The ISO

Location is great. Older style building, and kind of in the center of island due to road being point A to point B.

Great value and fabulous location. Simple, practical rooms, but the view of the ocean and the overall courtyard are out of this world. Lots of cute, entertaining chickens, chicks, birds, and lizards hanging out in the courtyard too. Really nice, helpful staff.

It’s a nice hotel just does not have all the amenities it advertised. But still it was located in a central spot within walking distance to food and the the beach is just right there.

Wonderful hotel with great views. It's in a nice quiet area so you can hear the ocean waves at night. Only small negative would be the hot water for showers can be closer to luke warm if you don't take a shower early enough in the morning, but it's definitely not a deal breaker.

Gets a five star for value. Clean and well maintained. Nice ocean view and beach walk. Quiet pool . Good quality grab and go breakfast. In room coffee was excellent big real mugs. Reception was okay not super friendly but keep in mind the price .

Front desk woman was extremely rude, her coworker seemed nice though. I literally wanted to leave before I even checked in. The 4 Bull Shed restaurant employees were just as rude, we actually left before ordering any food. Room was dated but clean and well kept. Amazing views from every room.

Important: Kauai is enormously overpriced, therefore anything you pay for you would usually pay less likely everywhere else in the country (not to mention abroad).
That being said, I cannot in faith recommend The ISO, unless you’re really looking for a really basic accommodation for a very short period of time. This is a recently revamped motel with decent views from the windows. Certainly not a picturesque Hawaiian retreat but most cannot afford that. The room was ok and the bathroom as well, with good shower pressure. Bed was solid and the terrace had direct view on the nice garden and the extremely rough sea. Location is appropriate for exploring the island, NOT for beach life. For that you need to stay near Poipu. That being said, many more things failed at this price point. In particular, no room servicing (and by that I mean no cleaning, which is not good for extended stays), minimal equipment in the room, not even a phone. A bag was given for towel changes, which you would leave outside the room in the morning and find back with new stuff in the evening. The “breakfast” was unacceptable, as it was a grab and go with very few things you’d want to grab. That is, if you got there before 0710 h, since I went once around 8 and there was nothing there. Notably, no coffee, as you prepare it in the room… which would also mean you would need to eat there (no table) and clean mugs etc. staff at the reception was ok, not charming , not impolite. The cherry on top, which cracked us up, was a feminine pad placed strategically on the AC on/off button. This was likely to prevent guests from tampering with that but… seriously? Wasn’t there a slightly more elegant solution? Please see the picture attached.
In summary, from this and several other reviews you know what you’re getting into. Which might still be the only thing you can afford on this island. If you can, I’d recommend to put in a few 100s US$ more and go somewhere in which you have a little more of comfort. This is particularly true as Kauai can be very unforgiving in terms of weather, ruining plans for the day. It’s better to have a plan B or C that involves a better lodging.

The place is okayish. They don't have air conditioning in all rooms. Please make sure to check before you book. During COVID they have stopped doing room service which is not mentioned at all. Breakfast doesn't include coffee since you have a coffee machine in your room which is not great. I like the sunrise views and walking distance from different restaurants.

Great bang for your buck! Here are the pros and cons:

Pros:
1. Friendly staff. Our TV had a weird issue, and they replaced it in minutes!
2. Tasty filtered water from the machine in the lobby. I truly appreciated how nice the water was.
3. Lots of thoughtful amenities: Breakfast, bikes to borrow, yoga with the sunrise.
4. THE VIEW!! My goodness, just look at any of the photos of this place... It really looks like that every morning. Wake up and catch every sunrise!
5. Proximity. Definitely hit up Sam's and Lava Lava for dinner, then walk out to the beach afterward. The 24-hour Safeway across the street was SO clutch when we woke up with a million itchy mosquito bites (NOT from our room btw... You're safe here. The screens work.)

Cons:
1. Climate control... It was just a ceiling fan. Watch out if you're tall and staying in the cheaper rooms! Thing was like 6 inches from my head lol. The room was warm and damp feeling even in January.
2. Sheets. They were scratchy, but that's kinda normal. I actually appreciated that they were so blasted with bleach. They felt clean.
3. Bathroom window. You couldn't fully open it while you were in there because people can totally see into your bathroom as they walk by.

Good value in excellent location for exploring Kauai. The ISO is fine IF you've been to Kauai before and have a plan of activities beyond parking yourselves at an exotic resort. While the property is near and in some cases within walking distance of Kapaa's wide range of shopping and restaurants, and it is right on the ocean where you can witness sublime sunrises, the property is not flashy or exotic. (And the beach is too rocky to swim off of.) However the rooms are updated, big, comfortable, quietly air-conditioned, and clean, and apparently ALL facing the ocean. But each room also faces the back of the property and walkway, and sometimes the parking lot, so the outside noise was occasionally jarring. Our room 107 was maybe a handicap-accessible so was quite spacious but each time a toilet flushed above us, it sounded like one of those spectacular waterfalls you see in the distance all across Kauai. (Fortunately our neighbors bladders lasted most of the night. We never complained: I suspect the staff would have addressed it.) On a six-night stay, we availed ourselves of the hotel's bikes once, sunrise yoga twice, and take-and-go breakfast every morning, nice included features of the property. (However, get there early if you want fresh pineapple! And pass on the plastic-wrapped Danishes.) The front desk staff was helpful, and even arranged a late check-out on our last day, for a nominal hourly fee, so we could keep the room until closer to our red-eye flight's departure. You can easily walk to two Tiki-style bars and restaurants: the Crooked Surf at the Sheraton and Oasis on the Beach at the Waipouli Beach Resort. (There's a bar and restaurant on site at The ISO, the Bullshed which we ate at once but won't review here.) I suspect those before-mentioned resorts are hundreds of dollars more per night than The ISO and might be worthwhile if you're looking for a one-stop destination vacation or some quality R&R time. In contrast, the ISO is a nice, value-priced base-camp for your Kauai adventure, a hotel where your car is just several feet away, waiting for you to get out and explore.