After spending a lovely 4 nights at the Hilton Kauai Beach Hotel & Resort, we managed to miss our flight home! Faced with a closed ticketing window at the airport at 11 p.m., we were lucky to flag down a taxi who immediately recommended we stay at the nearest motel for the night. He drove us to Tip Top Motel and we figured OK, one night at a divey motel is doable.
However, when we opened the door to the room, we were both horrified. Now, I have stayed at hostels outside of the country and used holes in the ground as toilets in 3rd world countries and these accomodations at Tip Top were much scarier. The room was smaller than 10x10 with cinder block cement walls. It was like a prison cell or asylum ward. The thin blanket on the bed (which had several holes in it) resembled a cheap tablecloth. The linens were stained and the walls were dingy with scuffed up linoleum floors. There was a small, ancient air conditioner unit in the windows but the room was still stuffy. The bath towels were ragged around the edges. For $65 a night, it was highway robbery. I wouldn't have paid $20 had I have seen the room beforehand.
Oddly enough, the diner at Tip Top turned out to have the best pancakes in town (banana with macadamias). It was the teeny tiny consolation to an otherwise miserable stay.
- Tip Top Hotel
