This is the third year in a row that I have stayed at Friends of Malaekahana. I love the beach and the weather is of course amazing. We try a new camp site each time and found our favorite in the back. There were no cats back there and a squirt gun educated the chickens to stay away rather effectively. The price is right, the facilities are adequate (make sure to bring your own toilet paper because they ALWAYS run out during the day). The warm showers work nice. I am only giving an average rating this year because it feels like the place is not being kept up as well as in prior years. There was quite a bit of trash that had blown around, more homeless people, and not as much attention to the bathroom facilities. Security was not as present as had been in prior years.

I am a seasoned camper and very accustomed to traveling ‘rough’, especially in the third world. I also travel A LOT for work, where I am paid to stay in high end accommodations. Both have their merits, for different reasons, and you only sometimes get what you pay for. This place was a case in point. Beautiful location, but the place is a mess and maintenance/security staff scary. Some of the staff and what seemed like the owner were nice and really helped us, but the security guy seemed to have a chip on his shoulder and we definitely didn’t feel safe here - we had stuff taken from our tent (though admittedly shouldn't have left anything lying around). There was lots of trash around the place, and an abandoned tarp, beer bottles and wet clothing in our campsite when we arrived. Bathrooms were disgusting, no hot water in any of the shower facilities, and there is no communal kitchen, so plan to bring your own esky and ice. Better yet, don’t stay here unless you are on such a tight budget you can’t afford anything else! If you aren’t camping, be warned too that the other accommodations at this place weren’t much better, as some of the other guests reported the yurts had roaches and spiders, mattresses mildewey etc. If you are contemplating this with kids, try juggling a little kid in a bathroom with no toilet paper, where everything is so dirty you don’t want them touching any surfaces, and they cry because the water in the shower is cold. Maybe there were some apartments that were ok, but I would recommend paying to stay someone a bit more comfortable. Better yet, go to a different island in Hawaii. I have been to the other islands, and Oahu is what they say it is– trashy and cheap, and in this case you get what you pay for.

We were very impressed with the site itself. It was peaceful, right by the ocean, & well maintained. We enjoyed a relaxing first night here and were looking forward to staying for another night. However, we were woken up early in the morning by an angry park staff member who greeted us with racial slurs. Later in the day, while reading by the beach, two more staff members approached us and notified us that we would be fined for having a dog if we didn't leave immediately. This despite other staff members and campers clearly having dogs.

My party felt that we had been unfairly treated and singled out by the staff. I would not recommend this site, and will not be returning.

We stayed in the most beautiful little grass shack right on the beach. It was heavenly falling asleep to the sound of the water lapping on the beach and waking to the most stunning sunrises. The grounds were so well kept and there was a lot of wildlife roaming around. The staff were very welcoming, Eric, brought us wood, freshly caught fish, macadamia nuts and coconuts. Kelly and his dog Kimo, patrolled the camp at night and always stopped for a chat.

The only thing i would suggest is you bring all the things you would need for camping... Torch, coolbox, cooking equipment etc... There was a fire pit that you can cook on but we were totally unprepared, we assumed there would be basic things onsite. Obviously backpacking you don't carry things like that with you. However, there is a hardware store a couple of miles down the road that we got all the supplies we needed. Just adds to the adventure!