We changed our plans last minute and arrived back in raro a day early with nowhere to stay. A local suggested we see if Sunrise had any space for us. Even though we had just picked up a rental car Brian and Caryn drove to the airport so we could follow them back to ensure we didnt get lost. Sunrise is not a large ultra posh resort but a lovely smaller more casual arffair which we loved. Instead of the formality of checking in/out its more relaxed like staying with mates. Brian and Caryn made sure that everything we needed was taken care of and also gave us lots of local knowledge that made sure we got the best out of our whole stay in raro and saved us quite a lot of money.
Feel like we left some friends behind when we came home.

We read a couple of reviews and could easily have been put off, but we opted for Sunrise purley due to the friendliness of the email we received from there.
This was a home from home for my family and myself.Caryn and Brian were so friendly, they were like real good friends straight away. This place may not have been right on the Muri Beach but in so many ways it was so much better. It was clean, had everything we needed, and Caryn and Brian were there to advise and help at any time. Our beach bungalow was only a few feet away from the smooth roar of Pacific breakers. Right outside our bungalow we watched shorelife wandering past, we collected amazing coral and shells... Shaded by coconut palms each bungalow feels very personal and has its own special feel.
If you want to be the picky tourist who has to have everything just perfect, then go a little way up the road to a place like that. If, however, you are more of a traveller, and want the feel of the ocean and a more real Rarotonga then this is the place. The swankier accomodation is five minutes away within the lagoon but you can't escape the crowds that are always in front of you. Sunrise was so peaceful in comparison.
I would recommend this place without a quibble.
For those who let small things seemingly ruin their travels, then the problem may lie with them. Life is life so live it, unless you want everything laid on for you!
You must meet Baby, she's a true star!

We to had extensive email correspondence with the owner Caryn. We were promised to be picked up at the airport by Caryn, but when we landed were directed to the Raro Tours Bus Co. On arrival Caryn did come out and direct us to a Garden View Room (we booked ocean front), but this was for 1 night only, until the oceanfront room became available the next day. She seemed pleasant enough! The room felt like it had not been cleaned , with sand on the floor, someone elses food in the fridge, and the sheets felt damp. The next morning Caryn came and said to take our bags down to the oceanfront room and the cleaner would be in at 11 to clean it for our remaining stay. We went out exploring and came back twice between 12 and 3 to find there was still no cleaner to clean the room. The fridge was defrosting so some of our food we had taken up with us could not be used as it had then been out for 5 hours (meat products). Eventually at 4pm Caryn and a friend came and cleaned the room. There was never anyone at the office and trying to check out is impossible. After trying all day to find them at home (they live on the premises), by phone and visiting their other business down the road, we had no choice but to ring Raro Tours to pick us up at 2am (our flight left at 4am) and leave a note on the kitchen counter to explain we had left. We then heard nothing for approximately 2 weeks when a charge for balance owing was put thru on the credit card with not so much as an email. We did not receive our black pearl or our bottle of wine (and we did not pursue this after seeing how the place was managed), and the tropical breakfast on the first day was a joke ' a half opened packet of wheet bix, mini box of conflakes and a over-ripe paw paw. We just ate own own food in the end. The location and the bungalows are fine - we did not have a problem with that (although the bathroom could do with a bit of TLC and a light bulb), but its the little things like the broken sun lounger outside our hut, the scrap metal in the driveway, and the old tyre outside the office....just needs to be moved out of sight.....so much potential here just needs some TLC all round and someone on site to manage the day to day issues. Other guests staying at the same time thought similar

Our story is similar to the others on this page. We arrived at 12.30 expecting a "personal meet and greet" which we had paid in advance for. After 20 minutes or so of waiting we spoke to the locals who told us that "she never turns up, come with us". So that's what we did and we were dropped at Sunrise around 1 am. It took us 20 minutes of shouting and knocking at the door to wake up Caryn. Not pleasant in the middle of the night in a strange place. She appeared eventually and was very drunk. She pointed us to our room and that was it (we booked oceanfront and got garden).
We woke up the next morning to an argument, another resident guest was asking to check out and a very unpleasant row had started. To make matters worse it was in full view of the other guests.
Anyway, we decided to make the best of the situation on so put the kettle on for a coffee. The cups were unwashed with dried on stains so we soon changed our mind and got ready to go out for breakfast. Realising we had no key to our room we went to the office to ask for one, surprise surprise no key. We were expected to leave our room open while we were out. Needless to say we went to find somewhere else to stay.
The story isn't over yet, we arrived back in NZ yesterday and are still awaiting our refund. Caryn gave us a refund receipt (which she left at our new accommodation for us to pick up) but when we checked it's not been refunded to our credi card account. It's somebody elses - in fact it could well be her own.
On a more pleasant note - we will definitely return to the Cook Islands, the accommodation we moved to was perfect, people wonderful and food excellent. I hope that other people that experience Caryn and Sunrise do not get put off by her, the rest of the island is great!!!