Rainbows End Surf Hostel

They must be violating so many health codes
Gosh, I wish I had read these reviews before we left for Maui. We were very excited to move to the Rainbow Surf Hostel in Paia, which is such a cute little town. First of all we could not check in until after 5 p.m. because the people in our room had not left yet (Don't they have check out times for a reason?). Our first night we were excited to cook because we had bought some gorgeous vegetables from a farm. So excited in fact that we persisted in cooking even after finding several large cockroaches in the kitchen. But when I was doing the dishes a spider well over two inches across came running out of the dish-rack. We decided not to cook again and to spend as little time as possible in the kitchen, but we should have found another place to stay. Throughout our four-night stay we saw several cockroaches over two inches, the last night being the kicker when a nuclear sized cockroach climbed up the wall right at the head of the bed and then a five-inch centipede scurried out from under the bed. And appearently these things give a mean sting. Thank God that was our last night in the dump known as Rainbow Surf! We slept with the light on and checked out early the next morning. Despite having a lengthy list of rules posted about cleanliness and where you can and cannot eat and wear shoes, this is the dirtiest place that I have ever stayed. Being from Arizona I have seen a lot of cockroaches and know that if your place is clean you can easily avoid them. Rainbow Surf Hostel needs an exterminator and a cleaning lady, and even then I would never consider staying there again.

Never again
This place is pretty nasty. Its dirty, i was told by one of the long term residence that they had bedbug problems and to be careful and you need to be very careful with your belongings. Oh, and the owner is nuts. I caught him down the street one day yelling at someone for no apparent reason. Everyone around, including the coffee shop owner were shocked. He then just walked away mumbling and grumbling to himself. Avoid this dump. not worth the trouble.

Pretty Crappy!
I just got back to Oahu after spending three nights in this place. First, when I called the day before to let them know I was coming they told me they had no record of my deposit and reservation. However they did honor it by letting me stay in the night manager's room. If all you're looking for is a place to crash at night then I guess it's ok because it's cheap. The bathrooms were pretty nasty and I did not want to use the shower because the floor was grimy and the sink had the same gunk on it every night when I brushed my teeth. I think I'd rather camp next time and shower in the park. I tried the place out because I'm on Maui for work a lot. This place is not for locals. Oh yeah, I came home late one night and there were guys looking at porn mags on the front deck. Need I say more?

Wow, we had a weird experience with this hostel. We were there for our honeymoon in 2005 and we wound up not even staying one night or maybe just one night but, I dont recall even sleeping there. All I know is that while my husband was doing Tai Chi outside on the grass, the owner or someone came up to him and yelled at him for "poisoning the grass with his feet" and he couldn't practice in the yard. Everyone in the house seemed stuck up, we were chipper and said "hello" and people didn't really even pass a glance. Very uncomfortable situation! We wound up leaving. I would not recommend this place to anyone.

The location is great and the building is colorful but everything is extremely dirty and covered in dust. It looks as if most things, except for the bathrooms, have not been cleaned in years. There is a rat problem in the cottage and the management is unstable. There are many locals living here and people getting kicked out for no reason.

Having never stayed at a hostel before, i was expecting the worst, but got one of my most memorable experiences to the hawaiian islands. CJ (the gal that was running the hostel) kept everything clean and was the coolest. Had no problems with bugs while I was there. Couldn't have asked for a better stay! Met such great people and I am definitely coming back! Ten-minute walk to the beach and downtown Paia.

Wonderful place! Highly recommend it. Riki and Kristina are very generous, kind people who care deeply about their land, environment, and love hawaii. their love is contagious. They have the cutest little son, most beautiful baby! The hostel is extremely clean, the rules are very fair and hats off to Riki for continuing enforcement, as it's not an easy task. I had a wonderful time and hope to come back.

I stayed here about two years ago and had an amazing experience. Although I was only here for a week, it was truly home. I made friends from around the world that I still stay in touch with. I would absolutely, most definitely go back. Affordable, clean, homey, cool wall paintings. I loved it.

I stayed at Rainbows End a few years ago, when I arrived on Maui. I found it to be a great place in which I felt safe and respected by the owners, and during which time the folks staying at the hostel where of very dynamic backgrounds and temperments, which made for a wonderful experience for me. Kristina was about to give birth and was a joy to be around. I found her maternal support and information about the island itself very valuable. I really enjoyed Riki as well, as he stands for integrity and awareness amidst an environment that attracts alot of young surfers, travellers, students, etc, who may not have deeply formed ways of being in the world with respect and integrity. I really appreciated talking to him about surfing and Hawaii, and that both of the owners live with passion and vision for the hostel and their lives. This helped me feel safe and welcome, and the direct communication made it easy to know where I stood as I was doing work/trade. The clean, basically quiet environment made this spot a perfect place to call "home" for the few weeks I stayed in Paia.

I lived at this hale there for a month. Riki the owner runs Rainbow's End like a tight ship, which isn't surprising b/c he did 4 tours in Vietnam. I can say for sure that he is a badass _only_ to people who deserve it, and when people do act up, he boots them. Be respectful and he treats you fine. He is a clean freak, yes, but you know what? It's kind of good, because this place is spotless. I've never seen him yell about toilet paper. That's dumb. Parking spots? Yes, b/c they're so limited. Park your car right and he won't grumble. Pretty simple stuff. Riki and his wife are cool, good people and I recommend the place highly. And if you want to learn about Hawaiian culture, Riki is your man, and he will love you for asking. Aloha.

Great location; a peaceful town is close by. There's a food store, Mana (very expensive); a vegetarian restaurant, Fresh Mint; gas stations, and surf shops. It's clean and the lights go off at 10 p.m., which is good for a dorm. You can get good sleep. Just go by the rules and you will be respected. Very recommended.

Demand a receipt for your rent. They don't like to give them for a reason. I call it Rainbow "Serf" hostel because if you work and live there, they either won't pay you minimum wage or won't pay you for huge portions of your work. Tell them you want a contract and a "real" written paycheck. Don't give them your valuables to put in their locked safe (passport, etc). When I wanted to leave, they took three days to return the title of my car, passport, etc. I've filed a complaint with Hawaii's Better Business Bureau. The man that owns it has been known to scream at people in the middle of the night for parking wrong, using too much toilet paper, and leaving the lights on.

This is a well-managed hostel. The owners are very friendly, helpful and reasonable, and know how to enjoy life. It's located at Paia. Weather-wise, I think it is the best place on the island because the temperature is just right here. In the west Maui (Lahaina, etc.), it is too hot/dry, and in the east Maui, it rains too much (Hana, etc.). It's really nice just sitting in the living room, watching TV and feeling the wind flowing in and out of the house. Many of the people I met there were die-hard surfers/wind-surfers. Literally, it's a surfer community. People are from different places in the world, such as Japan, Australia, Israel, Taiwan and US. I did enjoy my stay there, and I think it is a place that you would like to come back to again. A guy from the SF bay area... June 30, 2005

I spent several days here and it was delightful. It's just a short distance to a great surf and the people were a delight to talk with.

This is a very well run hostel. It is clean, spacious, and close to the town, shops, and beach. The owners are friendly and they take great care of the beautiful, historic house. It was a great place for me to meet people from around the world and make new friends.