HI - Honolulu University Hostel - Honolulu, Hawaii

Neville Blythe

I did my original review of this hostel in March 2016, after a once in a lifetime visit, so I'm not sure why I have been asked to review it again. The hostel was a quiet house and good place to stay with its own washing machine, drier and self catering kitchen. Hostel had a 2 week maximum stay to stop university students using it as a base for their studies, as it is close to the university. I travelled to Honolulu to visit Pearl Harbour, which was a very good tour. I went to the harbour by local bus which was close to the hostel and then toured the island by local bus the day after which meant going on 2 buses and costing me next to nothing. I ate food bought at the Down to Earth supermarket/store on S King Street and cooked it at the hostel. I had a good stay, the staff were very helpful and I enjoyed my tour?

Kismet

Well-maintained hostel located in a quiet neighborhood. An economical option. May not be able to sleep well given its nature. The place’s unrelated to the University. Lovely stray cats was a plus.

The host helped with check-in and recommended great lookout places to visit.
However, attitude was a bit rough and somewhat condescending when meeting in person. Attitude with other guests were better. I’m a single woman from China. Unsure what the differential treatment was about lol.

Emily Lin

This is a hostel for folks who like to rest early and up early.
Though the building is old with characters, it is probably the cleanest hostel I've been to, thanks to the diligent family who runs the place for generations and also to the rules they put in. I felt safe and at home during my stay here. You will enjoy this place if you are the kind of respectful traveler who likes to have a peek to local's everyday life.

There's bunch of stray cats around this property, which is a personal plus for me.

E W.

First the positives: the hostel is located in a perfect location and you can get anywhere on the island (with a car) from there. I also liked that there were a few parking spaces.

Now on the opposite side there is no AC, so be prepared. I would compare my stay as staying with a strict aunt who is always watching you and wants to lecture you. One of the sisters approached me the second day and said that her husband took a long time cleaning the bathroom shower because there were pink hair all over the shower. She did so because my hair is dyed red. She began asking me when exactly did I dye my hair etc. Note, after using the showers I always checked to make sure I left it clean, if there were tons of red hair everywhere I would have cleaned it up. Plus my hair is always tied up and I don’t wash my hair at other people’s places. If there were hair it would have been a few small stray strands. A few days later I received a text from one of the sisters telling me that I needed to call her when I got back to the hostel. When I got back that evening it was the second sister and she said that Sue wanted to talk to everyone because there was sand in the woman’s dorm area and her husband didn’t like how long it took him to sweep it. She even went as far as writing this aggressive message and posting it up. I am someone who has stayed at hostels and air BnBs before ( I travel quite a lot). The passive aggressive behavior I experienced from Sue was not ok. I will not choose this place again. I also clean air bnb houses, if I complained half as much about cleaning, I would have been fired a long time ago.

Makenzie Sorensen

I really loved my time here! I stayed in total for longer than a week- I would absolutely stay longer and can't wait to come back!
The hostel is close to UH Manoa campus and this was perfect for me- it was only 10 minute walk to the University Library.
It is a very quick bus ride (15-20 mins) to downtown Waikiki and very quick walk to the bus stops (3-5 mins). I could get to almost every part of the island from here by bus.
It is very clean and the beds were comfortable and there are small details around the hostel that really make you feel at 'home'. I was a solo female traveller and felt absolutely safe and secure here. The sisters have lots of helpful recomendations from places to see or eat etc.
I met so many intersting people and enjoyed socializing, but there was also several places to enjoy personal time and I loved all the plants around.
Definitely a favorite place to stay on the island 🙂

Terry Eller

Fantastic hostel, best in Honolulu.
The folks who run it are great people.
I stayed for over 3 weeks.
10/10, would stay again!

Thomas Nordås Hegre

Very nice and welcoming people. Recommend this hostel for students, travelers or anyone who needs a reasonable place to stay for a few days, or just for the night

Leonard

READ BEFORE YOU BOOK
this hostel is a quiet, limited social hostel.
It is tightly managed and designed to be a place for quiet, peaceful coliving.

As I am use to other Hostel International locations and was seeking social experiences and to meet others, this hostel wasn't my favorite in Honolulu. But it does have some redeeming traits. Some things that I was not bit in were the limited access to the kitchen (closes at 11p), no alcoholic beverages allowed here (including beer), and no talking in the one common area which is the patio after 11p.

The hostel is located in a residential area by the university so you might hear college students partying some nights, but the managers of the location are very strict about the rules and limited noise and mess as well. They are interesting people which I like.

Overall, I liked that the hostel was very clean and by time for bed (well before that time even) it was quiet for sleep, but it does severely lack a social environment/component because of all the rules - which is the best part about staying at a hostel.

I recommend a stay closer to Waikiki if looking for social life. And stay here if you just want a bit more solitude and peace. Not to say you can't spark up a conversation and make a new friend, but by 11pm you'll have to go to the street to have a conversation with them - literally.

Note: the check in/out process is strict and a but lengthy as well so be prepared if you have just been traveling for 6,8,12+ hours.

Also the place can be a bit hard to find as it is tucked behind another building so walk the street, follow Google Maps, and look for the triangle symbol.