We visited the newly renovated Kia Ora Resort this past March, 2013 for a scuba diving vacation. My husband and I also stayed at the Kia Ora in January, 2012 when it first re-opened and about seven years ago before it was renovated, so we have really seen see the major changes in this property over time. Overall, the resort is remarkably improved with better accommodations, better food, and much better service.
We had originally planned to stay for four nights, but were having such an incredible stay that we extended our stay for a total of seven nights. We spent the first night in one of the beach bungalows which are directly beachfront and have amazing views of Rangiroa's multi-hued turquoise lagoon. All the beach bungalows have a sitting area and a bedroom with a large sized bathroom. Interestingly, the beach bungalow structures themselves are not rebuilt as are the garden bungalows. The furniture inside is new and the outdoor deck/chairs are new. Additionally, there are new jacuzzi tubs on all the decks which allow you to enjoy the sunset from the relaxation of your own jacuzzi, which can be heated or remain at air temperature if you wish. Overall, the beach bungalows are improved, but it would have been better if the resort had replaced these old bungalows with entirely new structures which were more modern, luxurious, and more private. It should be noted that all of the beach bungalows are very close together so there isn't much privacy on your deck.
Since our newly installed jacuzzi wasn't working, the hotel offered to upgrade us to one of their new garden pool villas. Even though I really enjoyed the beachfront view of our beach bungalow, we decided to move rooms since the garden pool bungalows were much larger, more private, had central air conditioning - which was much more effective than the small unit in the beach bungalow - and because the villas were much more luxurious. We really enjoyed using the private plunge pool and lounging on our deck which was surrounded by a wall to ensure privacy. The bathroom has a large shower and there is also a full tub outside.
The main bar area is also remodeled and has glass sections in the floor which offer views of the fish below, which is a very nice touch. Off to the side of the bar is a new infinity pool which is completely breathtaking and usually unoccupied. Behind the pool is the main restaurant. This is where we had breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day. All of the food we had was very good -- especially the fresh fish -- and the service was impeccable. The servers went out of their way to make your meal a pleasant experience and even prepared some dishes that weren't on the menu to satisfy our wishes.
We dove everyday with "The Six Passengers" which was a truly amazing experience. Since this was our fourth trip to Rangiroa, we wanted to spend each day diving as we feel the diving here is better than almost anywhere in the world. We saw schools of grey reef sharks, tons of bottlenose dolphins, schools of eagle rays, silvertip sharks, and even the Great Hammerhead shark! The Six Passengers is a fantastic operation and they will come to pick you up at the Kia Ora to bring you to their dive shop which is right down the street. The Kia Ora offers diving with "Top Dive" which is onsite and is also a great dive shop. Both the Tiputa Pass and the Avatoru Pass are must dives as well as the "Sunset Dive" at Tiputa.
We will definitely be back here again. The only minus is how expensive this place is. Hopefully, the Kia Ora can remain somewhat reasonable with their specials such as the "stay 5, pay 3" special. Packages through dive travel agencies are also lower than booking directly with the resort, especially during off peak times.
