piece of Paradise on Rarotonga
When you’re looking for a place to stay in Rarotonga, you really cant go wrong with a beachfront bungalow. We stumbled upon Palm Grove Resort, located in the village of Vaimaanga on the stunning Southern Coast of Rarotonga, and knew we would love it. Palm Grove is your own piece of paradise. It wasn’t until we actually arrived at our studio on the beach, that we felt like we were in paradise. The southern coast is one the best spots for swimming and snorkeling. And with the private beach at Palm Grove, you hardly ever run into other people while you’re on the beach.
Location
Palm Grove Rarotonga is situated along the stunning southern coast of Rarotonga in the village of Vaimaanga. The white sand beach located at Palm Grove has a beautiful lagoon that has some of the best swimming on the island. The lagoon is useable at all tides. The sand stretches over 10 km in each direction, so walks along the beach are ideal. Palm Grove is located in a calm and protected lagoon which offers safe swimming and snorkeling for all ages.
See the full property tour here:
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Property
Palm Grove is a small and friendly resort with 22 self-contained bungalows scattered over 5 acres consisting of beachfront or garden bungalows. There are 9 beachfront studio, 13 garden suites, and a beach villa, ranging from 1-3 bedrooms. The beachfront studios are the perfect location, with a private deck overlooking the beach. Each one feels like its own private bungalow. We never felt like we were bothered by other guests, or did we feel like it was crowded. The bungalows are spaced out nicely which helps with privacy and noise.
Across the road, is the restaurant, reception, and the garden studios. The garden studios are situated around the swimming pool, with a private patio overlooking the gardens. The studios have modern finishing and bamboo ceilings. All studios include a full kitchen and air-conditioning. The resort provides complimentary kayaks and snorkeling equipment for all guests, and free use of the BBQ grill by the pool.
Rooms
The rooms are available in studios up to three bedrooms, which means its not just for couples, but also for families or friends traveling together. All rooms are very spacious, with a full-kitchen, air-conditioning, ceiling fan, stereo/MP3 player and a flat screen TV. Quick side note on the TV, theres only 1 channel, and there usually isn’t much on, we bought DVDs from a store just down the road. The rooms have a traditional Polynesian feel, made with bamboo, but with modern furnishings. The beachfront bungalows have a gorgeous private deck overlooking the beach, while the deck of the garden bungalows face the pool.
Amenites
Some of our favorite amenities of Palm Grove, are the onsite restaurant and bar, freshwater pool, push bike and motorbike rentals onsite, and UV-filter taps in all rooms, which means not having to spend extra money on bottled water! The hotel also provides free Sunday church shuttle, which is a popular thing to do especially if its your first time in the Cook Islands. The reception staff is more than willing to help you book any transfers or tours during your stay on Rarotonga.
The Yellow Hibiscus Restaurant And Bar
On the property, is the Yellow Hibiscus Restaurant, an open-air restaurant, open daily for lunch and dinner. Lunch is rom 12-2 and dinner starts at 6pm. On Sundays, the Yellow Hibiscus throws a fun event where they BBQ accompanied with live entertainment for $35 (NZD)/person. There is also live music playing on Tuesdays and Fridays. Continental breakfast is complimentary for guests, with hot breakfast available for purchase.
Located nearby Palm Grove:
- Vaima Restaurant- Polynesian Bar and Restaurant right on the beach with fish, pasta, and pizza. Happy Hour every day from 4-7pm
- Cocolatte Café- A great spot for breakfast and coffee, right across from the supermarket. Open every day from 8am-3pm
- Wigmores Superstore- 200 meters down the road, with fresh produce, food, ice cream, alcohol, ATM and petrol. Open daily 6am-9pm.
- Saltwater Cafe- a casual dining spot right on Rarotonga’s south coast. Open Sunday-Thursday for breakfast and lunch starting at 9am.
While we were staying at Palm Grove, we felt like family. We encountered many guests during our stay who were repeat guest from the previous year, they loved it so much they had to come back. Everyone in the office and the restaurant staff were all so welcoming and friendly. While we didn’t have the best weather during our stay, Palm Grove still felt like absolute paradise. If you can wake up with a smile on a rainy day in the Cook Islands, you’ll be loving life when the sun finally comes out! A quiet piece of paradise, right on the most perfect beach in Rarotonga; it doesn’t get much better than that!
If you’re planning a trip to the Cook Islands, take a look at some of our other posts:
Thanks to Palm Grove for hosting us. As always, all opinions are our own!
