Kauai Beachhouse

Disgusting, disorganized, downright scummy. My worst experience.
Reading the positive reviews here is like reading something someone made up. This place is in no way amazing. When trying to reserve a bed, no one responded to my emails and I was led down a path of about four other phone numbers. (I kept trying because there are only two hostels in the area.) When I finally got through to someone named M***, who sounded pretty friendly, I asked if there was a female only dorm, I was told yes, come on in they had plenty of room. I left him my full name -- as if I was reserving a bunk. When I got there, I was pretty disappointed. There is little to no parking -- four spots only -- and there is no front desk of any kind. I walked up the back deck, through a dark, unlit hallway to the front and found two incoherent people sitting under a marker board that listed their rates. They yelled for the manager and when the manager-also named M***, came out, he said they had co-ed only and no recollection of me leaving my name. Huh? As he was showing me what he did have, he could tell I wasn't impressed and said to me, "This is your typical hostel set up." Really? Besides no organization, the place was just plain filthy and dusty. Listen, I am in no way a pampered princess, and know that for an average $25 per night, room service is not included! But there is a difference between "a bit messy" and "just plain gross." I was very polite and left. I'm glad I didn't stay, it was just creepy. I know things can't be perfect, but for pete's sake, a little elbow grease, a broom, mop, and water shouldn't be that hard to manipulate! I would not have been able to sleep if I had stayed anyhow, for wondering what king of bugs live in the bowed down, very old mattresses, dusty-dank curtains, dark hallways, dirty floors, and can only imagine what the showers and bathrooms were like. I would have had serious doubts about the cleanliness of the sheets too.

The manager needs help
Don't expect sanctuary to be waiting for you at the Kauai International Hostel. You might not even get past the manager. I was turned away within three minutes of getting in the gate. The manager is really weird, be careful.

This hostel was just weird. When you stand in front of this hostel you will ask yourself. Do I want to stay here? And then you look around for something better, but you won't find anything cheap. We decided to stay there (for five days). There were a lot of strange local people who seemed to live there. But after the first evening, when we got to know all these people and it was ok. The owner was a very nice guy. The rooms were very poor (we had a private room, that meant a bunk bed and nothing else in the room). And the bathrooms were very dirty. We had to walk through the whole hostel to get to a bathroom (thats comfortable at night). All in all it was ok, it was a kind of an adventure. This is definitely the hostel from our whole trip that I won't forget.

I give this place 1 star because it is not possible to give it the negative stars it truly deserves. All the positive reviews it has were definitely written by the scam artist who owns it. Save your money. For $25 you can rent a friggin' car and sleep in the back seat, right on the beach. Much nicer accommodations then a building that ought to be condemned.

I spent 10 days there, and it was definitely the best hostel in Hawaii. The spirit is unique; you can really relax there. The double beds are very large; the kitchen outside is also very homelike. There is also a beautiful view from the backside of the house onto the ocean. Go there, settle back and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere. And do not forget to take a shower under the stars on the roof of the beach house. ;-)

I was very disappointed with this place. The photos do not look anything like the "real thing." The kitchen was very dirty, the people, (long term residents) were very strange and possessive about their space. The room on the top level leaked, not just small drops but water streaming down the wall. There were only two bathrooms and they were both constantly occupied. The dorms were better then the private rooms, the private rooms were very run down. Beds were uncomfortable and the place just had an unpleasant vibe about it. By the way, it is not "Polynesian" owned; the guy that owns it is originally from California, a blond, blue eyed Irishman. His wife may be Polynesian, just another exaggeration regarding this place.

I really liked this hostel. It's very laid back and has a few long term residents, all of whom were very nice. The kind of place where it's nice to just hang out and go with the flow. I stayed in the room just off from the kitchen which was great. I had the best sleep ever with the breeze blowing in off the sea. It's a pretty scruffy kind of place but I felt very relaxed there. I would definitely recommend the Kauai Beachhouse. The restaurant next door does great barbecue food too. I would say that a car is pretty essential here but apparently hitching is not difficult - maybe not sensible for solo female travellers though. Kauai itself is just beautiful and I hope to revisit there soon - will stay at the Beachhouse again for sure!

A few things to know in advance... Kauai has roosters that run wild all around the island. If you stay in this or any other hostel or open-window spot, you will wake to the roosters every morning at the crack of dawn. Second, there is a community center right next door to this hostel, which can get pretty loud at night. Things quiet down by 10ish. This hostel is a no-frills beach house. The people are very friendly and fun to talk to. Down-and-out locals staying here long-term tend to get annoying, especially when there is a screaming match about paying up on the other side of your door every other day. I had a great time here, but didn't get nearly as much sleep as I had hoped on vacation.

Now, it was a long time ago that I stayed here, in the fall of 2001, but it was amazing. It was the best hostel I ever stayed at. This place had friendly staff, friendly guests, and I had the best time.

I stayed at this hostel in July. As it is the only one besides the hostel across the street in Kapa'a, they can do anything they want with backpackers. The promised airport shuttle was a lie. When I called them, after the second try, they told me there's no airport shuttle, that I should take a cab (for $25). The first thing the owner was willing to tell me is what I'm not allowed to do in "his" beach house. Which was a lot! And he was anything but friendly. He threw away my fridge stuff, after less than 12 hours, because I didn't put my name on it. So, you're better off staying overnight on the beach, which is free, than at this hostel. Have fun saving $25 a day. :-)

FANTASTIC!! Dorm beds are all double size, and each one has a privacy curtain around it. In addition to the normal shower, there is a rooftop shower that is amazing. The owners are really helpful - they let me store my stuff here while I went to hike the Na Pali trail. This place has a great movie room; an organized, clean kitchen; an outdoor deck overlooking the ocean - what more could you need? Oh, and if you ask, they'll pick you up at the airport. (I didn't know that and took a cab.) (:

This place is great and it blows the other hostel across the street away. Small, cool breezes, nice people -- you just want to stay forever. It is hard to peel yourself away and actually do any hiking -- I just bummed around for quite a few days. Great change from hustle of Waikiki!