Aitutaki Escape is a boutique beachfront property with just 3 private beautifully appointed spacious and luxurious Villas, all fully air-conditioned, with direct access to the beach and lagoon.
Each Villa has a private courtyard featuring a swimming pool, beachfront decks and boardwalks, full kitchen facilities, very spacious interiors, king size beds, lavish bathrooms, complimented with genuine Cook Islands hospitality, service and meticulous attention to detail.
An onsite Cafe offers food and beverage experiences daily and all excursions and tours offered on Aitutaki are arranged conveniently onsite.
This property is regarded as the leading Luxury property for Aitutaki with full focus on delivering premiere experiences via its services and facilities and throughout Aitutaki.
Aitutaki Escape boasts authentic Polynesian elegance and offers its guests a secluded and safe haven to leave the rest of the World behind.........
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
A delightful villa which really did feel like your own slice of paradise. I have to say the accommodation was first class and had the added bonus of the private pool to cool off in if the tide wasn't favourable.
The staff were exceptional and this comes from the head, Thomas n his wife Lizzie who would go out of their way to source anything that we so desired. Our lovely housekeepers were so friendly and also would assist us with any request we had. By the end of our stay they felt like family.
The whole villa was constructed with coral walls which look unique and a thatched roof which staff suggested represented a canoe travelling over the coral towards the lagoon. The marble flooring was ideal to keep the villa cool, and of course air con in both the lounge and bedroom, if there wasn't enough through breeze.
On our last night we had Thomas' renowned 'dinner under the stars' which was an absolute stunning feast of mammoth proportions and with every morsel so delicious it was hard to resist. It included a seafood extravaganza of tuna sashimi, lightly crumbed crab claws, prawns and scallops followed by our main of rib eye fillet and lamb rack. I had seen on previous reviews of Thomas' ability as a chef and he did not disappoint!
The continental breakfast they provided daily was always a treat and some of it we would keep for a light lunch or nibble in the late afternoon.
There were a few things that were a bit tired as the property is 12 years old but with the difficulty of getting materials and their full occupancy they had been put on hold. Our overall experience was fantastic and we would love to come back and stay again.
There are kayaks to freely use. I would recommend bringing your own snorkel and flippers as there are some easy snorkels on the point that you can kayak to.
Strongly recommend a car or scooter which they can organise for you, however do it before you arrive as these were limited.
Thomas kindly did a stock up of things we requested for the fridge but we chose to dine out at many lovely restaurants around the island for both lunch and dinner.
The blue tooth speaker was a great asset, as was their selection of movies if we felt like watching something.
There are only three villas in this complex so it really is a great Aituaki Escape!
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Date of stay: July 2021
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Room Tip:Â With only three villas they are all good. We had the middle one which was perfect and everything...
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Response from Teumere Koteka-Heather, Marketing at Aitutaki Escape
Responded 6 Feb 2022
Kia Orana, Thank you very much for choosing to stay with us while in Aitutaki. It was such a pleasure having you stay with us. We really appreciate your feedback. Our main goal is to deliver quality customer service to all our guests at all times. We are so happy that you enjoyed Aitutaki Escape and hope to see you again soon. Kia Manuia, Management and staff of Aitutaki Escape
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Our stay at Aitutaki Escape was exceptional! From the moment we arrived, our host Thomas and his team made us feel genuinely welcome. Every staff member was friendly, professional, and attentive, ensuring we had a smooth and enjoyable experience.
The villa itself was an oasis of tranquillity, beautifully clean and tidy. The peaceful location added to the charm, offering us a calm retreat away from the bustle. Waking up to the fresh, delicious breakfast every morning was a real treat!
The service throughout our visit was outstanding, making everything feel seamless and stress-free. We’ll choose Aitutaki Escape again whenever we return to Aitutaki.
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Date of stay: October 2024
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We were here for about a week. We were very impressed by the very kind hospitality of Thomas, his wife and all the staff. We were able to enjoy an extraordinary vacation in a wonderful location and facilities. The homemade breakfast each morning was also very delicious. We will definitely use your services again the next time we visit Aitutaki. Thank you all very much!
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Date of stay: September 2024
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
When we walked into the entrance, we stopped and stood with amazement. A beautiful pool and lovely outdoor space that was just perfect for really relaxing and winding down. We walked up to the front entrance of the villa and as the door opened we were again taken back with the space our villa had and the view out to the water, past the second outdoor space. We appreciated the attention that had been taken by the staff to prepare our villa and welcome us. Immaculate, clean. Just so perfect. This must be the best place to stay on the island and is close by some lovely places to eat. The questions below don't apply at this resort. It's small, totally private and boutique.
