The Edgewater Resort and Spa

We stayed at the Edgewater resort for 5 nights. The room was on the third level,so we could see the water between the palm trees and had a great view over the gardens Our room wasn't the cleanest,the bathroom was a bit dirty and the floor was sticky The cutlery and glasses weren't clean either, the only place to wash anything was in the bath room sink. The bed was clean,but the mattress was quite bumpy We were in a handy location to restaurants,pool,and bus stop. It is very handy that the buses come right in to the resort,makes going any where a breeze. Really friendly helpful drivers with a sense of humor The included breakfast were great,plenty of choice The restaurant was open until quite late each evening,with lovely food available and cocktails or other drinks The wait staff are great too, did see a situation where one of the lovely staff were verbally abused by a holiday maker, was not nice and uncalled for. The gardens are kept lovely The pool is not very big, and mostly filled with young children. Each day at the resort by the pool they have demonstrations such as coconut opening,crab racing etc. worth going to have a look Lovely views if sitting in the outdoor area of the restaurant It can be quite noisy at night as it is a big resort with people coming and going. The bedroom walls are not very sound proof,which was disturbing when the couple next to us argued with no thought to other guests.

We arrived after having spent 6 nights with a large group at another location on the island to spend the final 2 nights of our trip on our own for my partner's birthday. When we arrived they showed us to our room in the 200 block on the 2nd floor directly above the pool. It was extremely noisy and all you could hear was kids screaming, so after going for a wander around the resort and realising there were much quieter spots with a better lagoon view, we approached reception to ask about changing (the room information had advised that they would be very accommodating if we wanted to change or upgrade). The reaction we received from one of the ladies was quite rude (the second lady looked up the computer), saying everything was booked, but when I explained how noisy it was, the two ladies discovered a room in the 400 block "Aitutaki" that would be available after 3pm. So after a swim at the quiet part of the beach, we went back and were moved to an excellent location. Top floor, no kids screaming and a beautiful view to enjoy with your wine whilst sitting on the balcony. Aside from this, most of the staff are very friendly and accommodating. Take your ear plugs though because not only are there roosters going off at the crack of dawn, the walls are paper thin, so my partner put the single bed up against the locked door with the adjoining room which helped block out quite a bit of the sound, and we kept the bathoom door closed. The bar staff really don't like it if you try to order directly from the bar for some reason and are very short with you if you try to. There's also huge inconsistencies with the cocktails you get at happy hour, but that kind of adds to the fun of the experience. We didn't do the cultural night, but we did eat lunch at the resort, and the salads and tuna kebabs are yum. The sunsets are amazing, there's plenty of whale activity to watch (we were there in early Sept) and if you want to dine off site there are lots of places close by. We loved walking down the beach at sunset and dining at the Oceans restaurant at the Crown Resort. When you check out there's a baggage hold and a place to shower before heading to the airport for you your flight. We'd definitely recommend it if you can get a quiet room with a great view, and if you've got kids it seems like a great place to go. It's also very affordable if you want the resort experience, so we'll likely be back :-)

We stayed at the Edgewater Resort as we were invited to attend a wedding there. Staying in one if the superior garden bungalows we found little to complain about, in fact the room was clean and tidy if a little dated. But when you are staying at a beach front resort, you wouldn't expect to spend a lot of time in your room. Yes there were roosters crowing at all times but this us a very relaxed island and only to be expected. Staff were more than helpful and always ready to please. Would recommend to all to stay at this resort as the lagoon is beautiful and the kids are so well catered for. Food was awesome and very reasonably priced. Loved the Cocktail happy hour every afternoon between 5-6pm Wedding was beautiful on the beach and the Umu was set up to cater for the reception. Once again beautiful food served. Would definitely return again

Stayed here for the first time in August. Was impressed with the place. Staff were all so friendly and helpful. Amazing spot right next to the ocean. Beds weren't the most comfortable but that aside. Will be back.

We stayed at the Edgewater for 8 nights for friends wedding. There was 22 of us on total. Staff friendliness and helpfulness was hit a miss. Very expensive at the bar you could buy a box of corona 24pk at liquor store for $68 nzd if you had 24 bottles at the bar at Edgewater it would cost you $168 nzd! Cocktails were very expensive but great if you have Sav pouring them or any other spirit drinks. Rooms need a serious update if they want to continue to charge $230+ nzd a night. Lots of families so bare that in mind. Also security can be very rude at night with assuming groups are making noise when it's others. Night bus tour guide is awesome! He is very talented guy, would recommend having a chat with him sometimes host crab racing or at the snorkeling etc shack.

We stayed 5 nights, we had 27 in our entourage (3 3 bedroom garden villas, 2 garden rooms and one beach side room) Our garden villas were very clean, they were beautifully set out and had ample room for our families who used them, all facilities worked fine. I would recommend villa's 14 and 15 if you want to be away from the crowds- Villa 19 has a beach view and is closer to amenities. The tropical breakfast suited us really well! The filter coffee, fresh muffins and fresh pawpaw and yoghurt were a definite family fav!! Our kids enjoyed the pool, snorkeling, the games room, kids club and the activities hut.. The adults enjoyed cocktail hour, snorkeling, the crab races, activities hut; learning to play the ukelele, open coconuts, tie pareus and the tennis courts. We attended a huge Bday celebration and Wedding here all in the one weekend, and I cannot commend the staff enough for accommodating to our every need!! We loved everything about our stay at The Edgewater and can't wait to go back!!

