The Islander Hotel

Location: Main Road, Panama, Rarotonga, Rarotonga, CK

Star Rating: 3 Stars

Property Type: Hotels

About this Property

Important Information

Policies

Check-in: 02:00 PM - anytime

Check-out: 10:00 AM

Instructions: The front desk is open daily from 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The check-in location differs from the property location. Check-in location: [Islander Hotel's Tiki Bar after 5pm.]. The front desk is staffed during limited hours.

Amenities & Facilities

• Free breakfast
• Meeting rooms
• Full-service spa
• Boat tours nearby
• Nightclub
• Terrace
• Garden
• Luggage storage
• Designated smoking area
• Street parking
• Concierge service
• Wheelchair accessible
• Evening entertainment
• Picnic area
• ATM/banking
• Golfing nearby
• Snorkeling nearby
• Bicycle rentals nearby
• Scuba diving nearby
• Scooter/moped rentals nearby
• Free breakfast
• Nightclub
• Multilingual staff
• Free newspapers in lobby
• Front desk (limited hours)
• Mountain biking nearby
• Full-service spa
• Meeting rooms
• Wedding services
• Use of nearby fitness center (discount)
• Ecotours nearby
• Tours/ticket assistance
• Snack bar/deli
• Parking (limited spaces)
• Free self parking
• Beach towels
• Boat tours nearby
• Free cooked-to-order breakfast
• Concerts/live shows
• Accessible shuttle
• No accessible shuttle
• Tile flooring in public areas

Rooms Available

• Cabana Couples

  1 King Bed and 1 Twin Bed

  484-sq-foot room with partial ocean views

  
  

  Relax - In-room massage available

  Internet - Free WiFi 250+ Mbps (good for 3–5 people or up to 10 devices)

  Entertainment - 32-inch LED TV with satellite channels

  Food & Drink - Mini-fridge, electric kettle, room service (limited hours), and free tea bags/instant coffee

  Sleep - Tempur-Pedic bed, premium bedding, blackout drapes/curtains, and bed sheets

  Bathroom - Shower, a hair dryer, and towels

  Practical - Free weekday newspaper, iron/ironing board, and laptop workspace

  Comfort - Air conditioning and daily housekeeping

  Accessibility - Tile flooring in room

  Need to Know - No cribs (infant beds) available

  Non-Smoking

  Max Occupancy: 3 (3 Adults)

  • Shower
  • TV
  • Telephone
  • Air conditioning
  • Hair dryer
  • Desk
  • Satellite channels
  • Tile/marble floor
  • Electric kettle
  • Wardrobe or closet
  • Toilet paper
  • Shampoo
  • Room service (limited hours)
  • Daily housekeeping
  • Ceiling fan
  • Premium bedding
  • Blackout drapes/curtains
  • In-room childcare (surcharge)
  • In-room massage available
  • Free WiFi
  • No cribs (infant beds)
  • Bedsheets provided
  • Free tea bags/instant coffee
  • Soap
  • Laptop-friendly workspace