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Date of stay: January 2022
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Room Tip:Â All three villas would be perfect.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Teumere Koteka-Heather, Marketing at Aitutaki Escape
Responded 6 Feb 2022
Kia Orana , Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to review your stay with us. We really appreciate your feedback. We strive to deliver quality customer service to all our guests at all times. Thank you so much for choosing to stay with us. It was such a pleasure. We do hope to see you again soon. Kia Manuia, Mene
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My wife and I visited Aitutaki for a few weeks in February for our honeymoon and we stayed in two properties on the island, the second half of our stay was in one of the villas at Aitutaki Escape. We stayed in villa 3, one of the two 1 bedroom villas on the property - there is also a 2 bedroom villa on the property
We typically avoid resorts - they tend to provide an impersonal experience - and were attracted to the intimate feel of this property when we were making our bookings.
Our experience here was fantastic from start to finish. Shortly after booking we were contacted by the management team, and on establishing that we were visiting Aitutaki on honeymoon, they arranged for us to have a complimentary couple's massage during our stay. Our main contact whilst there was with Vane who is one of the 3 owners of Aitutaki Escape, and the high quality service, coupled with the obvious pride he has in his resort made for a great stay.
Our luggage was picked up from the accommodation we stayed in for the first half our stay, and transferred without fuss to our villa whilst we got on with our day, and when we checked in there was a minimum of fuss and formality.
The villa itself is spacious and bright, with a pretty well equipped kitchen, large sitting room, double bedroom and a pretty cool bathroom with glass walls that give you the illusion of showering outside without the reality of mosquitos coming in for a snack!
The feel of the property is quite high end and the impression we got is that, unlike some other places we've stayed in throughout the Pacific, there is a constant program of upgrading and maintaining the villas - so that there was none of the tired feel you sometimes get.
There was a front deck looking out to the lagoon, and a rear enclosed and very private courtyard with plunge pool and hot tub. This means that if you're taking a break from exploring the island, there's plenty of areas to relax in at the villa.
Pluses: - Private - a home away from home! - Super comfortable bed and luxury feel to villa, without being "over designed". - Great rear deck with plunge pool and hot tub. - Good TV and bluetooth sound system allowing you to stream your own music. - Great selection of digital films for the quiet evenings in when you just want to chill. - L'Occitane toiletries. - Perfect lagoon views and a nice front deck with sun loungers, dining furniture and a BBQ. - Close to cafes and restaurants near Ootu beach, Pacific Resort etc. - Good snorkelling spot about a 5 min walk up the beach heading north.
Small minuses: - Living room can get a little hot due to all the glass windows which let in the great views, so we had to run the aircon in the bedroom a lot of the time to help cool things down a bit, but the bedroom itself was always nice and cool. - I would have liked a couple of stand up paddle boards to cruise around the lagoon with, there are kayaks available, but I personally prefer SUPs and although Vane was worried that there might be a potential for unexperienced guests to fall in onto coral, my wife and I used them at our other accommodation on Aitukai, where the lagoon was no shallower than here, and with a bit of common sense it is easily managed and provides a good workout and great way to look back at the island (we are by no means pros at SUPing).
All in all, we would wholeheartedly recommend this fantastic set of villas, and plan to return!
Kevin and Emily
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Date of stay: February 2015
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This was our 2nd trip back to the Cooks. This time around we stayed at Rumours in Raro for 4 days, Rumours in Aitutaki for 3 days, then back to Rumours in Raro for another 4 days.
We absolutely love Rumours in Rarotonga and are going back...again. We were not nearly as impressed with Rumours' Aitutaki sibling however. There were really two main issues:
1) The location is not great. In front of the unit the sand is coarse and the swimming is difficult with nothing to see (relatively speaking). It's almost like they cleared too much area for the buildings that are there. The surrounding geography is very bland and stark, especially compared to how lush the rest of the island is, maybe in 20 years when the small amount of landscaping matures it will look better. We also had motorcycles riding up and down the beach at night and although we don't blame the resort it just takes away from the secluded privacy that one might expect. This didn't actually affect sleeping which leads to point 2.
2) Whoever designed the layout of these buildings should be shot. Now we didn't get a chance to check out the Ultimate Villa but who in their right mind would put a bedroom to a 5 star accommodation that is right on the beach in the back of the living space??? The thing that made me upset about this is that they ask you very politely not to use the A/C as the island has limited power resources etc. etc. but at night with every window open there was hardly any breeze, make that no breeze through the bedroom (as there's only a full door and window slats on one side). Without the A/C it was too hot for me to sleep. My wife could but she did say it was uncomfortable and she's always cold anyway. One of my favourite things to do in tropical destinations is to lie on the bed for a nap in the afternoon (or several thoughout the day) and catch glimpses of the ocean and a nice full ocean breeze blowing through the suite. This is the reason we will not be coming back. Maybe the Pacific Resort next time as we stayed in the Aitutaki Lagoon Resort the first trip.
