Nalu Kai Lodge

If you are looking for a place to stay in paia, this is the place to go. Very nice friendly manager with cute charming rooms. We were looking for a last minute place to stay and checked almost all spots. All were either super pricey or not available including airbnb. Then we walked by the lodge and lucky enough they had availability and we immediately checked in. Wish we had more days to stay. (free wifi, laundry, rooms have fan but pretty adequate as it didn’t get too hot in the rooms)

My husband and I stayed here and it was perfect for us. We are not resort people who need a daily maid so this was exactly what we were looking for. Clean comfortable affordable room with a fridge (little freezer inside for ice too!) We had the room with a/​c. Maui was cooler than I expected so not sure if that is necessary for next time. I don’t think we ever saw the owners, it’s come and go as you please. If you can rent a smaller car, do so, parking is kind of tricky if they upgrade your car to a Dodge Challenger. Haha The Paia Coffee Shop right next door is really cute. Great for breakfast. I am vegetarian and they had plenty of options. Paia is a pretty cute little town, though a little snottier than I expected for a «hippie» town. (It’s no Tulum or Isla Mujeres, MX.) All the friendly people we met were visiting from California or Canada! LOL Walk across the street to Charley’s and see Lindsey, she was a great friendly server! Paia is on the way to Hana which is nice too. We loved hiking up there, the Black Sand Beach, Twin Falls. It feels like you are in Avatar when you get up in that part of the island. So beautiful. Stop on the way back for some vegan ice cream at Coconut Glen’s! I would stay here again if we are ever back in Paia. Easy walking distance to everything in town. Grocery store down the street. Free wifi available in the front area with the hammocks and chairs.

This lodge is somewhere between a hostel and a hotel. The location is central to Paia town, you’re a stone throw away from all the restaurants and shops. The pictures on the website are accurate: the rooms are bit tight for two people, it’s clean, include a micro refrigerator, and yes, there are no doors separating the bathroom from the bedroom. You can also do laundry, they have free parking (6 spots) and they give you beach towels. There is a large common area with a table and chairs, a grill and a unmanned tiki bar.
This is a no frills place to lay your head at night and nothing more. The windows are slatted so you can hear all the road noise, people hanging out in the common space, person power washing the building at 5am (yes his happened) and alley cat fights (this woke us up at 4am). We had a room with no ac (there’s a fan), which was comfortable in Feb. but still a bit humid. There is no maid service, which just means that the beds are the way you left em.
The price per night is a lot cheaper than other hotels nearby and the conditions reflect that. I would suggest you stay here if you were on a budget and wanted a central location to Paia but otherwise, move on.

The Nalu Kai was great for us. We didn’t want the big resort experience — let alone the cost — and the Nalu Kai worked beautifully. For a price much, much lower than that of the resorts, we got a little attached cottage with a functional little kitchen, a bedroom, a nicely styled little bathroom (shower, no tub), and a tiny shaded balcony we called our lanai. Everything was clean and functional, and when there was a plumbing problem, they fixed it right away.
Paia is a nice little town with sort of a Santa Cruz vibe, if you’ve been out that way. It’s near the airport, and well situated for a drive to Haleakala or out to Hana.
The only fly in the poi was noise. The rules urge guests to be quiet late at night, but the rooms are next to a common area, and while I can’t blame anyone for spending a warm evening outdoors, there were a couple of times where it was a little noisy even after nine at night. It was low key, cheerful noise, not rowdy, menacing noise, and not super loud, but it was noise just the same. Not a huge problem, and we’d go back for sure, but you should know.
Overall, liked it A LOT.

Love this place. So Pa’ia! Super quiet but right in town! Walk everywhere. Great fun CASUAL «Hang loose» CLEAN place!

Biggest Roach in the room that ive ever seen… well, maybe not as big as the flying dudes we saw in Ecuador. Also, bathroom filled with small ants. Bed was like sleeping on burlap sacks. Located directly next to a very loud café that starts in the early AM.
If you can look past all this (we did) the price is right – why not.

