About what I expected plus a layer of grease and mold on stove, cabinets and fridge. But I considered it one notch above camping, and the toilet worked! The bed was comfortable with provided linens, but the mattress and blankets were stained. Fire was tough to start but didn't really need it. Chickens will wake you at 4:00am as is true on most of Kauai. I used earplugs. Great huge picnic area nearby in meadow, and there were very few people around except during midday. Cabins could use a good cleaning once in a while. I can't recommend it until they do a little scrubbing

First the good part: You can't beat the location. The Lodge is in the middle of the best hiking on Kauai. The views of the Na Pali Coast from the lookouts, especially in the early morning at at twilight, are superlative. We hiked the Awa-awapuhi Trail (6.2 miles, descending (and then climbing!) 1500 feet.
Now the bad part: These cabins are truly gross. We are not fussy people -- we are happy in sleeping bags and tents, and are fine with public toilets and showers -- but these units are really filthy. We had a duplex (my brother/sister in law in Kukui and my husband and I in Koa). Kukui had a new kitchen, which was somewhat passable. But ours was gross. The burners on the stove were dirty. Paint was peeling and grease was splattered in the wall next to the stove. The refrigerator was rusty and dirty. Skillets (in both units) had peeling teflon. Silverware was visibly dirty. The blankets were so gross, I had to avert my eyes when I was making the beds. Chair bottoms (especially in Kukui) were recovered several times, as evident from the holes in the upholstery, which was marked with grease and soil spots. The shower was patched so many times with spackle, it was bumpy. The plastic dish drainer was moldy. Most cabinets had no hardware. Remnants of garbage (including used Q-tips) outside the unit. There was no hand soap.
The Lodge has been cited by the Heath Department for having unacceptable levels of copper and lead in the water, which can cause stomach problems. The notices posted outside each unit say the level is now "acceptable" but we decided to only use bottled water.
There is no place to sit and read (lights dim, chairs uncomfortable) so we took our books and snacks to the picnic tables outside the Museum, which was nice.
There is a restaurant, but it's only open 9:00 to 2:30 (even though it says 4:00). For our first night, we brought ready-made steak, salad and rice that we'd picked up at the Times Market (in the Costco shopping center near the airport). We were so glad we didn't have to cook in that kitchen. But the next night, we did have to brave it, so we washed everything thoroughly and made pasta.
We ate breakfast at the Lodge. It was basic, passable fare, served on tiny paper plates with plastic silverware. The coffee was terrible - I couldn't drink it.
The staff is really indifferent and not overly friendly. They ignored us while counting out all the money in their cash register, and even the person at the Museum snapped at us when we expressed enthusiasm about one of the trails. (!)
If you go, I'd suggest bringing only pre-prepared food and lots bottled water. Bring soap and other cleaning supplies. You might want to bring your own sheets. I think they were clean, but they looked like some mismatched bunch from the back of someone's linen closet. (surprisingly, the beds were pretty comfortable. I just had to make sure only the sheet was touching me, and not those disgusting blankets).
I think next time we go to Kauai for hiking, we'll stay in Waimea and just drive the 30 minutes up the road to the hiking trails.

upon making reservations to stay at the cabins in kokee, they were very imformative to the conditions of the cabins informing us it was not a "resort". with that in mind we made sure, to bring our own linens,pillows, and a bit of cleaning supplies, just to be safe. we too, had experienced a dirty cabin minus the smoke butts, and holes in pillows. (LOL) the smokey cabin on the other hand we did get to experience that. leading us to go outside and stay on the "small lanai" with our one chair & one blanket we experienced the beautful sky full of stars that kokee has to offer. we too live in kauai, and going to kokee is a way of getting another experince of the island that takes you further back in time. cant wait to do it again!

Still Kokee. It's the same as 2 years ago, and after hesitating for a second after reading some reviews, still booked it. The accomodations have changed very little in 20 years. Rustic, quiet, enchanting. Kitchen was fully functional and so was the bathroom. Bed has some years on it, but linens were fresh and clean. Rooster alarm clocks and early evenings by the fire. It's timeless and beautiful, a great place to stretch out after some awesome hiking adventures - but shhhhh, don't tell too many people so those that know can always get a cabin!