Arcadia Retreat Rarotonga

W e had birthday retreat lovely 6 days. Neil was a great host, friendly eager to help and assist. Making our holiday restful and enjoyable . The unit was more than perfect great outdoor living , we cooked used our BBQ everyday for both lunch and dinner. The pool was stunning

We have visited Rarotonga several times before but Arcadia has been by far the best place we stayed at. Such a gorgeously landscaped, well equipped retreat. We were there with 4 teenage boys (17-19 yrs old) and they also loved it. The pool area is amazing and we all spent plenty of time lounging about there. Luckily we had the place to ourselves - we rented 2 of the units and they were super comfortable, spacious and well laid out. Would WHOLLY recommend this place

If you are not into resorts & prefer the relaxed vibes of self-contained accommodation slightly off the beaten track, Arcadia is an amazingly chill Retreat & a home away from home - our family loved it. We stayed in Toru, and adored the island style, outdoor shower room, and the huge covered deck with the pool outlook. It is the perfect place to relax & enjoy the weather, a book, & the pool in the downtime between planned activities. We could not recommend it enough.

Arcardia Retreat is a fantastic destination, if you’re unsure whether to book, don’t even hesitate! From arrival Neil and Maxine were incredibly helpful - helping with logistics of bookings and even dropping us off to get bikes. We stayed in toru rooms and it was gorgeous. Spacious and light and with an incredible outdoor shower. Big kitchen to cook in but we ended up just eating out for lunch/dinner meals as it seemed cheaper than factoring in all the groceries. The pool was amazing and beautifully clean. We can’t fault a thing about Arcadia Retreat. 100% will be back and will be recommending to family and friends.

This is the third time at Acardia Retreat & as a family we always love coming here. Highly recommend, beautiful pool, BBQ area & very comfortable villa (Rua). Hubby was in his happy place, (Gazebo by the pool) cooking on the new BBQ & fridge stocked with his favourite beers. Rented a car as we find it easy to get around the island. Big thanks to Neil for making our stay so memorable 🌺

We were guests for 16 weeks (Dec, 2022 through Mar, 2023). Our stay began beautifully but ended badly. Hence the title of our review. The Good The property is beautiful. The landscaping and pool area are lovely. As the nearby beach is OK for walking but not suitable for swimming, we spent a lot of time in the pool. We were very happy with our villa (Toru). We were pleased to have a washer & dishwasher in the unit & a BBQ on the terrace. The outdoor bath/shower was interesting, and luckily we were never on our way out to it when the branches and coconuts fell in from the palm tree overhead! The Bad It was not exactly quiet, thanks to the dogs at night & the roosters crowing under our window by 4 or 5 every morning. This is difficult to remedy, as without air conditioning you need to keep the windows open at night. Ear plugs help somewhat. There were other 'critters', like the geckos, but most annoying were the ants, which were a serious problem, especially in the kitchen. You could not leave food on the counter for a minute without them appearing by the dozens from goodness knows where. The Ugly Initially we found Neil & Maxine to be delightful hosts. They were friendly, helpful & hospitable. However as time passed their spirit of hospitality seemed to wane. On several occasions Maxine made comments that we found inappropriate and unprofessional. For example, she made a point of telling us how high their electric bill was in January, due no doubt to our liberal use of the ceiling fans (without which we could not have survived the heat & humidity). She also commented that a certain repeat guest would probably not be coming this year, as they were not prepared to give him the "sweet deal" that he apparently had with the former owner. As we had booked and made our deposit to the previous owner months before, they were bound by the terms of our booking. However she made it clear that we should not expect such a favorable price in future either. Although we made an effort to overlook these and other remarks, we began to doubt the suitability of our hosts to the hospitality business. The clincher came in the first week of March, when 3 friends from the staff of Moana Sands Villas, where we had stayed for 2 months in 2020, dropped by to invite us to an event. They came because several days before they had left a message for us with Neil, which we did not get. As we spoke with them by the side of the pool, Maxine approached us and announced that we were not allowed to have visitors on the property without their prior approval. Apart from the fact that we were not expecting them, and so could hardly be expected to obtain prior approval, we found this reprimand, delivered in front of our friends & 2 other guests in the pool, very unprofessional. Needless to say, they all quickly departed. I promptly sought out Maxine, who launched into a tirade, chastising us for also having visitors on 2 previous occasions without their permission. Without allow

We stayed with Neil and Maxine for 4 nights. We were in Tahi (One). The accommodation was excellent. Plenty of room in this family sized two bedroom apartment. It is on the first floor with a long covered deck, plenty of family space for relaxing and dining. We used the pool and bbq area and loved it. The place is very relaxing and Neil is a great host. Making sure we had everything we needed and that our stay was comfortable and relaxed. Neil also showed us around Toru (Three). This is a slightly smaller two bedroom ground level apartment. It has an outdoor, but covered, bathroom, covered varanda and would be excellent for couples. If we're ever back in Raro, we'd love to stay at Acadia Retreat again.

This is one of the best spots in Rarotonga. Three dwellings each housing 4 people. Adult only unless you book the entire place. Lovely pool and beautiful surrounds. On sunset side of the island and only about 300 metres to the beach. Not sure I should be writing this as I don’t want everyone to know and thus make it unavailable to us when we want to visit! 😜

We spent a terrific Christmas 2022 at Arcadia Retreat for two weeks and New Year. The owners - Neil and Maxine could not have been more helpful and and made us very welcome. We went with our daughter and her partner and stayed in the villa overlooking the pool. We explored the local restaurants as well as cooking for ourselves on occasions. The very best Fish and Chips is located within a short walking distance. We would certainly recommend Arcadia Retreat and look forward to visiting again !!