Moana Sands Beachfront Villas

Great option for a family stay. with room for everyone. Excellent snorkelling right outside and very convenient being so close to a grocery store and take away joint with yummy burgers. The staff were very helpful and friendly, the villa was clean and well stocked with the basics.

If you found this review to be informative and helpful, please kindly note as it will help us better focus our future review efforts! We stayed at the Moana Sands Beachfront Hotel in late January on our visit to Rarotonga. This was our fourth trip to the Cook Islands and we’ve tried various accommodations to date, including two rental properties and another resort villas property within the island. Note Moana Sands Group has three properties on the island thus is the source of confusion for many reviews on TripAdvisor. We selected the Beachfront Hotel (believe it was the oldest property of the bunch) due to its ideal location beachfront on the reef for snorkelling. Upon booking the resort, it is important to note that those who have rental vehicles with flights arriving after-hours are still required to pay for a one-way shuttle for one person so the attendee can let you into your rooms. After further discussing with the property manager, you can elect to follow the transport or have one person join the shuttle. The driver from Kai Mani transport was efficient, friendly, greeted us with beautiful leis upon arrival, and waited on us while we sorted out our rental – they are an excellent transport provider. All hotel staff we interacted with during our stay were helpful and friendly. We elected for the deluxe suites on the third floor. The room itself is spacious and includes basic amenities in a mini-kitchenette of sorts (basic small appliances, utensils, mini-fridge). The room did show its age however, and during our stay we noticed the first- and second- floor rooms albeit smaller appeared to have recent renovations. We also found the air conditioner had serious challenges keeping up pace with the warm summer weather. We booked the property with the AC feature as a need to keep us cool, but the vaulted ceiling created more room volume/space to cool. Be aware as with any property in the tropics, that bugs/insects are abundant anywhere and some basic tips help keep them away from your room (keep food in fridge not on counter, clean up crumbs after eating, etc.) The option for a breakfast is a convenient way to start the day, but do note that there were few changes to selection during the course of our visit. Breakfast is continental variety, including fruits, teas/coffee/juices, breads, ham/cheese/veg, yogurt and cereals. During the last few days, we discovered a great way to make a toasted grilled sandwich – two slices of bread, buttered on the outside, with ham, cheese, tomato and onion, on the little George Foreman grill until golden brown. It really elevated the breakfast experience and is highly recommended. There is the option for grill breakfast items at extra cost should guests desire. The beachfront area was not busy during our stay, staff did their best to keep the area and sand nicely kept, and the property offers sports equipment for use. As avid snorkelers, we brought our own equipment and really enjoyed snorkelling the reef. In

We just arrived back from a lovely week at the Moana Sands Beachfront Hotel. The entrance and foyer look a little dated but don't judge before you have seen the rest. The rooms are light, comfortable and updated with comfortable bed, bathroom with lots of hot water and a kitchenette with kettle, fridge etc but it is the view from the room that is magic. The crystal clear lagoon is right in front of you with a very easy walk across the sand to the water and some good, safe snorkelling. Each suite has either a balcony (upstairs) or a patio (downstairs) just for you. This is a very small hotel with only a few rooms (15 or 16, I didn't count) which means it is very quiet, no noise or crowds. If you want loud music and crowds this isn't for you but it does have a good cocktail bar and great value Happy Hour drinks. There is a restaurant overlooking the water where you can watch the sunset with excellent food although it is also conveniently close to many other places to eat. The only drawback is that it doesn't have a pool. We were informed that we could use the pool at their sister properties but with the lagoon so close we didn't bother finding out if this was the case and we didn't miss the pool. The staff were also very helpful and friendly. I have been home for a week now and I am ready to go back.

As a couple, we stayed in one of the beachfront villas for two weeks. The view from our patio was excellent. A couple of dozen steps to the water. Very nice water. Tropical fish abound with your first steps into the water. Each and every day we would do a snorkel from there and see thousands of fish and beautiful coral. Across the street is the 24 hour Wigmore Supermarket. It is an excellent market. The takeout side of it has DELICIOUS takeout. We ordered there several times and took our meals across the street and enjoyed our beautiful view with a bottle of wine purchased at Wigmores. But as a couple, we were outnumbered by the families with children. So we felt a bit out of place. Not a dealbreaker but something to consider if you are a couple staying in one of the two studios. As others have mentioned this place needs decent Wi-Fi and provide it to guests as part of the room cost. We purchased over NZD $160 for WiFi over two weeks and it wasn't enough. There is a nice Smart TV in the room but one needed to use Wi-Fi to use it and we couldn't afford it. So we hardly turned it on. There was a nice stovetop hob and microwave for cooking but the place is sorely in need of better cookware and utensils. A sharp knife and a few more bowls would have helped. An oven would have made cooking easier too. The BBQ grill was in need of help. Guest laundry dryer wasn't working but we found a place in Muri that did our laundry for not much more than we would have paid to use the 'guest' laundry. All things considered, as a family, you'll be very happy here. A couple might want to check other options but if you find that this place wins greatly on cost, go ahead and book it. PS We had a huge hassle/issue on the last day of our stay and management was generous in offering a solution to our problem.

Very good snorkelling resort I stayed for 7 nights in the beach front villa 503 which is very easy access to the beach and very private. The two bedroom villa is very spacious with two ensuites which is very good. House keeping comes daily except Sunday. Plenty of towers to use. The swimming pool is the bonus my kids loves it. Snorkelling is best in the morning or late afternoon I saw sea turtle and ray around 5-6pm. Plenty of fish to see and is very safe to snorkel. There is a very good restaurant just two minutes walk - Viama. The only issue is that room 503 has no wifi even I bought hot spot voucher from the supermarket cross the road it is impossible to use it. My 4G data is very slow in the room as well. I have to go outside room to stream videos. In summary I would come back but really hope that resort has stable wifi connection in the future. I also visited sister hotel Moana sand hotel which has very nice beach to swim but snorkelling is not good as the villas.

Beautiful small Hotel direct on the beach. Very friendly staff and excellent food in the restaurant. We were eating around a lot but found their food one of the best. Rooms are spacious and clean, beach is beautiful. They just need to add some food for our fussy eaters for breakfast- some chocolate milk and cereals, nutella or other chocolate spread etc.

We booked 7 days here and my wife, my 4-year old daughter and myself had a relaxing and memorable time. Our room was on the first floor near the outside dining area which made it easy to access the beach as well as shuttle a tray from the kitchen. The breakfast buffet is adequate enough but if you want anything else other than cereal, toast or tropical fruits you’ll have to order a large carte from the menu. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful. They’ll help you book a tour or get a rental car. The location of the property is perfect with the beach in front and options for meals within walking distance such as Charlies or the garden cafe. The beach in front is excellent for children and the ocean has adequate marine life to snorkel or go for a quick kayak tour. We had such a memorable time that we are considering coming back again next year.

Omg this hotel was great. It’s an older place but the beds are so comfortable and units are clean. The staff are so lovely and always willing to help in any way. It was very quiet and right on the beach where we could swim. The only thing for us is that the menu wasn’t great but then that is just a personal preference for us. Overall I would stay there again any time.

Fantastic place the food was awesome, had rib steak & seafood chowder one night & then rib steak & chicken curry the next & it was just brilliant. The restaurant staff are lovely. We stayed here too & loved it.