Guest Reviews

• Shania (10/5): - 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!
• jacqueline (6/5): - 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.
• Paul (10/5): - Very clean room / Staff were very friendly / Heavenly view to the ocean / Awsome
• Grand (8/5): - Stay was good just not long enough and didn’t help we miss a day of our booking
• Marc (10/5): - The lady we had at reception to welcome us was super friendly and helpful. Easily walkable from the airport even with young kids.
• Theres (10/5): - Alle waren sehr nett. Das Zimmer war sehr schön. Wir würden wieder kommen.
• Brenda (8/5): - Nice and close to the airport. The included breakfast was great.
• Chrissy (6/5): - 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.
• Garrie (6/5): - 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.
• Sala (10/5): - Staff were friendly, Kind & hospitable. Rooms were clean and tidy. Had a great stay at the premises
• Grace (10/5): - 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
• Juliana (8/5): - Great staff that were very helpful. Location to the airport is the reason to stay. Its right across the road. Excellent food and drinks.
• stephanie (10/5): - 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
• Trish (10/5): - Great place to rest and refresh after a late flight in. Easy walk from airport and 24 hr service. Great views at breakfast.
• Carol (10/5): - Perfect for stopovers before flying off to an island. Across the road from the airport. Great food and drink menu
• Information (10/5): - 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
• Solomon (8/5): - Late arrival into RAR. Easy, short walk from the airport. Very clean and comfortable room. Perfect for an overnight stay.
• Subhash (10/5): - Great location. Friendly staff and great service. Rooms were nice and clean. Free Wifi. Memorable cultural night show too.
• Christine (8/5): - Walkable location from airport after long flight. Very convenient.
• Velmor (8/5): - 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.
• Verified traveler (6/5): - 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.
• Paul (10/5): - 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. 😊
• Ram (2/5): - TV not working no remote hot water jug not working air conditioner not good not enough hand towels
• Metua (6/5): - 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.
• Sue (10/5): - 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.
• Grace (10/5): - Great place amazing staff
• Amanda (10/5): - .
• Deidre (8/5): - Very accommodating for a 3am check in and easy
• Kim (10/5): - Great place, very short walk from the airport, good food.
• Adam (4/5): - 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.
• Chris (8/5): - 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.
• Raewyn Jane (10/5): - 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
• Claire (10/5): - Very close to the airport!
• Anna (4/5): - 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.
• Aileen (10/5): - Lovely staff and awesome service. Definitely recomment.
• Julie (8/5): - 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 .
• Mark (8/5): - Great vibe
• Joan (10/5): 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.
• Kathryn (2/5): - 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.
• Kathryn (2/5): - 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!
• Puawai (4/5): - 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
• Aileen (10/5): - 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
• Kerry (10/5): - Great overnight stop before flying out.
• Alexandra (10/5): - Really good for a layover between flights
• phillip (10/5): - The staff were outstanding, they helped with any thing we needed 🙂 food was amazing and great prices. Rooms were super clean. Absolutely loved it
• Susan (8/5): - 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).
• Angie (8/5): - 1 night stay, hot shower, nice bed. Courteous staff. Nice breakfast.
• Peter (10/5): - 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.
• Anjalin (10/5): - Excellent location and breakfast options.
• Cynthia (6/5): - That it is across the road from the airport, and a bar that is open till l8
• Vasuki (10/5): - Food was excellent. Hospitality was good. Divine Spa was great. Thank you.
• Bill (10/5): - Location. Location, Location.
• Alesha (8/5): - Great for a stop over right across from the airport
• Simone (10/5): - 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
• Melissa (10/5): - 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!
• Janet (6/5): - 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.
• Norman (10/5): - 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.
• Deborah (2/5): - Clean, friendly staff.
• Robert (10/5): - Excellent for what we needed.
• Rhys (10/5): - 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
• JEFFREY (8/5): - Happy helpfull staff.
• Roshni (8/5): - 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…
• Thomas (10/5): - Wir waren hier nach einem 3wöchigen Segeltörn und genossen die Unterkunft. Essen, Frühstück, Nähe zum Flughafen, alles war wunderbar.
• Lisa (6/5): - The loction to airport was the reason for booking this accommodation
• Josh (10/5): - Was a rainy muggy day. The air con was fantastic. They do decent meals and have a bar right on the waters edge
• Claire (4/5): - 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.
• Jayne (2/5): - Terrible, was put in a room right next to the music when specifically asked to be as far away from it as possible. Was told the music would stop at 10pm and it went until 11.20pm and lights from the party shone straight into our room. There is no mention of this on their website and no compensation offered. Would definitely not recommend. Dinner was terrible too - tough raw steak and soggy chips.
• David (6/5): - Nothing
• Siglinde (8/5): - We had an early flight back to AUS and they served our breakfast which would be from 8am into our room the night before. Great. 👍
• Lee (2/5): - Those with children beware! There was loud music going late into the night, once until nearly midnight. Staff said they would turn it down at 10pm, but they never did.
• Verified traveler (10/5): - The Islander Hotel was a pleasant surprise! Conveniently within walking distance from the airport, it was a wonderful place to spend my first night. Breakfast was included and delicious, and served in a lovely beachside restaurant.
