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Lodging — premium
By Robert Bone
Special to The Advertiser
Hawai'i has some of the world’s most luxurious hotels and resorts, and many visitors who will accept nothing less than the best. The official room rates for most of these Cloud 9 hotels begin at around $200 and top out in the stratosphere. The following is a personalized list, of course, and some may logically disagree.
OAHU
Honolulu has two or three top hotels, although none can be called resorts since they do not have their own golf courses and other campus amenities you find on some other islands.
Waikiki
In action-central Waikiki, there are several excellent shoreline choices, including the Hilton Hawaiian Village, http://www.hawaiianvillage.hilton.com.
There are three choices under the Sheraton banner, the 1925 "pink palace" called the Royal Hawaiian, http://www.royal-hawaiian.com, the elegantly refurbished 1901 Moana (part of the Sheraton Moana Surfrider, http://www.moana-surfrider.com), but with no lanais, and the streamlined Sheraton itself, http://www.sheraton-waikiki.com, and the Outrigger Waikiki, http://www.outrigger.com/details/property.asp?code=owk.
But the championship Waikiki address for several years now is the Halekulani Hotel, http://www.halekulani.com, with excellently designed rooms and every conceivable luxury, including a super-deluxe restaurant with excellent views. Official room rates begin at $310 daily. Its only drawback: a relatively small section of sandy beach, but the beautiful million-tile pool makes up for a lot.
Kahala
Outside the traditional tourist precinct of Waikiki, in an up-scale residential neighborhood, is the Kahala Mandarin Oriental, http://www.mandarin-oriental.com. For many years known as the "Kahala Hilton," it has been the home away from home for royalty, Hollywood stars, and others escaping from public view.
KAUA'I
Princeville
There are two obvious leaders on the Garden Island, each in vastly different areas. On the northern shore, overlooking what is often called Bali Ha’i, is the Princeville Resort, http://www.princeville.com, with unsurpassed views and a perfect beach. The golf links are among the world’s most famous.
Poipu
On the southern shore, at Poipu Beach, is the well-designed Hyatt Regency Kauai, http://www.kauai-hyatt.com. Designed to evoke some elements of a long-ago Hawaii, it nevertheless provides everything anybody wants in a modern resort hotel. An unusual feature is the seven connecting swimming pools.
MAUI
Maui is divided into east and west, and each has its string of modern resort hotels.
West Maui
On West Maui, the scene is led by the Kapalua Bay Hotel, http://www.kapaluabayhotel.com, and its excellent beach, and the nearby Ritz-Carlton, http://www.ritzcarlton.com/html_prop/resort.asp?Property_ID=1&PageNo=9. Also on West Maui, in the venerable Ka’anapali Resort area, the leaders are the Hyatt Regency Maui, http://www.hyatt.com/usa/maui/hotels/hotel_oggrm.html, the Westin Maui, http://www.westin.com/property.taf?prop=1028&lc=en, and the Sheraton Maui, http://www.sheraton-maui.com.
East Maui
But many logically prefer the much newer resort area of Wailea on East Maui. There the leader is the Four Seasons Resort Maui, http://www.fourseasons.com/locations/Maui/index.html, with large guest rooms and many activities, closely followed by the Grand Wailea Resort, http://www.grandwailea.com, and the Outrigger Wailea Resort, http://www.outrigger.com/details/property.asp?code=owr.
LANAI
Two resorts under the same management now dominate life on Lanai. The Manele Bay Hotel http://www.lanai-resorts.com is the shoreline facility, and while opulent enough, it looks much like any such deluxe resort. Much more original is The Lodge at Koele (same web site), a sort of sprawling baronial cottage in the center of the island, within walking distance of the village named Lanai City. Both feature excellent golf courses, and the Lodge is well-known for its visiting artist program, which frequently brings well-known creative people to lecture and/or perform.
MOLOKA'I
The Lodge at Molokai Ranch, http://www.molokai-ranch.com, at first appears to have modest physical facilities, yet it features some great countrified activities, including rodeo-style ridin’ and ropin’ for its guests.
THE BIG ISLAND
Kona Coast
Hawaii’s premier mega-resorts are on the Kohala Coast, north of the village of Kailua-Kona on the Big Island. The first, and in many eyes still the best, is the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, http://www.maunakeabeachhotel.com.
If the Mauna Kea represents old money, the nouveau riche competition is the nearby Mauna Lani Bay, http://www.maunalani.com. The nearby Orchid Hotel, http://www.orchid-maunalani.com began life as a Ritz-Carlton. Farther down the coast is the spectacular spread called the Hilton Waikoloa Village, http://www.hilton.com/hawaii/waikoloa This is the one where you take a boat or a train from the lobby to your room. It’s also known for its resident pod of happy dolphins.
The Four Seasons Resort, http://www.fourseasons.com/locations/Hualalai/index.html, also has an entry on the coast, but the prize for the most unusual hotel in the state has to go to the adjacent Kona Village Resort, http://www.konavillage.com. Guests stay in one of a series of grass-roofed Polynesian-inspired huts, which are equipped with almost every luxury except telephones and televisions. The idea is a true South Seas get-away-from-it all, and for the right crowd of kings and commoners, it works wonderfully well.
Travel writer Robert W. Bone is a journalist, editor and photographer. He is the author of "The Maverick Guide to Hawaii."
