Magic Reef Bungalows

Everything! The bungalow was modern but traditional island design. It was on the beach. The whole property is well maintained and even better than the pictures

It would have been nice to have a cocktail party/or group activity organized

Magic Reef Bungalows was a great base for our week in the Cook Islands. Well located to Avarua, the best snorkeling beaches, and great restaurants. Our bungalow was on the beachfront, clean and had everything we needed. And being on the western side of the island set us up for great sunsets.

Magic Reef is beautiful, the landscaping is lush and gorgeous and right on the water. Great for sunsets! The bungalows are perfect for a couple and we appreciated the fruit platter, juice and coffee on the first day very much.

The water is a bit rocky directly in front so you cannot jump in for a dip.

Nice view and comfortable room environment and items! All very good! And the staff (Jayne, David and all other staffs) are all very nice!!! I really recommend this accommodation!

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Awesome view of the beach. Warm pool. Lovely room. Fab outside shower and bath.

Great location and facilities—just a few minutes' walk to two restaurants and a dairy store. The room is clean and quiet. Friendly people, beautiful beach. They offer a car rental service, which is very convenient.

We had the best experience at Magic Reef from the moment we arrived. Simone is very accommodating and available for all of our needs. Perfect location. Beautiful gardens. Delicious breakfast on the first day, and available to purchase each day. If/when we come back to Rarotonga we will definitely stay here again.

What an amazing time we had here in Rarotonga! The entire staff were so helpful and accommodating; a joy to interact with. The comfortable bungalows were stocked with all the kitchen supplies and essentials we needed (plus more!). The bathroom in our room was brand new, and felt like such a luxury. And all the seating options on the beach (hammocks, lounge chairs, bean bags, tables and chairs on the pavilion) were comfortable and added to our enjoyment while we were there. Highly recommend!

Fabulous layout wonderful views of the ocean. Only 12 bungalows. Wonderful pool bbq.

Probably would have preferred an oven to a microwave

Greta location easy to get to things, right on the beach all the bungalows facing water direction is lovely with the pool in the middle. We didn’t think we would use the pool but we did a couple of times. The owners Lawrence and Simonne were super friendly and helpful, their other staff were genuinely warm. Beds and rooms were great, awesome to have kitchens to make food so don’t have to eat out all of the time, and they are well equipped. Very helpful having electric cars onsite to hire.

Gorgeous, well-appointed and tastefully decorated, with thoughtful touches like a foot shower and loungers on the deck, a drying rack for clothes/towels, reusable water bottles in the refrigerator, and filtered drinking water in the sink. The outdoor bathtub and shower were fabulous and very romantic, with lovely golden fixtures, plenty of hot water, and a cute rustic pebble-tiled floor. The interior had attractive, high-quality furniture, and nice cook/dinnerware in the kitchen, as well as very effective blackout curtains and offered both ceiling fans and AC units. The community spaces are also wonderful, with a pool shaped like a pirate ship, a delightful beachfront patio with tables and chairs, an outdoor shower, plush beanbag lounge cushions beneath the palm trees, and even a coconut-husking stake so guests can enjoy their own fresh coconuts.

The WiFi connection in our unit was practically non-existent during the entirety of our stay. Though they do provide a phone by the office for making inter-island calls, if you need WiFi to do remote work, or want to use the internet on your phone, this is a prohibitive factor. The doors in our unit were extremely difficult to open and close. To the point where it was impossible for us to unlock the front door, except for the one person in our group who has unnatural grip strength. Both the locking mechanisms and the unit keys are small and flimsy, and the doors are slightly misaligned, so they don’t lock or unlock without applying extreme force that most people would severely struggle with. The doors are very handsome, but not very functional. I imagine this issue is fixable, but it would require some dedicated reworking. There are also no screens, so if you want to keep the bugs out you have to close the doors at all times, which can be tiresome. We were not notified that our bungalow would be actively under construction when we made our booking. Fortunately for us and for the convenience of the workers, we were out exploring the island during most of the daylight hours. But if someone had booked the unit in order to relax enjoy peace and quiet, it would have been difficult. It would have been appreciated for the information about the construction to be disclosed beforehand, and not an unavoidable surprise. It was also unfortunate that the stove in the unit did not work. We were unable to cook other than heating things up in the microwave. The management eventually installed a temporary strove top halfway through our stay, but the entire stove setup remained finicky and not very convenient.

Magic Reef is an amazing place, the bungalow is very clean and well equipped. The whole resort is very beautiful and proper, and has breathtaking sunsets. Lawrence and Simonne are amazing hosts and take very good care to the resort. We felt welcome from the first second and throughout the whole time there. If the Cook Islands were closer to Switzerland, I would not hesitate to go again!

Honestly can‘t think of anything….

Magic Reef bungalows right on the beach was an ideal holiday, just what I was looking for. Private, comfortable, environmentally conscious, clean and super relaxing. Bungalows equipped with everything you need. Fabulous hosts and helpful, along with office manager, Jayne. Communication was always prompt and helpful. Perfect place to sit on your outdoor deck, or the outdoor leisure area overlooking the beach and sea and watch the beautiful sunsets. Would definitely recommend.

Nothing. Didn't want to leave

Location and view just fabulous, friendly greetings on our arrival, welcome starter pack, fruit platter etc. was well received. Staff very friendly and helpful. Walking distance to some restaurants and who wouldn't enjoy sitting on your deck looking over the beach and ocean. Looking forward to another visit soon!

Magic Reef provided the perfect base to relax by the ocean and explore Rarotonga. Loved the bungalows, including that each had a view of the ocean. We stayed in on of the 2 bedroom bungalows and it had everything you would need. And the staff are fantastic. Would highly recommend.

Excellent facilities, very carefully thought out. Bungalows are equipped with everything we needed and more. The west facing orientation is perfect, catching the morning sun on the water to really accentuate the colours of the ocean, and the watching the sunsets from one of the hammock is just bliss.

It’s difficult to fault as everything was so perfect. Only things we struggled with were things that were out of magic reefs control. The ants in the room are a nuisance, only tiny ones, but manage to sniff out the tiniest evidence of food and suddenly there were swarms of them. We appreciated the bug spray in the room (another thoughtful detail).And the dogs on the island - as we are not dog people, the dog appearing onsite regularly, and on our deck, was a bit of a pain. It was collared and friendly enough, just a pain. Really clutching at straws here - the resort is truly perfect.

The wonderfully unique beach bungalows were comfortable, clean, beautiful and a wonderful experience. The pool, outdoor leisure areas, the beautiful gardens just added to the experience at Magic Reef Bungalows. We saw whales from our front verandah and enjoyed the outdoor shower and thoughtful fruit platter and baked bread and homemade jam.

We had some tiny ants and insects - but they really weren’t a big deal - just shut the door and clean up after you’ve prepared or eaten food.

The resort is run by a fantastic crew who go out of their way to make you feel at home, and can't do enough for you.The bungalow has been beautifully built and is incredibly roomy, with a great deck to watch the sunsets and passing whales.There is no restaurant onsite, but there are others within a short walk.The hire cars were great, as was the use of the snorkelling equipment.

The only real draw back to the resort is that you can't swim in front of the resort, but there are plenty of places nearby you can get to where the snorkelling is excellent.The pool is on the smaller side, but perfect for a refreshing dip.

Fantastic location by the water, private and friendly people

Helpfulness locality and peacefulness

Right on the beach - but sadly not great for swimming or snorkelling from the shore but having a outdoor shower and bath was great - swimming pool was enjoyable - rooms good size and whale watching from beach front deck was awesome

Electric bike was a bit tired and didn’t work very well