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Date of stay: February 2010
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I traveled solo to Aitutaki in order to escape some high pressures of everyday work and life. Aitutaki Escape helped me find the peace that I so desperately needed. I was lucky to have near perfect weather and sun. I enjoyed swimming in my private pool, relaxing on the villa deck, and kayaking in high tide around the reef. Vane, Lily and and their team were tremendously supportive. Vane was a superb host both for the villa property and for Aitutaki. I benefited from Vane's escort to town, where he took me to shops to get set up for my week's visit and also a tour of the nearby sights and landmarks. Vane helped recommend the perfect cultural tour and lagoon cruise (with snorkeling) for my interests. The accommodations were spacious, luxurious and uniquely fun. I loved the waterfall wall and the fantastic view. I took full advantage of an amazing breeze that swept through my villa all week long. The breakfasts were well appointed with local fruits (the paw paw and coconut -- best I've ever had!) and breads. I could not be more happy with the time I enjoyed at Aitutaki Escape, and I highly recommend a stay here for others who don't want to be bombarded with a lot of people or superfluous activities at a large resort. I can't wait for the good fortune of a return visit to Aitutaki Escape and the amazing spirit of the Cook Islands.
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Date of stay: January 2014
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Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Incessant winds considerably compromised our vacation in paradise. The reason you go to Aitutaki is to experience the world-class azure blue lagoon. High winds churned up white caps and two foot swells; thus, cutting short our time on the lagoon. --Segway into our beautiful villa. Since we were forced to hunker-down inside, we were doubly glad to be quartered in such beautiful surroundings as Aitutaki Escape. We stayed three nights at Escape. Escape is the newest in a chain of resorts along the beach on the sunset side of the island. I will say right up front that the west side of the island does not offer the best lagoon/ocean view. If your choice of accommodation is all about the view, then book your stay at Aitutaki Lagoon Resort & Spa. However, if you want luxury, privacy, and a feeling of being in your own personal vacation home then you will want to stay at Aitutaki Escape. Ioane, the owner/manager of Escape, went out of his way to assure our every need was met. Others on TA complained that even though the villa is on the beach, the bedroom does not face the ocean. Again, since the west side of the island does not face the turquoise lagoon (& this is a true statement for all resorts on the west side), the most romantic setting is the garden/pool courtyard. Actually, we thought the floor to ceiling glass walls of the bedroom facing the private garden with lush tropical vegetation, pool, spa, and waterfall accented by the island mountain as a backdrop was much more appealing than the ocean view. Escape is truly an escape....quite, secluded & richly appointed. The vanity and shower of the bathroom are beautiful; separating the garden by a glass wall exudes the feeling of being outside. The villa at Escape gave us the luxury we expected. We had no problems with bugs, lizards, mosquitoes, or any other unwanted critters. You will need a mode of transportation to get to restaurants and other island sites. I hope you will choose to stay at Escape.
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Date of stay: May 2011
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There aren't that many sit down restaurants in Aitutaki. And the restaurants that do exist are often associated with hotels. The Aitutaki Escape has only 3 total units, so there is no adjacent restaurant. That meant that each night we went out to eat, we went to other hotels. We went to the PACIFIC RESORT, the AITUTAKI LAGOON RESORT, the TAMANU BEACH RESORT, and the AITUTAKI VILLAGE. (The food was surprisingly excellent at all of these restaurants, but that's not the subject of this review). None of these hotels were even CLOSE to the quality of the Aitutaki Escape! The Aitutaki Escape is, hands down, the best place to stay in Aitutaki.
Lily and Vane, the owners picked us up from the airport. We arrived in the morning, and, unsurprisingly, our room was not yet ready. So she took us to the Aitutaki Village to get some food and to walk around the area. In the early afternoon, when our room was ready, she picked us up and took us to the hotel. This type of hospitality continued throughout our stay. Lily and Vane were exceptionally helpful and friendly and they genuinely care that you enjoy your trip to Aitutaki. They helped arrange all of our dinners and excursions, and then they asked for feedback on the restaurants and the excursions. Overall, exceptional service.
The staff does a thorough job cleaning the premises and removing seaweed from the beach. They also bring breakfast to your bungalow every morning at whatever time you desire. This typically consisted of freshly baked breads and croissants, yogurt, cereal, fresh local fruit, and juice or a smoothie. In addition, upon arrival, there was bottled water, orange juice, milk, coffee, teas, and lots of fresh bananas in the room.
The bungalows themselves are simply remarkable! I have stayed in overwater bungalows in Bora Bora, and other luxury bungalows. But this bungalow may have been the nicest of them all (even though it was not overwater).
