Tiki Beach Hostel-at the Beach in Lahaina

pros- good location. there is a sign on the door saying only paid guests are allowed inside the hostel, and that anyone who is obnoxiously intoxicated or unruly on the premises will be kicked out. As a solo female traveler, both of these house rules were reassuring to me and made me feel comfortable. My mattress was comfortable. The room I stayed in had an AC unit which was great. I didn’t see any bugs in my dorm room. There is parking. Cons- the entire place SMELLS. Like it just stinks a musty, moldy/mildewy scent that permeates everything. The sofa chair in one of the common areas is too gross to sit on. As someone with asthma I felt it was actually harmful to my health to stay there. I emailed the owner after checking in to ask if he could give me a refund so I could leave, and he just ignored it. I had to stay there for 5 days and only showered ONCE because of how disgusting the bathrooms were. They have put up tents in the backyard as well as makeshift “rooms” (not closed rooms, just put up bunk beds behind walls) to increase the capacity of how many paying guests they can have, but only have 3 washrooms (one of which is outdoors). The hostel staff aren’t paid, (they work there in exchange for a free stay) so I feel like they aren’t super motivated to care about anything but it seems like they do try to make an effort to keep things “tidy” even tho it’s not “clean”. I have stayed in hostels all over Canada, USA and Europe and this was the second-most dirty feeling one I’ve been to. It is also the only hostel I’ve been to where someone has either eaten or thrown away my clearly dated and labelled food in the fridge. it is obvious the owner cares about nothing more than making money, and I’m sure he’s making a ton of it with all the tents and outdoor bunks he’s set up so I’m surprised he doesn’t at least use a little bit of it to update the showers or at least the furniture so it’s not so gross. If you have any lung or sinus issues or just value your health and cleanliness at all, don’t stay here. The hakuna matata hostel is just across the street and I was told was way cleaner and also cheaper.

Staff went above and beyond to help me out, I forgot an item and they were kind enough to ship it to me. I appreciated how welcoming, relaxed and knowledgeable they were. The property had a lot of character and surfboards were even available to rent! Convenient location too, stay here if you are looking for an affordable/“no frills” stay on Maui.