Lounge Check: Inside Air New Zealand's Rarotonga Koru lounge

Artwork on the wall of Air New Zealand's Koru lounge, in Rarotonga. Photo / Chris Rudd

Chris and Lucy Rudd (13) check out the Air New Zealand Koru lounge at Rarotonga airport

The greeting: As always with Air New Zealand, warm and welcoming. There was a sign at the check-in counter and outside the lounge noting that due to a busy period, the lounge wasn't accepting guests.

So my smile and courteous nature must have helped us all get in.

First impression: It's a small lounge, with some furniture that looked as if it might have been donated from a refresh of one of the more modern Air New Zealand lounges. But it was clean, and there was space for us to grab seats together, once a few carry-on bags were moved.

What's there: As I say, it's a small lounge but a good combination of seats and a small section with tables and chairs. The food area is off to one side and well stocked. I'd come off the beach only an hour earlier so didn't need a shower but there was one, along with a couple of unisex toilets.

Who's there: It was the school holidays so mum, dad and the kids dominated. There were several couples, who were probably making a note to check school holidays next time they travelled.

Anything for the kids? Lucy: a bit too small for that sort of thing but it had a good view.

Tech stuff: Good Wi-Fi, which was welcoming after trying to go tech-free for the preceding 10 days. I'd missed the Cricket World Cup final so had lots to catch up on.

A plane arrive at Rarotonga Airport, as viewed from Air New Zealand's Koru lounge. Photo / Chris Rudd

The view: Great views across to the mountains of Raro and the arriving Air New Zealand plane that we were about to hop on. It was nice to see lots of smiling faces exiting the plane as the warm Raro breeze hit them.

Eating and drinking: A great selection for a small lounge. I'm a bit obsessed with blue cheese in Air New Zealand lounges so I was pleasantly surprised to a see a good slab of kikorangi blue. I also like the fact that Air New Zealand has a good thing going on with vegan and vegetarian selections.

Lucy: always a good selection of soft drinks and, like dad said, it had good cheese.

The verdict: Even at a busy holiday time it was still a calm and serene environment and even with a few kids rattling around, the Air New Zealand team was great.