You enter upon a private courtyard, with a decent-sized, clean, pool, a hot tub, and two lounge chairs. The entire courtyard is beautiful--much nicer than it looks in the pictures.
Upon entering the bungalow itself, you notice a water feature on the side of the living room. We had a crab living in ours. The "great room" is an open floor plan complete with a full, modern kitchen, a very spacious living area an entertainment system, and a large dining room table. Again, the interior of the bungalow is much nicer than it looks in the pictures. They really paid attention to detail in this place. The furnishings, the floors, the countertops, the windows, etc., are all high quality and luxurious.
In spite of the indoor dining area, we always took our breakfast on the enormous patio out back with views of the lagoon. The patio has another large table and chairs, and a grill in case you want to BBQ. Each unit has its own private walkway out to the beach (a few meters away from the patio). At the end of the walkway, there are lounge chairs for you to watch the sunset or just marvel at the lagoon. There are also two kayaks provided free of charge.
The bedroom is also nice with several windows that overlook the pool/hot tub area. The bathroom has two sinks and an extremely spacious and beautifully designed shower. The walk-in closet was surprisingly small without any drawers to put your clothes (though there are two shelves).
We were also provided two bikes for no additional charge. It took about 10-15 minutes to ride into town, and about 15-20 minutes to ride to Ootu Beach. Many people rent a scooter to get them around the island. We found the bikes to be mostly adequate. And when they were not, the staff arranged for us to take a taxi. When you book an excursion, they will generally pick you up.
Overall, we are extremely satisfied with our stay at the Aitutaki Escape. My wife and I like to explore and we rarely go back to the same place. But we both agreed that we would like to return to the Aitutaki Escape sometime.
One final note: My wife has fairly discriminating tastes because she stays in lots of fancy business hotels for work. I did all the travel planning for our trip to Aitutaki and she was a little skeptical about my hotel choices. Upon walking into our bungalow at the Escape, though, she turned to me and said slowly and with a sense of amazement: "You did a good job!"
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Date of stay: November 2015
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Â We stayed in Room #2. I assume the other two bungalows were similar.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
All the glowing reports you read about Aitutaki Escape and Vane are true. We visited for 4 nights in April. This was our second time in Aitutaki but first at Escape. We are a middle aged couple with no kids, who like our privacy. We have high expectations with regard to luxury/quality accommodation, preferably with own pool, and customer focused but unobtrusive service. At Aitutaki Escape we got far more than we were hoping for. Our villa was simply beautiful. The setting is so lovely and very private, with own pool out back and expansive deck overlooking lagoon at front. The beautiful breakfast provided each morning meant no lunch was needed. What made it was Vane! He is absolutely dedicated to making sure you have a fantastic holiday. Nothing was too much trouble -even to loaning us his car to go to the hospital after my hand had a close encounter with Gina, a giant trevally, whilst snorkelling on a lagoon cruise! Vane works long hours and before leaving each day, would quietly check with us to make sure there was nothing we needed. We left feeling he was our friend. Thank you so much Vane for making our time there so special.
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Date of stay: April 2014
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kia Orana,
Thank you very much for your question.
Our beach is not the best to snorkel. On low tide it can get quite shallow and at high tide it goes up to your waist. We provide Kayaks for all our guests to use for the duration of their stay. There is a swimming beach called "Base one" which is about 200 - 300 metres from the hotel. You can either walk along the beach or take our kayaks out to get there. That area is much deeper for you to swim and snorkel in and it is next our Ministry of Marine Resources which has a marine reserve.
I hope this will help.
Kia Manuia,
Mene
Kia Orana Sarah . On the money exchange , if your plans include time in Rarotonga, you will get a better exchange rate if you do this after arrival there . Otherwise , exchange before you arrive with your bank in the U.S. You can exchange with our bank here in Aitutaki as well. We are on 240v here as far as electricity so we suggest you bring adapters for the outlets . We highly suggest you pre-book some of your excursions , like lagoon cruise. island night dinners & scuba diving. If you can email us direct we also can plan to provide any special items you may wish stocked in your villa . We are a small island and then to run out of things many times , so send us a list of grocery items and you can pay for those on arrival ... Just bring sun lotion and mosquito protection...other than that we look forward to your visit with us very soon ... Kind regards, Tumai .
Kia Orana Robyn,
As of the 17th March 2016, we now have a small cafe that opens for breakfast and lunch. It is located in our reception area of the hotel. If you send me your email address I send you our breakfast and lunch menus.
There are more places to choose from in the Aitutaki area.
PRICE RANGE
S$890 - S$1,102 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
aitutaki escape hotel aitutaki
LOCATION
Cook IslandsSouthern Cook IslandsAitutaki
NUMBER OF ROOMS
3
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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