I really enjoyed my stay at the Nalu Kai Lodge! We were on Maui during high season and were searching for a last minute place to stay that wasn’t $ 400 a night! Nalu Kai was such a cute hotel and was totally affordable! We paid about $ 190 after taxes and all that. Our room was small but really cute and had everything we needed. It was very clean and you could open the windows at night and listen to the ocean waves. The courtyard is really nice and the BEST breakfast spot is just next door. Parking was a little difficult because the road is a little narrow but it wasn’t too bad. They also have laundry on site. If you are looking for an affordable place to stay on the north shore this is your spot. We have stayed here three times now and absolutely LOVE it!

My husband and I stayed here for two nights toward the end of our last to Maui. We wanted to be close to Hana and the airport, as well as explore Paia a bit.
As soon as we checked in, we were impressed by the cleanliness of the room. This is probably the biggest thing that I look for in lodging and Nalu Kai did not disappoint. As others have said, the rooms are small. But, they are simply decorated and laid out well, so it doesn’t feel cluttered at all. Also, the bed was comfortable and they included a couple beach towels to use.
We also really liked the property. It is hidden away from the street and has adorable grounds. They also have a laundry room and BBQ area — we didn’t use either, but thought it was really nice that they had them.
We didn’t encounter a lot of staff while we were there, but those we did run into were incredibly friendly.
A few reviews mentioned parking — it wasn’t a problem for us. We always managed to find parking while we were there. Although, we did stay during the week, so perhaps it is more crowded during weekends. One thing to note is that the parking spaces are small — if you can, do yourself and others a favor by renting a small car.
The reason that I only gave it 3 stars:
1. Mosquitoes galore! We ended up spending the first 30 minutes there killing mosquitos in the room. We figured that it may have been because they had the window open before we got there. But, this wasn’t the case. We had a room with an a/​c, so the windows were closed the entire time we were there, yet there were always mosquitos (much less than when we checked in though). Luckily, we had bug repellent for Hana. We ended up spraying towels with it and placing the towels under the doors and over the shower drain. My husband also went outside and sprayed it around the windows and doorway. Even with those measures, I still had to cover myself in bug repellent whenever I was in the room (they don’t bother my husband, but apparently love me!). With all of that, I managed to leave with just 1 mosquito bite that I got while sleeping.
The thing is, I spent half my life in an area with mosquitos and have visited many areas (including Hana numerous times) where they are a massive nuisance. So, I am not some fragile person that complains at the sight of a pest. Trust me when I say that the number of mosquitos in our room was absurd.
2. Noise! I am not talking about street noise… I am talking about noise from the guests in the room next to us. They were so loud — stomping and banging doors at around 6 in the morning. It was insane! My husband mentioned this to me manager via text. We found out that the people next to us were a couple with a child. Even though the rules state that only 2 people (including kids) are allowed per room. Nalu Kai didn’t enforce this. They also have quiet hours and policies against excessive noise, which the people in the room next to us chose to ignore as well. The manager was very apologetic about this and we appreciated how quickly she responded to us. It is because of her that I am giving 3 stars instead of 2.
After dealing with these things the first night/​morning, my husband and I contemplated leaving and staying somewhere else, even if it meant losing the money we paid for the second night. We decided to stick it out, but if there was more than 1 night left, we wouldn’t have.
Overall, Nalu Kai is incredibly cute place that has seemingly wonderful staff. But, because of the mosquitos and noise, I am sad to say that we won’t be back. It really is a shame :-(

Booked this place last minute & couldn’t have lucked out more! After spending 8 days at one of the 5 star box resorts for a work trip this was the perfect contrast. Character, charm, & the best night of sleep of our entire vacation! The grounds are very Balinese & the hostess sweet & calm. Our room was simple but very clean, and again the most comfortable night of our entire vacation. Paia is a great little town and Nalu Kai Lodge is the perfect stop. Highly recommend & will stay again.

Pros: Really loved the peaceful, mellow feel of this place. The rooms are small but very cute, with a lot of uniqueness and personal touch to each one. We even came back later in our trip for another night! cons: the area has a lot of people camping out there long term. We left some luggage out and it got rifled through pretty quickly. We would have given the place five stars until that drove home how rough the neighborhood is.

