The 5-star resort property of Nayara Hangaroa on Easter Island, which I will call Rapa Nui for the rest of this article, is an exceptional experience that I can’t possibly recommend enough.
We were greeted at the airport by resort personnel on foot, but because of a small protest happening that day, they weren’t allowed to drive right up to get us. Instead, we all had to drag our bags a few minutes away to a parking lot. That wasn’t fun, but once we arrived at the resort about 10 minutes later, we were greeted with a welcome local fruit drink and a flower lei.
At reception, someone sat with each of us to give us instructions about the property. Then, someone guided us to our rooms. There are two types of rooms. I opted for a “Kainga” room (Kainga means earth), which is the least expensive of the two types of rooms.
But that least expensive room didn’t leave me feeling cheated in the least. It was air conditioned room and made of cypress logs, clay, and volcanic stone. It was very spacious (527 square feet) with a king-sized bed, couch, table, private outdoor terrace with a table and two chairs and ocean view, a large bathtub, stand-up shower, sink, minibar, and front hallway with a shelf and a large bureau with shelves, a safe, and plenty of room for hanging clothes.
A bathrobe and flip flops were provided, and maid service was available twice a day. The first drinks in the minibar were complimentary, while I paid for the refrigerator to be replenished after that.
The shower was constructed of local clay tiles made by an artisan from Pichilemu on the Island and manufactured in local ovens, and it had the best showerhead I have ever experienced in my life. It was a strong flow of water, but extra fine. (I luxuriated under it a bit more than I’d like to admit.)
The Maunga (mountain) rooms are built on two levels and great for families, providing 796 square feet. These also have a private outdoor terrace along with 1-1/2 baths, a king bed plus two sofa beds, and the other amenities as my Kainga room.
The package I bought is called the “Dream Program.” It includes only breakfast, but other on-site meals and excursions leaving from the resort can be charged to the room. I found the cost of the excursions and the food to be quite reasonable. The “Discover Program” includes breakfast, as well as either lunch or dinner each day, and one free half-day excursion per night stay. The “Full Experience” includes all meals.
The resort has an outdoor pool and a spa with reasonably priced treatments, is kid-friendly, and offers bicycle rentals. It’s also located just across a street from the coast and a short walk from the Island’s main town, which has a few restaurants and cute little shops. I bought a gift box of Moai statue-shaped and scented soaps.
The food at Nayara was universally delicious. The breakfast buffet at Poerava restaurant was very extensive with eggs made to order, bacon, a variety of cold meats, cereals, juices, breads, and pastries. The variety was the most I’ve seen at a hotel outside of Asia, which seems to always have the best breakfast buffets in the world.
Poerava also serves lunch with both indoor and outdoor seating that overlooks the ocean. Its location provided a wonderful view of the sunset and gifted us a full rainbow one late afternoon. I ate the roast beef salad there two days in a row because it was so good. Besides mixed greens and roast beef, it contained palm hearts, grilled onions, avocado, and mango slices with a honey mustard vinaigrette.
Food is also served at the Vaikoa Bar, which is located in a separate building next door to Poerava. Each night, they provided a free surprise cocktail like a Kir Royale or a Pisco Sour.
The fine dining restaurant just beyond Poerava serves dinner in an elegant indoor setting, but it was fine to dress casually there. I was served a wonderful basil ceviche amuse bouche followed by a lovely salad with avocado and grilled pineapple. I also loved the chicken curry. Of course, the restaurants serve a great deal of local fresh seafood.
There are numerous excursions available leaving each day from the resort at 9:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Besides the various Moai statues on the island, you can visit a volcano crater site or small cave. You can do a trek in the more isolated parts of the island or a guided bicycle trip for three hours.
Other experiences include diving, surfing, a boat ride, cooking classes, and Moai carving classes. While some of the excursions are called “low difficulty,” they aren’t all on flat land. You might have to climb stairs or rocks a bit.
Our guides for the excursions were locals who were very knowledgeable about the Island’s locations and history. Two of them said they had learned much from their grandparents, who were native to Rapa Nui. Of course, there’s still much no one knows about the Island and its statues, which is one of the things that makes it so fascinating.
My only complaint about Nayara was that many of us wanted to take a sunrise excursion to particular Moai statues near the resort, but they told us repeatedly that this wasn’t available to us because of the clouds. In other words, they claimed there would be no sunrise. We wondered if they just didn’t have any available staff that early in the morning.
Then, at the airport before leaving the Island, I met a couple who had stayed at the other Rapa Nui 5-star resort called Explora Lodge. They said they went on a sunrise excursion during the time of my stay that proved to be a mystical experience. I feel a bit cheated that I didn’t have that opportunity.
The downside of Explora, according to them, was that they felt pressured to leave $100US in tips for the staff on a daily basis, which they thought was excessive considering the price of staying there. At Nayara, we were never pressured to tip anyone, but of course, I did. I’m happy to tip, but no one likes to feel pressured into it.
Despite my minor complaint, my stay at Nayara Hangaroa was stellar, and I would love to experience it again. Next, I plan to visit their resort property in Chile’s Atacama Desert. Stay tuned!
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