Hawaii is world famous for its fancy hotels and luxury resorts.
Nowadays they have so much to offer onsite that visitors can comfortably spend their entire holiday never leaving the accommodation. But with so many islands to pick from and dozens of resorts waiting to drown you in poolside cocktails, how on earth do you go about picking one?
Read on for the best resorts in Hawaii worth a visit in 2024.
Turtle Bay Resort
57-091 Kamehameha Hwy, Kahuku
Image credit: Turtle Bay Resort | Website
One of the most popular spots on Oahu’s rugged North Shore for over half a century, Turtle Bay Resort is a massive 1,300-acre complex set right on the water’s edge. The only full-service resort in the area, the main building features 408 guest rooms and suites, in addition to 42 exclusive Ocean Bungalows overlooking the water. As well as chic beachy accommodation, Turtle Bay Resort offers up loads of onsite activities, including a surf school, tennis and pickleball courts, a full-service gym, a yoga and fitness studio, horseback riding stables, two 18-hole golf courses, and a helicopter for aerial sightseeing tours.
The resort’s two restaurants source food from their onsite eco-farm, and the Sunset Bar offers panoramic ocean views with daily happy hour music performed by local artists. The owners spent the pandemic making multi-million-dollar renovations, but you might still recognise the place—Turtle Bay Resort was the filming location for Lost, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
Halekulani
2199 Kalia Road, Honolulu
Image credit: Halekulani | Website
The name Halekulani means “house befitting heaven”—so you can see what they’re going for here. Boasting a prime location on Waikiki Beach, this 453-room resort offers tranquil ocean views and bustling city proximity in equal measure. The resort features expansive lawns, palms and lush gardens, plus a 25-foot freshwater pool, famous for its Cattleya Orchid mosaic floor built with 1.2 million pieces of blue glass tiles imported from South Africa.
Originally opened all the way back in 1907 as a small residential home, the property was expanded into a high-end vacation resort a few years later, and remains to this day one of the go-to tourist spots in Hawaii. All the rooms feature private patios or balconies, and many offer dramatic views of Diamond Head. Guests also have access to six onsite bars and restaurants, including the fancy French restaurant, La Mer, and popular jazz bar, Lewers Lounge.
Moana Surfrider
2365 Kalākaua Ave, Honolulu
Image credit: Moana Surfrider | Website
Another spot overlooking Waikiki Beach, Moana Surfrider has been around for over 100 years, with historic furnishings including a white-columned lobby, a grand staircase, and hanging cage lanterns. The first hotel built on Waikiki’s now jam-packed waterfront, Moana Surfrider is known as “The First Lady of Waikiki”, while numerous renovations in recent years have replaced old-world charm with modern-day luxury.
The resort’s Moana Lani Spa opened in 2008 as Waikiki’s first and only beachfront spa. It comes equipped with 14 treatment rooms, a steam room, a whirlpool and zero-gravity waiting room chairs, and there’s a separate fitness centre that provides daily yoga classes and gym facilities. Food-wise, guests have the option of formal sit-downs at The Veranda restaurant, relaxed poolside drinks at Surfrider Café, and an evening tipple at wine bar Vintage 1901.
The Royal Hawaiian
2259 Kalakaua Avenue, Waikiki
Image credit: The Royal Hawaiian | Website
Also known as the “Pink Palace of the Pacific” owing to its eye-catching pink concrete stucco façade, The Royal Hawaiian is an iconic Honolulu hotel, featuring distinctive Spanish-Moorish architecture, envious views of the Waikiki’s white sands and the onsite Azure Restaurant serving up some of the best seafood in the capital.
One of Hawaii’s most famous historic properties, The Royal Hawaiian opened in 1927, becoming a holiday home to the rich and famous, before being temporarily leased to the US army for Navy personnel during WWII after the bombing of nearby Pearl Harbor. The resort has 528 rooms, two freshwater swimming pools, the Abhasa Waikiki spa set in a serene tropical garden, and the famed Mai Tai Bar, where the cocktail was first introduced to Hawaii in the 1950s.
Wailea Beach Resort
3700 Wailea Alanui Dr, Wailea
Image credit: Wailea Beach Resort | Website
Fresh(ish) from its $100 million USD renovation in 2016, the Marriott-owned Wailea Beach Resort is a 547-room property with a more modest feel to many of its hyper-luxe comparators. Situated in Wailea on Maui’s southern coast, the resort is a short stroll from a 70-store mall, the Wailea Blue Golf Course, and, of course, the stunning Wailea Beach.
