40 Years and counting !
Kia Orana,
Welcome to the first post for our new Palm Grove blog! The goal of our blog is to provide our guests with some helpful insights on Palm Grove and Rarotonga, and hopefully this will enable you to make the most of your visit to our beautiful island paradise.
I thought sharing the Palm Grove story with you would be a very appropriate subject for our first blog entry, especially as we are celebrating our 40th anniversary this year! Palm Grove was started by Papa Les and Mama Mata in 1977 when they built 2 rental bungalows next door to their garden house. In 1983, they added 6 more bungalows (our Garden Studios) and the original swimming pool. Mama Mata unfortunately passed away in 1987. But Papa Les’ adult children were now part of the business and by 1993, they broke ground on the first 5 beachfront units (our Beachfront Studios). They continued expanding in 1998 when they added 3 more beachfront units plus a small restaurant and bar. After over 20 years of successful business, they opted to put Palm Grove on the market in 2001, and I was the lucky buyer in Jan 2002. And expansion continued! 2003 saw a larger restaurant and two garden houses. In 2004 we added our 4 One Bedroom Superior bungalows. We were thrilled to acquire our Beach Villa (3bed/2bath) in 2011. And we were so pleased with the extensive bungalow and property refurbishments completed during 2013/14/15.
So here we are today, with 22 individual bungalows on 5 acres, plus our lovely The Yellow Hibiscus restaurant. We have bungalows available in studio to three bedroom layout, in both garden and beachfront settings. Our multiple bungalow categories mean we can provide flexible accommodation options to suit couples, families, or friends travelling together. We are a small and friendly property with a laid-back atmosphere, an absolutely stunning beach (one of the best on the island!), and lots of amenities that you’d normally expect to find at much larger resorts. But the lovely little paradise of Rarotonga is easy to explore and navigate, so Palm Grove is an excellent base from which to enjoy all the restaurants, activities, tours, and beaches on the island.
If you have any questions about any part of this blog post, or perhaps have a suggestion for a topic for a future blog post, please feel free to contact me directly at beach@palmgrove.net
Kia Manuia, Betsy