I stayed here at the end of January this year. It was recommended by a friend that lives in Haiku and so glad I chose this place. I LOVED MY ROOM. It was perfect. Smelled perfect. Clean. Felt like my own sanctuary.
The grounds have a fun Bali-​style vibe and the best part is that it’s tucked away in a great spot in Paia. The parking was a non-​existant at times in their «parking lot» when coming from traveling all day and I knew about that from other reviews… but here’s the thing what other’s didn’t mention was the vast amount of street parking LOL. I thought I was going to have to park FAR from the hotel if I didn’t get a spot at the hotel. There was plenty of parking spots in the street, that wasn’t a problem at all… unless you’re just too lazy to cross the damn street.
I also didn’t see any problem with noise at all. But I also live in Venice Beach, CA so noise is always in the background. It was almost too quiet… LOL
I found it to be very peaceful and a great base camp to travel all over the island. Highly recommended.
I will be back again.

This is a great place to stay. We spent the first two nights of our week in Maui in the ground floor of the Tower unit and it was awesome. There was a screw-​up with our reservation because of Paypal, but the nice, laid-​back, ukulele-​strumming staff handled it immediately and even upgraded and led us to our room. We can’t thank them enough, truly. As a 30-​something couple from California who found west Maui and the resorts kinda gross/​Vegas-​ish during the rest of our stay, we can’t recommend Paia, its people, its beaches, and its vibe highly enough. Just stay here, it’s what you’re looking for.

My husband and I stayed here for 5 nights. Probably should have only stayed for 2 or 3. The rooms are very clean, but very very small. There is no direct access to the beach which we were told there was. Wifi is horrible, which is not usually important for us but when there’s no tv or really anything in your room and you just want hang in your room for the night and maybe watch a little something its hard to. The staff was very friendly though and we would stay here again but not for that long.

I liked this little place a lot. I love the downtown location, i liked the set up in the rooms, i liked the whole place a lot.
I was never wokedn up or bothered by the noise of downtown even on the weekends.
Though, do know that when they say quiet, the mean QUIET. There are certain hours that you are not allowed to basically make any noise what so ever. We got a little note on our door from the manger guy one day saying we had to keep it down. Not a problem we didnt mind and we were probably alittle to loud since we were celebrating a birthday earlier that night.
I do have to say though that the morning we were leaving the managers girlfriend had a group of girls arrive at about 730 am (this is quiet time) and they were hoot n hollering and cheering their coffee cups and laughing and a whole lot louder than we were the whole time, but hey… Guess you can do that when you are dating the manager.
Anyways. I would stay here again for sure and would recommend it.

A very pleasant stay, a few things you should know:
The rooms are cozy, and the bathroom/​shower is only blocked off by a curtain (and such are not very private). This is fine for couples or if you are alone, but maybe not best to share a room with a friend.
We were a bit worried about parking, as they have only 5 spots for 8 rooms, but it was not a problem.
There is no check-​in or check-​out. The key is there when you arrive, and you just leave it in your room after leaving.
There appears to be regular yoga there.

