I stayed at this hostel in mid October. The new managers had been there for just a couple of weeks and they are just FANTASTIC!! I felt very comfortable and at home there. Autumn and Bill are great, warm and welcoming. Every night at that hostel felt like I was hanging out with old friends and family, I knew no one there till I arrived there. We had family style dinners which was great! Great atmosphere to meet new and great people. Autumn and Bill are in a transition in setting up tours throughout the Island. While I was there, Autumn took us out for the day snorkeling, which the hostel has snorkel gear!! I felt the hostel is centrally located and Kapaa is a great little town. Oh and I read somewhere that the beds were unstable, rickety and not comfy at all.. well I felt they were fantastic, I slept like a baby!

I spent several days in Kauai and stayed a day at the International Hostel this June (2011). I was able to get out there and moved to the Beach Hostel which is a couple of blocks away next day because its very poor conditions – bathroom was wet, very dirty, tap water did not work, and a bunch of flies and roaches in the room and kitchen. It does not have any views. The first day, I arrived there around 1 PM. It was raining and there was nobody answering or letting me check in. I had to wait 2-3 hr sitting in my rental car. Finally, a 40’s look man (the owner or manager) showed up, and gave me sheets which were taken from a pile of non- folder sheets (I wonder if it ever was washed late on because the smell was not like freshly washed.)

Its ($ 25) only advantage was cheaper $ 5 than the Beach Hostel ($30) charged. On the other hand, the beach Hostel has very nice ocean views from where you sleep. I stayed at the second floor where you can look at the sunrise or sunset through the windows or at the deck. Just sharing my experiences. If possible, I would post the photos for you guys. Anyhow, have fun in Kauai.

This is just the place you don't want to spend even one night! The rooms are very dirty... We had to prepare our beds on our own! The badroom wasn't cleaned at all and the price for that hostel was just not in the section you would normally pay for such a hostel!!!
Be aware of the owner, called "striper"!!! He actually told us that it's strictly forbidden to bring alcohol in the area but himself had a bad alcoholstinking breath by telling us this rule!!!
After me and my girlfriend told him that we actually wanted to check out earlier, he totally bursted out and shouted the worst swearing words at us and that we would have a problem in our minds and so on... This guy seems to be pretty insane!!! We were quite nervous after his burst-out until we were in our car driving away from this baaad place because this is one of a guy who seems definitely unpredictable!!! As budget travellers we well knew that we didn't stay at the "the f-word mariott" (his words) but we never experienced such a bad hostel, owner in our entire world trip... And believe it or not, we have travelled the entire globe!!!! So do yourself a favour and don't stay there!!! You'll have a great time in the kauai sands hotel, the pennies you pay more really are worth it!!!!!!!

Trust me people dit not overreact. The owner is a washed up surfer who probably thought it was a good idea to make money by scamming backpackers.

This place is dirty and from the looks of it is hardly ever cleaned. I worked as a volunteer in several desert areas for six months, each project 8 days long and no showers available, yet I was disgusted by this place and had trouble getting some decent sleep because of how dirty it was.

I had a private room for $60 with a dirty floor, a stained bedsheet, a disgusting and dirty bathroom and flies in the fridge.

When first meeting the guy he demanded I took of my shoes before entering. I knew why later, so he doesn't have to clean the damn place ever! the floor looked like it hadn't been cleaned in months and most likely wasn't.

Do yourself a favor and stay in the Kauai Beachside Hostel in Kapaa, just three minutes down the road. It's cleaned every day, the host is an older lady in her late 50's early 60's who is very helpful and nice. If your planning on hiking the kalalau trail, former guests can leave their stuff here for 1 dollar per night.. And best of all it's cheaper and has ocean view.