When you travel as much as I do, you come to set your own personal standards for hospitality. While hotels aim to satisfy your every need, hostels are just a place to lay your head at night and maybe meet a few people, so the perks at the Polynesian were a pleasant surprise. We took advantage of the pancake breakfast every morning, which saved us the money we would have spent on over ten meals. However, if you're a coffee drinker like I am, all they have is instant, so the closest fix is Starbucks around the corner for the real stuff.
My favorite bit about the Polynesian Hostel though? The organized tours. We signed up for a sunrise hike up to Diamond Head Crater with a few other travelers one morning, including one on her way home from a year in Australia and two gals from Stockholm on a three-month trip around the world. While the view from the top was incredibly delightful, the Diamond Head hike itself is overstuffed with tourists and is a bit of a claustrophobic experience, even before the sun comes up. Now that I've done it once, I never have to deal with it again—but I'm glad I went. It was lovely bonding time with the girls from the hostel, and we all stopped for coffee on our way back from the hike before pancakes.
The hostel also offers excursions to the North Shore if you aren't renting a car, or to Kailua and even scuba diving. You can also rent surfboards to test the waters at Waikiki across the street!
