Pros:
If you don't care about cleanliness-or your health, then a plus is that it's right by a nice beach.
Cons:
Did NOT feel safe at all and it was VERY dirty & dark.
Susan2008
saw things this way
Maintenance
(1)
Cleanliness
(1)
Facilities
(2)
Atmosphere
(1)
When trying to reserve a bed, no one responded to my emails & I was led down a path of about 4 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-4 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 & no recollection of me leaving my name. (???) As he was showing me what he DID have, he could tell I wasn't impressed & said to me, "This is your typical hostel set up". R-e-a-l-l-y??? Besides NO organization, the place was just plain filthy & dusty. Listen, I am in no way a 'pampered princess', and know that for a bunk for $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 & left. I'm glad I didn't stay, it was just creepy & as a lone but very confident female traveler, I didn't feel that I would be safe. I don't expect things to be perfect, but for goodness sake, a little elbow grease, a broom, mop & 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 bed divider curtains, dark hallways, dirty floors & can only imagine what the showers & bathrooms were like. I would have had serious doubts about the cleanliness of the sheets too.......
PS: This was only two weeks ago from the date of this review entry. I can't imagine that they will develop a miraculous cleanliness or professional spiritual awakening any time soon. Regards.
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(Review ID: 4683)
management very helpful and friendly, incredible location, lots of fun, and good food, April 29, 2007
Pros:
location, location, location - it rocks!!
Cons:
i had to go back home - i had to leave
tellafunk
saw things this way
Maintenance
(4)
Cleanliness
(5)
Facilities
(4)
Atmosphere
(5)
i've been to many hostels in my travels, and the kaua'i beach house is the most laid back, and coolest hostel i've been to yet. the owner, and staff are very welcoming, and helpful, and a hell of a lot of fun. the location kicks ass - directly on the beach, and on the shoulder of the eclectic little kapa'a town. yeah i had one of the best times of my life at the kauai beach house - dont let other reviews misslead you - probley a candy-ass rich boy...yo! thank you brian & dominic for your hospitality, ciao - c-dog
Pros:
right by the ocean
Cons:
Completely run-down, moldy, dirty, with a terrible staff
anne11
saw things this way
Maintenance
(1)
Cleanliness
(1)
Facilities
(2)
Atmosphere
(3)
What a shame to have a beautiful piece of property that has been completely neglected. While I stayed there the ceiling actually crashed down into one of the only 2 showers in the entire place. Luckily nobody was standing in it. The place is moldy, it is not rain proof at all, even the inside areas are prone to getting wet. Creatures run rampant. I know it is to be expected in the tropics, but it is particularly bad at this place. The manager was a drunk, who I heard getting in fights with her drunk boyfriend who also lives and works there. Apparently she was arrested for assaulting a guest at one point. The manager smiles at first, but then shows her teeth eventually. The owner is another drunk, who leaves his young daughter alone at the hostel, expecting others to watch her. Not cool. Some of the fellow travelers were great. That and the ocean so close are the only worthy factors. That is why I gave it a 3 for atmosphere. I can go on and on. I felt like I was at a halfway house, not a hostel. I eventually moved to the other hostel, which was atleast clean.
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Hostel Manager's Right of Reply
If a former manager partied to much on a single occasion and got in an argument with her boyfriend does not mean it is a regular occurrence? No it does not.
In fact I was there that night and her boyfriend was a real ass and insulted her terribly in front of a few of us. She had every reason to get in his face and have an argument...regrettably it didn't need to happen around a few of our guests but it did. Hey, we are a hostel the workers live there unlike a hotel where the workers live in their own homes.
My staff keeps the BeachHouse immaculate. One of the staff who has been with us several years takes care of all bathrooms and is a super clean freak...she scrubs the toilet so heavy it takes the surface paint off the seat requiring my early replacement of those seats. The kitchen occasionally is left full of dishes by inconsiderate guests...but hey what can you do it is a hostel...however we have staff that 3 times a day and evening re-clean the kitchen and sweep it.
Do we have more and more rooms with new tile floors replacing the old carpets...yes.
Are we now tiling the floors, walls, and ceilings of all of our bathrooms...yes.
Did we remove the ceiling in one bath to replace the sheetrock that was very old...so that we can tile the ceiling in white tile...yes...did the ceiling ever fall on a guest? No way..we had the bathroom blocked until the room bathroom was safe to be used albeit sans the sheetrock on the ceiling.
My Kauai BeachHouse Hostel is a family run business. Do 5 of my 8 children spend lots of time there? My 2 sons help with the remodeling of the old plantation building that is the Kauai BeachHouse and is a part of the history of Old Kapa'a Town on the Royal Coconut Coast here on Kauai. 2 of my daughters in their 20's help to run the business of the Kauai BeachHouse and spend a lot of time there.
Does my 9 year old daughter play and do homework here after school most days of the week...you bet she does on the days and weekends she does not study hula...also she is a future owner since I own the building, and has every right to be here. And our long term female staff are all like aunties to her...with myself and 4 of her siblings here and the aunties she is never left alone just like other children (including her same age girlfriends and classmates) who spend all their out of school time at their parents bar/restaurant right down the street from us.
In addition one of my workers is a male single parent who also lives at the Kauai BeachHouse, and his daughter, same age as my 9 year old also lives here and the 2 of them are rarely apart and protected also by the other child very big and strong no nonsense father.
I could go on and on giving you the reality of the Kauai BeachHouse...it might be best to go to http://www.hawaiihostelreview.com/Kauai/Kauai_Hostel_BeachHouse.html and read what Andy's Hawaiian Hostel Review says about the Kauai BeachHouse. He claims we are the #1 hostel in the Hawaiian Islands.
WE are well on the way to making the Kauai Beachhouse a beautiful 5 Star hostel with all amenities...every floor, deck, landing, stairs, and bathrooms completely tiled of quality tile. All bunks are industrial made meaning we use lumber that builds homes so that one person above or below cannot disturb the other by any movements made. We will have 3 full Hawaiian style kitchens, 16 full baths (showers, toilet, sink, and 70 beds, very few of which will be single size, we prefer full size, Queens, and king beds...we have the room...we are in the process of all private rooms will have private baths. We have the area for a in-house store, we have BBQ and party area, live Hawaiian music 7 nights a week (early finale during the week) and in-house reduced cost access to all island activities, rental cars, tours, and all watersports equipment rentals excluding dive equipment.
PS: This was only two weeks ago from the date of this review entry. I can't imagine that they will develop a miraculous cleanliness or professional spiritual awakening any time soon. Regards.
