Log 44: Rivals
Tiki Beach Hostel is located approximately 40 feet away from Hakuna Matata Hostel. Tiki Beach is painted yellow. Hakuna Matata is green and white. They both have beachfront access. They both provide a communal living experience. They are the only two hostels in Lahaina. But they are not equal.
Before I go on, let it be known that I have never been inside of Tiki Beach Hostel. I do not ever want to be inside of Tiki Beach Hostel. The stories are enough to keep me away.
For some background: It's surprisingly easy to book a stay at a hostel here in Lahaina, considering how full up every hotel on the island is. And don't get me wrong - the hostels are busy too - but because reservation cancellations are common and most stays are very short term, you can usually get a spot at one. The problem arises when you try to book a stay for longer than a few days. Some days the hostel is just fully booked for one night, with availability on either side of it. If one of those days is during a planned 2 week stay, you're gonna need to find another place to stay in the middle of your visit.
At Hakuna Matata, this means booking a night at Tiki Beach hostel. Or two nights - however many nights it takes to get back into Hakuna Matata. Unlike Hakuna Matata, Tiki Beach is a co-ed hostel. According to reports, it is dirty, stinky, and filled with cockroaches. A woman who was forced over to Tiki Beach told us she found one in her bed! When she walked back in the door of Hakuna Matata that morning, I was in the kitchen with a few other guests. We looked at her in an expectant silence that said, How was it? The woman just let out a relieved sigh and shook her head. She said she was incredibly happy to be back, and that she “could not spend one more night there for any amount of money .”
Another Woman, Nora, had to endure a three night stay at Tiki Beach. She spent the first night in the dorms, then opted to sleep in her rental car for the other two. In fact, tonight I am lending my tent, sleeping bag, and sleeping pad to a woman named Jenni (from Minnesota!) - she plans to sleep outside on the ground tonight, rather than walk through Tiki Beach’s doors. And on top of all this, Tiki Beach Hostel is more expensive per night than Hakuna Matata. Overall, not a super appealing place.
Perhaps the existence of Tiki Beach is a good thing though, because it creates a real sense of comradery amongst the guests here at Hakuna Matata. Every day, people go out to eat together, surf together, and generally just spend a lot of time hanging out together in the hostel common areas. Recently, a woman named Rhea and I were planning to go see the new Batman movie at a tiny theater she discovered just a few blocks down the street from us. Being the team player that I am, I took it upon myself to open this activity to all of the guests at the hostel. I drew up a flyer advertising our group excursion to the theater and taped it to the fridge. Next to it, I taped up an RSVP list, for organization’s sake. Dominique laughed when she walked into the kitchen and saw my work. “I can't wait for Daniel to see this,” she said with a smile.
Highlight: Batman. Duh.
