Polynesian Hostel Beach Club — Hotel in Honolulu

I spent 2 weeks at the Polynesian hostel out of 3 weeks total I was in Honolulu. I have traveled all over the world and stayed in over 100 hostels over the years. This is one of the nicest, friendliest, most helpful, cleanest ,safest hostel I have stayed at. I have stayed over the years at 4 different Waikiki hostels.This is the best.It is not a party hostel. It is safe for solo female travelers and for older travelers. They go out of their way to help you. They even carried my heavy suitcase up to the 4th floor more than once. I read other reviews before I went there so I was prepared. I stayed 9 nights in the 8 bedroom female only dorm on fourth floor room 404. It is air-conditioned. I knew they did not provide blankets so I brought long under wear and was glad I did. It was spring and Temps were 80 degrees but it can get cool at night and the air-conditioning can get chilly. I had brought a beach towel and used that as a blanket as well. This room has a small fridge and microwave. Bring an extension cord to charge your electronics. This room unlike the c oth set s does not have the glass louvered windows which let noise in. It is much quieter than others. Unfortunately the garbage trucks come at 5 am and make noise but I didn't usually hear them. Lights were u SD Sally out by 10pm or before. There is no elevator. The hostel that is behind this one has a rooftop deck and they are noisy til 10pm.but it is only 3 stories . They have lockers which take a standard TSA suitcase lock or a standard dial combination lock. Bring your own. They have snorkeling gear for use with a deposit. They have surfboards for rent.Free beach towels for you to use but you only get 1 regular towel to use d u ring your stay. They will do your laundry for $6 per load but take the laundry to them in the morning. They don't fold your laundry so be prepared for wrinkles. They have coffee available all day using a single serve coffee machine. There are tangerines in the office in the mornings. There is a kitchen with 3 refrigerators . Wednesday nights at 6pm they have free pizza.Be there promptly. You can get shuttles from the airport to the hostel and can get I picked up to go to the airport. If you stay 7 nights you get a week bus pass. Busses are $2.50 cash or $1.25 for seniors. No free transfers . Bus stop is very close -a block and half away near Dennys. There is a great local market called the Waikiki Market on Kuhio Street about 3 stops away from the hostel. It is on the second floor and have a small grocery but have fresh produce, a bakery, a poke bar, a plate lunch place, a sushi stand, many ta I e out grab and go items. There are tables j u st o u aside the market to eat at. Know that plastic grocery bags are banned in Hawaii and you must supply your own bag at stores. Buy a reusable bag at the store. Another great place to eat is at 2 food courts I the Ala Moana shopping center. They have oriental and local food there. Not your typical food court. One located on 1st floor the other on 2nd floor near Macy's. Go to the Foodland grocery store a the shoppingcenter too. It has several to go departments with so much variety all packaged . The only cons I can say about the hostel is that they need to replace some of the mattresses. I watched tgem clean and mop the rooms everyday starting about 11am. If you check in and the room looks messy it is because the people staying there mess it up after it is cleaned. They disinfect the floors and bathrooms every day. Very clean. No bugs. You can Leave your phone at the front desk to charge while you are at the beach. You need your goki app on your phone to get into the rooms so you have to take your phone when you leave the room. Put the Goki app on your phone ahead of time. It is easy to use. The entry is gated and they give you the code to get in the gate to check in. Someone is in the office unless they leave for 5 min to put laundry in. I also stayed in several of the mixed dorms because I decided to extend my vacation and didn't book the second week ahead. nice...

I am a frequent traveler from Hilo and have stayed in many hotels and AirBnBs in Honolulu. This was my first time staying at a hostel. I needed only one night in Waikiki for a conference so required just a clean bed to sleep in for a few hours and a clean bathroom to shower and get dressed in. I needed to be at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki early in the morning for the conference and also needed a place that is walking distance to the hotel. For what I needed, I did not want to spend the tourist (even the local discounted) rates for a hotel room. I found Polynesian Hostel Beach Club and, though, slightly apprehensive because I have never stayed in a hostel before, I decided to plunge into my unknown.