Just got back a few weeks ago from a 2 week stay at the Nalu Kai Lodge. It was amazing!
To start off, we are not people with high standards, and I think most of the negative reviews, both here and on TripAdvisor, come from people with extremely high standards, who expects to pay $ 105/​night and get a room at the Westin. This place has amazing value, but that’s not to say it’s just a cheap place to sleep. In fact, we wish we spent more time lounging around the beautiful grounds, but we are busy people who like to explore. This was our 10^th time to Maui. We normally stay in small, privately owned studios (with full kitchens) in Napili. This was a very nice change.
The rooms are a very decent size, and so well kept. We never saw so much as an ant in our room, far less a large cockroach like our friends had in their bathtub at the Hyatt in Ka’anapali. The hardwood floors look original (the place was built in the 60’s, but has been updated since), and the neat mosaic tile in the bathroom is always fun to look at. Our room was #5, with 2 twin beds. The beds were very comfortable. Tradewinds blew though the unit to nicely cool it down. The mini-​fridge also had a freezer built in, which was good for making ice. The rooms were absolutely clean! Even little things, like the water pressure in the shower were perfect. The only minor thing regarding the rooms is the WiFi; in room 5, it was ridiculously slow, but c’mon! Who goes to Hawaii to surf the net? If you do need to access the internet, you can just go to one of the patios or the deck (or even the internet café around the corner), and it’s nice & fast.
Maria, the manager, is very warm, welcoming, and friendly. She shared with us some great tips on beaches and local restaurants (you have to try our three fav’s: Charley’s and Flatbread co (see my other reviews), on Hana Highway, and Café Des Amis on Baldwin Ave (all within a 3 minute walk).
It wasn’t loud at night by our standards, but then again, I live on a busy road in Vancouver. Still not very loud compared to other places we’ve stayed.
The only minor thing was parking. Parking is tight in all of Paia, but especially here. Our car agency didn’t have the compact car we reserved, so we had to take a larger SUV. I wouldn’t recommend this by any means, unless you have to. You can squeeze 6 small cars in to the reserved spaces, but if it was us and another SUV, it was very tight with 4 (we actually scratched our car in several places, luckily we returned the car at night — heh heh).
One more thing: if you want a good swimming beach with small waves and no coral, you won’t find one in Paia in the winter. Apparently in the summer it’s okay, but as I said, we were there in January and February, so we ended up driving to Wailea, Kihei, or Kaanapali/​Napili for all of our swimming. Neither of us are strong swimmers, or surfers, so the beaches in Paia weren’t for us. Although, watching the surfers and kite surfers is very entertaining!
All & all, I would HIGHLY recommend Nalu Kai Lodge!
Well, after a lengthy review (ha ha), I think this is by far the nicest hotel I’ve stayed in on Maui. It’s cute, quiet, peaceful, yet close to everything, and still budget friendly! Enjoy your stay!

We are going with 5 stars with the caveat that you know what you are getting into. Like others have said, this place is not a hotel, nor is it a bed and breakfast. It is definitely charming, clean and in my opinion awesome.
Please indulge me for a minute as I include a little background: My husband and I chose to stay in Paia because of its proximity to the road to Haleakala. We could have easily chosen to stay in Haiku just a few miles down the road, but I’m certainly glad we found Nalu Kai in Paia. Paia is essentially a crossroads on the Hana Highway. It’s an upscale-​ish hippie surf town with some pretty awesome places to eat and shop. I was not too impressed with the actual beach area that was a few block’s walk away from Nalu Kai. While it was pretty, it was small and had a bit of a funky smell. There may have been other, better beaches around, but we were only there for a couple days, and beaching wasn’t on our agenda.
Now to the meat of the review… Nalu Kai Lodge:
We found this place by searching on the Internet and reading a few reviews. It sounded like it had character and charm, and we generally go for that sort of thing. One of the reviewers didn’t care for the small size of the rooms, and the fact that the bathrooms only had a curtain for privacy, so we were slightly cautious in making our selection. Our other option was the much more expensive, but seemingly guaranteed nice and clean rooms at the Paia Inn. We decided to take a chance on the less expensive option and called Nalu Kai. Maria was quick to return our calls and answer our questions. We chose the one bedroom, because of our fear of the smaller rooms. The one bedroom unit (#9) is huge! It has a full kitchen, with seating for four, as well as a couch and an extra twin bed (we didn’t need it, but would be useful for a child or third guest (and or fourth guest on the couch) The «master» bedroom was also spacious and accommodating with a king size bed, two closets, a built-​in desk, wicker love seat, and a bathroom with a shower and what seemed like a half bathtub. The décor is very minimalist, classic Hawaiian. It seemed more like a small one bedroom apartment, and I would choose it if we were planning on staying for a week or more. In the future, we plan to try one of the smaller units and save some money. And there will be an «in the future!»
If you ask me, the appeal to this place is the courtyard and the potential for meeting new people. We parked our rental just outside the gate, and walked into this little oasis with a communal dining area furnished with a couple outdoor couches, a hammock and a large 8 or 10 person dining table. There is also a really cool tiki bar (not stocked or anything, but you can take care of that on your own) with a grill and a couple of pool style lounge chairs and an umbrella to just hang out under. The area is well maintained and quiet and inviting. We ended up just hanging out in the courtyard most of the day. We were pretty tired from previous day’s journeys around the island and just read some of the provided travel books, and chatted with some of the other guests. Periodically wandering into town for some food or shopping broke up the day a bit, but it was VERY relaxing. That night we sat outside in the hammock and enjoyed some wine, and slowly, some of the other guests also wandered into the courtyard and we had a lovely little impromptu gathering.
I can’t wait to go back to Maui and hang out in Paia at Nalu Kai!