• Gemma (8/5): - We only stayed for one night as we had an early 3am flight. The location is perfect to get to the airport as it is directly across the road. It was sooo handy waking up in the early hours of the morning and not having to worry about transport to the airport. The room was clean and comfortable and the views from the bar/restaurant were stunning. We were a bit disappointed that there were no vegetarian meals available at the restaurant (from my understanding these need to be ordered in advance?). Unfortunately, we werent aware of this and ended up just eating some sides which was a bit of a shame considering it was our last dinner in Rarotonga. We were super impressed with the service however. The staff kindly delivered us our breakfast (muesli and fresh fruit) at 9pm at night since we were going to miss out on the breakfast the next morning. This was a lovely surprise as we thought we'd just be missing out entirely. Thanks to The Islander team!
• Carey (10/5): - We love the ease of being able to walk from the airport. We love how much space we had in our room. Everything was clean and ready for us. We wish we would have asked for water and ice when we checked in.
• Claudia (8/5): - It would be nice to have had breakfast but couldn't as the airplane left at 9am. Not sure if it could be served at 7am instead of 8am. Overall it was nice to stay there.
• Marti (8/5): - Gave a hostel vibe versus an actual hotel.
• Linda (10/5): - Perfect place to have a meal, shower while waiting for your flight.
• Bernie (8/5): - The outside from the street understates the interior. The room was nice, clean and the bed comfortable. I was worried about the bar going all night, but it closed at a reasonable time. Great place to stay if you are catching a plane or arriving late.
• Cairyn (10/5): - Great location to airport. Literally right across the road. 3 minute walk. Staff are so lovely. There is a popular bar onsite. Great if you are sociable and intend being in there at night! Rooms are directly behind bar area but didn’t notice it in my room to be honest. Pool is located in the restaurant and never saw anyone swim in it for that reason. Awesome cultural show and dinner on Tuesday nights. Room is spacious and clean. I’d def stay here again on my return
• Michelle (10/5): - Lovely location. Primo Air conditioning! Was a great overnight stay after getting off the plane late at night. Thoroughly enjoyed our cooked breakfast and coffees the next morning. Would stay again and recommend to other's.
• Donna (6/5): - Convenient location to airport, just a short walk away. No desk staff most of the time, had to make inquiries at the bar or ask a server to assist. Room was very clean and would stay here again for the convenience while waiting for flights.
• Randall (10/5): - !
• Elenore (8/5): - Enjoyed a full breakfast included in our stay. Enjoyed free WIFI. Thank you!
• Emma-Grace (8/5): - We didn’t have a remote for the TV. Had no signal to the TV. The Aircon remote was not functioning, couldn’t adjust the temperature, so we had to turn on the ceiling fan. Bath towels were full of Fluffs.
• Bulathsinha Arachchige (10/5): - Lovely people, lovely food, very close to the airport. Took care of my parents well.
• Nan (10/5): - We stayed only one night before our accommodations were ready. Arriving at almost midnight, we found them ready for us, friendly and helpful. The room was clean, and most of all cool. Breakfast the next morning was stellar. We slept well, had a wonderful breakfast and were ready to start the day!
• Darrell (10/5): - If you’re just looking for a clean, decent, and convenient place to stay for 1-2 nights, I highly recommend this place. We landed around 11:30 pm, this hotel is very close to the airport (walkable). We stayed here at the front and back ends of our trip as we spent the majority of the trip in Aitutaki. We would stay here again. The restaurant had great food and drinks. I even got a wonderful massage for a great price here. They also have free WiFi. WiFi is hard to find on the island unless you purchase a Vodafone plan or pay for resort’s data plans.
• Timothy J (6/5): Feb. 1st and 2nd, 2025 - If you want quiet time on a Saturday night, don’t stay here. The drumming lasted till almost 10pm. The room was spacious and we enjoyed the A/C. The food was good and we enjoyed the seafood chowder and the seafood linguine. We had it both Saturday and Sunday evening. WiFi in room 8 was almost nonexistent. Mgmt needs to add another access point or an extender to get wifi to the end of the guest hallway. WiFi signals do not penetrate cement block structures well which explains the poor signal strength.
• Tereapii Seddon (10/5): - Love the services .
• Aroha (10/5): - easy check ins as i have just got off the plane from nz !! thank you to the staff at the islander we appreciate use and your time for the locals who fly in and out of raro .
• Henry (10/5): - Love it
• Paul (6/5): - The Islander is very conveniently located 1 block to the airport. Has an ocean side restaurant and bar, the bar scene is loud music until 10pm - hotel rooms face the bar. The staff are friendly and welcoming. Unfortunately our dinner experience was poor, order was lost and our hotel room door lock broke and we got locked in our room. But hey stuff happens. All good
• Ngaoa (10/5): - Amazing service and room
• Timeri (10/5): - The property was convenient for myself while on the island. And with it offers was amazing and the wonderfull friendly staff, after a day or two you'll just love being around as much as i did. Highly recommend.
• Teremataora (10/5): - The rooms were spacious and the condition over all were excellent. Highly recommend this hotel especially at the price it's well worth it.
• Kim Sharrie (10/5): - Wonderful friendly staff and so easy to walk from the airport. Rooms were spacious and clean. Definitely stay here again.
• Henry (10/5): - Everything
• Amanda (8/5): - Very good service, accommodated my very early 1am arrival with no problems at all!
• Ngariki (6/5): - Highlight of my stay were the wonderful staff & the cooked breakfast every morning!
• Pare (8/5): - It is allgoods here
• Anna (10/5): - Easy access and had a young porter who was great on arrival and pushed our trolley into the rm what service that was, Thank u young man well done Islander.

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