I was expecting a dorm room type of situation and I planned for that. Lots of people sharing a room AND a shower. I had to remind myself that, for the price and only for a few hours, I will deal with it.

Uber brought me to the front gate. Sign was easily readable, even at 8:00 pm with dim streetlights on. Stairs going to the upstairs part of the hostel is to the right as soon as you enter the gate. The office is next to the steps, also to the right and well lit. The front desk person was friendly. Check-in was easy. A $10 key deposit is required. The password for the free WiFi is on the counter of the check in desk.

I was assigned to Room 202. The mural on the wall of the stairs were nice. I saw some guests downstairs and on the 2nd floor as I made my way to my room. I heard different languages being spoken. I liked this. Everyone smiled or nodded as I passed by. Most of the guests were young, 20s mostly, maybe young 30s.

The door to 202 was open and a female guest looked up and we both confirmed that I was in the right room. I saw two double bunk beds, all looked used. I wondered which was mine. I was pleasantly surprised to find that my room was a private one in the back past the bathroom.

The room was large enough that there would have been plenty of room for suitcases. It had a chair and a double bed. The room was clean. Fresh linens and two clean towels were on the bed. The large window looked out on to the street. Not a Hawaiian beach scene, but it was not what I needed the room for. The bathroom was clean. Some travel toiletries were on a shelf next to the toilet but it was not cluttered. The shower was clean. The toilet and sink were clean. The noise level outside was, for me, average for being in an urban area. Did not bother me. The bed was larger than what I needed but was much appreciated. There were two pillows that were a bit too flat for my needs but I doubled them up and it worked just fine. The best part of the room was the ceiling fan and the light that had a remote control. On hot nights, that would be amazing.

My tip for travelers who stay there: indoor slippers to use while in the room and in the shower. That's the nurse in me, though. Maybe you have less sensitive feet.

My overall stay worked out wonderfully for me. It met all my needs for my purposes there. I would...

Overall, it was a wonderful experience! The beds are comfortable to be bunk beds. The facilities are kept clean.

The staff will clean while you are asleep, because they clean when they can. It is in the heart of Waikiki and for the prices, it cannot be beat! It is within walking distance to many attractions along Waikiki Beach. There are lots of buses along Kuhio that will take you everywhere else. The 19 or 20 buses from airport, will put you approximately two blocks from the Polynesian Hostel on Lemon where several other hostels are also located. Get off at Kuhio and a street that begins Pao...They are all surrounded by lots of hotels and resorts. Shelly at the front desk is very helpful. When I wanted to go to the North Shore, she printed out a map and listed many of the beaches I would pass on the way there. You can take the 55 bus to the North Shore, but it is a 2-3 hours ride on the 55 bus from the mall. For $2.50 you can't beat the price. If you decide on going to the North Shore be sure and check out Weikea Bay's Waterfall (across from the beach). It is not free. The cost: 16 dollars and a 3/4 mile hike up a gradual incline to reach it. The surrounding gardens are lovely, so it is worth the trip. Once there, you can swim if you'd like. The staff at Polynesian Hostel is always happy to help with a smile. The scariest things are the two fridges in the kitchen. Because people are pigs it can be atrocious! Do not add to the refrigerator fiasco if you can help it. I personally think nothing should be allowed in the fridge that is in a bag. There needs to be shelves for the tall water bottles. The kitchen can be a gnarly mess also because so many people do not believe in cleaning up after themselves. It does come well stocked with utensils and things so you can prepare your own meals. I appreciated the fact that the quiet time from 10p.m-6a.m is strictly enforced. If it wasn't - people would take advantage and be up all night acting a fool. The beach things you can borrow from the hostel are boogie boards, mats, floats, and is a great option as opposed to buying. They provide a free pancake breakfast with great tasting instant coffee. Another cool thing is if you go grocery shopping at Safeway, you can use the hostels phone number to get the discounts. Traveling on a budget? check out Polynesian Hostel Waikiki for yourself. You just might be glad you did. I know I was and it turned out to be a great living and...