I was a great pleasure staying in Nalu Kai Lodge! This place is half boutique, half guest house, and very clean (Hawaiian style=keep your shoes and flip-​flops outside your room). If you’re looking to fancy your jewelry, white sneakers and white socks in a resort-​style hotel, then look for something in Lahaina or Wailea. Nalu Kai Lodge has 4 – 5 parkings spots, but the public parking area is across the street and a few steps away. The vicinity is surrounded by tropical lush, and approx. 25 meters from the beach. You could hear the crashing waves (from the north facing rooms), wind flapping the leaves in near by plants and trees, and a variety of bird species singing every morning. Just a few steps will get you to Hana Hwy, where you’ll find all shops, cafés, markets, and restaurants with lots of Vegetarian and Vegan options. All in all, this place if very laid back and quaint. Loved it!

It would have been 4 stars but after spending every single night there awoken by loud noises early in the morning — following by the final night when someone directly behind our room decided it would be a great idea to power wash the back of the building beginning at 10:30 pm — well, that star quickly went away.
Here’s the thing — Nalu Kai is cute, funky, great location, clean, big rooms with not alot of fluff — just a cute place to chill while you’re in Paia. I think a night or two would have been perfect — but 4 nights of no sleep due to excessive noise was just a bit much.
We had the one bedroom apartment which included a small sitting area and kitchen/​dining room and a separate very large bedroom, one bathroom, and an extra bed in the kitchen that we ended up moving to the bedroom. I didn’t see any of the other rooms but I assume they were as simple, cute and clean as ours.
The property manager — i believe her name was Anna — was very sweet, helpful and attentive but not «in your face».
As I mentioned — the location couldn’t be better except that delivery trucks, garbage trucks, and power washing noises prevented us from sleeping past 4:30 or 5 in the morning.
If you’re looking for a cheap, clean place to stay in Paia and don’t mind the noice — then I’d highly recomment Nalu Kai.

A great find, and the best lodging deal in town. But be aware, Nalu Kai is not a hotel. There is no office where you check in, no maid service, or toiletries. When you make your reservation, they email you instructions with how to get there, where your room is, and where the key can be found. It’s great for the independent type! There are 8 rooms at this 2 story lodge, tucked amid a mini jungle of lush tropical foilage in the center of Paia town. The second floor rooms have views of the ocean (request unit #7 or 8) and there’s a nice sun deck up top with a hammock and lounge chairs. The place has a super mellow, secluded feel and most of the travelers there keep to themselves. A good spot for couples, since the rooms are small (though, the rooms at Paia Inn are smaller and more expensive). You can tell the rooms have been updated in some areas and kept «rustic» in others. The bathrooms are very nice, new tile, spacious (and there’s a little hawaiian flower floating in the toilet when you arrive… a unconventional touch of hospitality, but I liked it!)
On the ground floor there’s a stone waterfall and bbq area, so if you’re the backpacking type and prefer to cook your own food instead of dining out, this is the spot. It’s a peaceful little haven in downtown, and perfect for those wanting to save some money and live simply.
NOTE: There are really only 2 lodging options in the little hippie town of Paia — the centrally located, hip hotel «Paia Inn», and the centrally located charming guest rooms at Nalu Kai Lodge. They are within eye-​shot of one another, and are both nice in different ways (I stayed at both, just for comparison). So, depending on what you fancy, the choice will be quite simple… Nalu Kai is for the more laid-​back type, wanting simple yet authentic Hawaiian accommodations. Paia Inn is more for the urban/​hipster type who plans to only sleep in their room, as they are incredibly nice and new, yet equally small.