We were a little nervous about coming here as the reviews are very mixed, but overall we were very satisfied and we would return. Highlights: - The a la carte food was outstanding, every time. We were very pleasantly surprised. We particularly enjoyed the seafood chowder and seafood platter on seafood night and had it both weeks! Incredible. The food is also very well priced, with lighter meals under $20. This contrasted to The Raratongan for example where we went for lunch, where the light meals were over $20. - Restaurant staff very friendly. They love kids and are always welcoming. - Lovely sunsets at happy hour. A good list of cocktails for $10 each from 5-6pm and plenty of staff to take care of everyone at that busy time. - Even our cleaner was friendly and personable. - There is no credit card surcharge at the resort which is great. There were no unexpected charges on our bill which was reassuring. Staff didn’t routinely give you a receipt when we charged things to our room, so it did take some effort to keep a track of expenditure (which I like to do!) - The pool is perfectly fine (not dirty as some reviews claim?) and has a small water slide for the kids. It is on the small side perhaps, but adequate for kids to play in. It is directly adjacent to the dining area and where the sun loungers are. - A clean, near-new cot was provided for our toddler free of charge. There are heaps of high chairs. - No extra charge for taking food up to your room, which we did a few evenings as eating out late with a 2 year old is not easy! The Spaghetti House did OK pizzas and chips to take out, at a very reasonable price, although we did find they put too much cheese on, so would suggest you ask for less cheese. Ring your order through and wander up the driveway to pick it up 30 minutes later. - The crab racing on a Friday is lots of fun for kids especially. I won’t give too much away! We didn’t bother with many of the other activities but the schedule was always full so there’s heaps to do if you’re into that. The sarong printing looked fun for $20. Not so good bits - Our main complaint was to do with the kids club. The set up is a small outdoor play area with swings, slide, trampoline, buckets and spades, bikes. This is fenced off and connected to the indoor area where there are games, drawing and a TV. The problem though is that the outdoor area is only accessible when the kids club is open during the day, which is 9am-12 and 2-5pm, 6 days a week. That is, only 36 hours a week! It was extremely difficult to explain to our 2-year-old that he couldn't play on the slide or tramp because the playground was closed outside of those hours. It was heartbreaking as he loved going there, and it was really the only thing other than the pool and the beach that you could do with a small child. It just made no sense at all to have a playground that can't be accessed for huge portions of the day, and all day Sunday! The only explanation I got was that there would be no supervision, but isn't that just like any other playground in the world, where parents are responsible for supervising their own children?! If they are worried about liability, then a simple sign saying that outside of "open hours" parents are responsible for their children, would fix that. I really hope the Resort reconsiders this set up as it is really quite bizarre for a family resort to restrict access to the playground! - Our other complaint was with the reception staff which weren't always helpful, for example declining to call a local restaurant to make a booking and telling us to call ourselves from our room! (which of course they would then charge us for!) Tips: - Wifi is expensive throughout Raro. We didn't use it. Turn off your phone and enjoy your holiday! - The rooms are basic but adequate. We had a lagoon view room. Towels were changed daily regardless of us leaving them hanging up and the sign saying they wouldn’t be changed if we did that. (This seems to happen everywhere and it is frustrating!) They provided shower gel, shampoo and soap in large dispensers stuck on the wall. - On our last day we rented a car so we could pack it up and leave the resort at 10am, but still had a "base" for the day until our late night flight. This worked really well and I would highly recommend it. The cost of a late check out is very high, I believe. Our one-day car rental was $90 including return to the airport and it started at 2pm the day before, so we actually had 30 hours. We rented from the rental place on site, but there are others. - The Cook Island lager is delicious and $8.50 for a handle. I was annoyed to find on my second last day that they have a loyalty card and I think our 9th or 10th beer would have been free. It was disappointing that this wasn’t offered to us as we drank a lot of beer! - The breakfast is a “tropical” breakfast, not a continental one (as some reviews complain about). They provide tea, coffee, juices, cereal, bread/toast, spreads, yoghurt, muffins and fruit. There were 6-7 fruits each day although sometimes they were tinned which was disappointing. I suppose it is to do with supply though. I was very disappointed on our first day when there was no coconut, but there was coconut every other day, as well as watermelon and paw paw, and bananas most days. You can buy eggs, pancakes etc off the a la carte menu but why would you bother?! No complaints from us about breakfast. - Buy beer and wine from one of the two liquor stores in Avarua (or duty free, but it’s not much cheaper) and bring it back to your room for evening drinks on the balcony. Much cheaper of course. - Take your own laundry powder to save buying a sachet for $2. A wash load is $6 and they don’t provide an airing rack or line, which is annoying. They suggest paying $6 to use a dryer which I won’t do when it is 26 degrees outside!! Especially given they have signs up about how expensive electricity is in Raro! So I hung our washing over the balcony for everyone to see from the pool and restaurant! I suggest the Resort invest in a few clothes horses and clothes lines for customers to use. - The local bus which runs clockwise and anti-clockwise once an hour each way comes right into the resort so you can’t miss it. Both buses come at about 40 minutes past the hour. $5 one way, $8 return or buy 10 rides for $30. - Look out for whales past the reef! We saw whales about every second day (August).

The photo above was all I knew of Edgewater but instead found myself in a old block with no view and a very tired room and furniture...the housekeepers should be rewarded for keeping such shabby rooms so spotlessly clean...it would be hard work !! Went to breakfast to find hundreds of guests vying for not enough food served by thoughtful and efficient Fijian staff who all valiantly managed to diffuse much of the unhappiness from the NZ and Aussie punters and their children....nights were punctuated by the same people having drinking parties with their duty free bottles...lovely location marred by run down facilities yet saved by attentive staff...

We stayed 2 nights after doing grab a batch. In Edgewater our last 2 nights.on the island we were no 606 way at the back,thought ok got to unit.not good aircon was on that smelt so bad we had to turn it off.got our cups out for a Cuppa ants everywhere little ones.but the nice people who served us were lovley.down at the bar by water was nice