Name: Central Motel
Address: PO Box 183 Avarua,Takuvaine Rd, Rarotonga, Rarotonga, Rarotonga, Cook Islands
Rating: 8

Air conditioning

24-hour reception

Smoke-free property

Garden

All Spaces Non-Smoking (public and private)

Adults Only

General

Non-smoking rooms

Room service

Rooms

Ironing

Laundry

Safe-deposit box

Dry-cleaning

Luggage storage

Services and amenities

Meals

Internet

Car rental

Transfer services

Transfer

Tour assistance

Tourist services

Library

Recreation

Free parking

Parking

Swimming pool

Pool and beach

Fax and copy machine

Business

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Location

At the mini-hotel

Rarotonga Airport

Central Motel

Rarotonga

Firstly, I had stayed here 2 or 3 times before when Nigel ran the place, It was good then, it looked like the photos youo see here, it was located well for me because it's just behind the Land Court so very handy for my purposes back then.

Today:
Rating - Terrible
Why Terrible - 
Reason 1. No maintenance, upkeep, care for the property seems evident any more. It's overgrown courtyard makes it dark, damp and uninviting. The gates into the property are dilapidated and worn as is the rest of the place (definitely not like the photos anymore).

Reason 2. The rooms are very underwhelming, adequate as in it has a bed but not super clean (I've stayed in worse) but as described in the previous "terrible" review, the amount of bugs, ants, cockroaches was significant and likewise I used the whole can of fly spray on the first night with the associated debris of bodies including unfortunately the little ghecko which obviously couldn't keep up with the bugs.

Reason 3. Couldn't pay electronically as the machine was broken. So had to go off and get extra cash. Not too big of a problem but I tried to pay each day with the same he's just coming to fix it.

It's sad, I've liked it on previous stays, I booked it because Ministry of Foreign Affairs is on the corner of the street and I needed to go there, but I have to say the previous Central Motel and the current are two completely different places, Polar opposites, 180 degrees opposed. It is a very sad place now sorry to say.

Its not the same place it was

Even the location is good and owner is reasonable nice, but I have to say I had a nightmare there.

I arrived quite late after 12am, and the taxi driver took me in the room. As you could see in the pictures, I spent more than an hour to kill all the bugs in the room. That was so scary, the bugs, big ants, even lizards were everywhere, I used all the pesticides to kill the bugs, then I saw almost an hundred bodies on the floor.

I called the owner immediately, I have looked around of other rooms, they were empyt at that time, but he said he could do nothing, no room to change and he could not drive 30min back just to kill the bugs for me. I was absolutely devasted, could not sleep for the whole night, I even want to call the police to help me.

The next day when i met the owner, he said might because of the rain yesterday, so all the bugs were in my room. But I think as a local, the owner definitely knows there will be bugs in the room after rain. Why he still left the door open and let all the bugs crawling in the room?

That was a nightmare.... I am very upset of spending $125 for staying bugs hole for a night

a nightmare in raro...almost call the police

Stayed for 3 nights at the Central Motel.  Ronnie made us feel at home and had a very pleasant stay. Room comfy. Motel centrally located and a really nice cafe at the end of the street named Annie’s where we ate a couple of times.

Delightfully welcoming

Very homely.  
Friendly and attentive host wish I could remember his name.
Great location.  Pretty much in the middle of town and between two bus stops.
Big room with microwave and cheap minibar
We had a ground floor room
Arrived at about 7am-ish with pre organised airport transfer and early check-in no probs - fantastic.
If you are a resort person this is not for you.  However, this is by far the best value for money accom we had over two weeks in the Cook Islands - one week Rarotonga and one week Aitutaki.
If we are lucky enough to return to Rarotonga, we would make this our home base
Thank you for a wonderful stay and wish we had stayed here for entire time.
Hope to see you again

Fantastic value for money

We had a 2am Arrival on Rarotonga - Reliable pick up and taken straight to our room by Kiki.  Met in the morning by Ronnie the Bestest Hostest we've ever met, He made our stay feel welcome and looked after us making us want to make Central Motel our Home away from Home.  A Basic Motel Room with Air Conditioning that works yay.  Plug in mosquito freshener kept the mozzies away.  Room serviced everyday with clean towels, soap, shampoo etc and coffee/sugar/milk supplies always replenished.  Hot water and excellent pressure in the shower.  Close to Avarua walking distance to everything.  Ronnie offered to take us to the local Car hire but we decided to walk there ourselves and hired transport. WiFi available.  Only 2 x Local TV channels which is typical on Rarotonga.  We requested and got a ground floor room. Has Kettle/Toaster/Iron/Ironing Board and cupboard for hanging clothes.  No curtain netting so had to keep the Drapes closed for privacy.   The location of the Motel served our purpose for our visit well.  Quiet place no kids.  Spa Pool clean and inviting.  Minibar prices cheap too. No Laundry Service but there is a laundry services 5 minutes away so not a problem.

Home away from Home

Enjoyed my stay here. Helpful friendly management and staff, great location and well set up. Manager helpful and easy to deal with. Rooms simple but pleasant. Easy walk to town and restaurants and supermarkets.

Great Location

We stayed at Central Motel during our week long trip to Rarotonga, and found Central Motel to perfectly meet our needs as budget travelers. The owner, Malcolm, was perfectly hospitable, even when I woke him up at 6:30 one morning for a last minute request to the airport. The room was cleaned each day, with fresh towels provided, a must for those light packers! Great water pressure and boy does it get hot! Shades kept out the light making it easy to catch up on some zzz's when you first arrive. 
The courtyard is perfect for relaxing after a busy day, and the mini-bar prices were the best we've ever seen - $3.50 per beer! Of course the roosters are prone to get excited anytime once the sun goes down, amusing at first if you've never been on an island where these things roam freely, but do pack some ear plugs if you are a light sleeper. If you want to stay connected, a couple bucks will buy you access to the wifi and it worked very well. 
If you are debating on splurging on posh accommodations versus the ability to go on the Aitutaki day tour offered through Air Raro, stay at the Central Motel so you can do both!

Central Motel

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