My spouse and I
stayed at explora Rapa Nui for three nights in late March 2017. We reserved our
room online using the explora website, and we were required to pre-pay for our stay
using PayPal. We booked our room less than 60 days prior to our trip, which may
be the reason that we had to pre-pay the entire bill. If you stay at more than
one explora property on the same journey (explora offers other resorts in
Patagonia, Atacama, and Peru), you receive a 20% discount; in addition, returning
guests get 10% off. When we received our email booking confirmation, the hotel
asked us to complete and return a guest questionnaire that asked about dietary
restrictions, allergies, relevant medical information, emergency contact info, and
our flight arrival and departure times. The email communication also included a
list of the excursions that they offered; however, you do not make any
excursion choices prior to arrival, nor does explora ask the kinds of things
that you like to do. A
schedule seemed to have been pre-arranged for us upon arrival, although we probably
could have made changes if desired. We were fortunate to have visited Rapa Nui
just after its busy season, because we were the only couple present on all but
one of our excursions, thus having some freedom to make adjustments to the
tours. Our guides varied based on the day and the excursion, but we enjoyed
them all, including Lilly, Pepe, Jorge, Tayata (not sure of the correct spelling),
and Esteban. (Esteban is particularly conscientious and hard-working.)
Upon arrival to the
resort (after driving down a bumpy red-dirt road), you descend a gently sloping
and curving path (or by using shallow steps) to reach the common areas of the
main lodge. The resort occupies a single story, with two guestroom wings that
flank the main lodge. The slightly elevated position of the lodge allows
beautiful views of the surrounding land. The common areas of the main lodge are
spacious, including the living room area (with several seating groupings that
consist of sofa, papasan chairs, and coffee tables arranged around a
wood-floored and wood-paneled room with a huge wall of windows), a center
lounge area (with tables and chairs and more good views), a two-sided bar area
(one side for drinks, and the other side for coffee), and a dining room (again
with stunning views from all of the various table configurations). Note that we
visited during shoulder season, so we think that the center “lounge” area becomes
part of the dining room when the hotel operates at capacity. Also, the coffee
bar side of the bar was not operating when we visited; instead, that space
(with high communal tables) was used as a guide-and-guest marshalling area. A
gift shop offers clothing, footwear, books, and upscale souvenir items; it also
offers a computer for guest use. Although there is no printer attached to the
computer, you can walk next door to the office to request a printout. Internet
access is available only in the main lodge area. Explora provides each guest
with a stainless-steel refillable water bottle, and the filling station is
located outdoors between the main office and the shop. In the lobby area of the
lodge, a snack station offers dried fruits and nuts and sunscreen. Massages are
available in a free-standing structure near the pool.
One of the property
features that we had most looked forward to was the outdoor swimming pool, but
unfortunately it was closed during our entire visit. Months earlier, the resort
experienced a fire in its generator area (not visible to guests), and because
they needed to completely shut down for an extended time period, they took the
opportunity to refurbish the pool. However, the supplies were seriously delayed
from the mainland, and when the resort reopened, the pool did not. Although we
can appreciate the idea of doing renovations during the shutdown, perhaps it
would have been wiser to have the supplies on hand before closing down one of
the best property amenities. We mentioned our disappointment to the general
manager, who offered us a special bottle of wine or gift shop credit to appease
our frustration, but we would have preferred to know about the closure prior to
arriving on site (then at least we would not have wasted precious luggage space
to pack our swimsuits). We had emailed the hotel several times to make sure
that they would be open for our arrival, yet no one took that opportunity to
mention the issues with the pool. (At a cost of about $1700 per night, we
deserved to be better informed.) Furthermore, our room overlooked the pool
area, and at certain times, we could see someone re-painting the bottom surface,
but he only worked for a short time each day, indicating that there was no urgency
to make the pool operational again. Operating at half-capacity, we wonder why management
did not decide to house guests in the wing without the pool view so that we
were not forced to look at it as a constant reminder?
We thought that the
food quality and variety were good, however, be aware that each day’s lunch
menu is a duplicate of the dinner menu. The main menu contains about three
starter choices, three main course options, and three desserts, so if you are
not a finicky eater, it is not necessary to repeat selections on the same day.
In addition, the menu contains at least one less-elaborate/less-formal option,
such as a salad. Breakfast
was a semi-buffet of cold items and juices, with hot main dishes selected from
a menu and cooked-to-order. The
chef used interesting ingredients, and he presented dishes in an appealing way.
A glass window in one part of the dining room interior wall allows you to
observe the workings of the kitchen. Care was taken to provide proper glassware and silverware with each course.
Special thanks to servers Marianna and Claudio, who provided excellent
hospitality throughout our stay.
Explora Rapa Nui
offers a total of 30 accommodations: 26 regular rooms and 4 suites. Our Varua
King Room was cozy (345 square feet), but its high ceilings and open floorplan
made it seem more spacious than it was. Prior to arrival, we debated about
upgrading to a Raa Suite (474 square feet), which would have cost an additional
$500 per night; in retrospect, we did not spend much time in the room, so it
was a wise choice to save our dollars. Our room had good air-conditioning as
well as a ceiling fan and roll-down shades, so the temperature remained
comfortable despite the hot days. Cement floors and walls were accented by
blonde-wood paneling on the high vaulted ceilings. Chartreuse and fuchsia
textiles like pillows and blankets added spashes of color to the room. The
king-size bed had a small nightstand on each side, and a small desk was built
into one corner and connected with the cushioned window seat in front of the
panoramic windows. (One morning, we raised our blinds to find a wandering herd
of cattle grazing just outside our room!) A large (closable) closet and open
shelving unit were provided to store belongings. The overall room design was interesting
although not totally private. One corner of the main room held the toilet room,
and another corner held the combination bathtub/shower area, but both spaces
had open ceilings and semi-slatted doors that were open to the main sleeping
area. Two wicker chairs and a decorative bamboo “screen” divided the bed from
the dual sink vanity (which had plenty of storage space). Because of the
sensitive sanitary system, you are requested not to flush the toilet paper; use
the covered trashcan provided for this purpose. Guest rooms contain no
televisions, nor was one evident elsewhere on the property (like the bar, for
instance). Wi-Fi is not available in the guest rooms.
We enjoyed our stay
at explora Rapa Nui: service was good, the property was attractive, and the
excursions were thought-provoking, but to this day, we remain disappointed
about the swimming pool closure during our stay.
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