For a daily resort fee of $38, you can stay right where you are, and make the most of their bike rental, Mai Tais, and scuba lesson offerings. There’s also a spa, a movie room, a kids’ club, the adult-friendly Serenity Pool and the children’s wonderland, the Nalu Adventure Pool, which features the longest waterslide on the island. As well as an onsite restaurant, food truck and poolside café, they’ve also managed to secure the only Starbucks on Wailea.
Four Seasons Maui
3900 Wailea Alanui Drive, Maui
Image credit: Four Seasons Maui | Website
Opening in 1990 as one for the Four Seasons’ first ever resorts, the Maui-based hotel is now most famous as the setting for The White Lotus season one. Michael Dell (of Dell Computers) purchased the resort in 2004, and it remains a go-to for A-listers jetting in from far and wide, nestled at the southern end of Maui’s Wailea Beach with picture-perfect views over the Pacific.
Free with the room, guests have access to scuba clinics, outrigger canoe expeditions, a spa, a fitness centre, and poolside snacks. The resort also has two onsite boutique stores, as well as poolside, oceanfront and private dining options. Like Wailea Beach Resort, the town is easy to reach on foot, with loads of shopping, dining and outdoor activities nearby.
Four Seasons Resort Hualalai
72-100 Ka`Upulehu Drive, Kailua-Kona
Image credit: Four Seasons Big Island | Website
Another island, another Four Seasons. What sets the Big Island edition apart is its private location out on the quiet west coast of the island. Unlike most of Hawaii’s high-rise resorts, this Four Seasons is designed based on traditional Polynesian architecture and uses local natural materials like teak, koa and bamboo. The property boasts as many as seven pools, including preserved saltwater pools that existed when the site was an ancient fishing village.
Guests can pick from a bunch of onsite restaurants, as well as its unrivalled offering of sport, wellness and fitness facilities, including an 8-course tennis club, an 18-hole golf course (visited by the PGA tour), and an impeccable beachfront aquatic centre where guests can choose from canoeing, stand-up paddleboarding and snorkelling. For children, there’s the Four Seasons complimentary kids’ club, and the resort has also made impressive eco commitments, including building the Kumu Kai Marine Center where you can find out about the surrounding natural environment and conservation efforts.
Westin Hapuna Beach Resort
62-100 Kaunaʻoa Dr, Waimea
Image credit: Westin Hapuna Beach Resort | Website
The Kohala Coast, stretching across the Big Island’s north-western “sunny side”, is a beautiful spot for the Westin Hapuna Beach Resort. Recently rebranded as Westin property, guests can explore the award-winning white sand Hapuna Beach, two world-class golf courses in the Hapuna Golf Course and the Mauna Kea Golf Course, and the Puukohola Heiau National Historic Site, which contains the ruins of the last ancient Hawaiian temple.
The resort itself offers two swimming pools, a spa, a fitness studio, and four onsite dining options – plus local cultural activities such as lei-making and ukulele lessons.
Four Seasons Resort Lanai
1 Manele Bay Road, Lanai City
Image credit: Four Seasons Resort Lanai | Website
The smallest inhabited island in Hawaii, Lanai is a tranquil escape set in untouched wilderness. 98% of Lanai is owned by Larry Ellison, of Oracle fortune, including the Four Seasons, which occupies a private enclave at the base of the island.
One of the most exclusive resorts in all of Hawaii, surrounded by natural beauty, guests have access to two lagoon-style pools, three tennis courts, a world-class golf course, an ocean-inspired Hawanawana Spa, free snorkelling equipment at the white sand beach, a free kids’ club, and fine-dining courtesy of Nobu and Malibu Farm. There’s also access to the beautiful Hulopoe Bay, and a nearby protected marine reserve where snorkelers can swim with sea turtles and tropical reef fish.
1 Hotel Hanalei Bay
5520 Ka Haku Road, Princeville
Image credit: 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay | Website
Up on the north coast of Hawaii’s “Garden Isle”, 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay is a brand new, eco-conscious wellness resort, set over a sweeping 9,000-acre plot boasting expansive views of the sea and mountains. Last year’s reopening of the property, formerly known as the St Regis Princeville Resort, was several years and a $250 million refurb in the making.
Rebranded as a “sustainable luxury hotel” powered by green energy systems, the resort now features five restaurants and bars, a spa, a gym, a golf course, a pool, a kids’ club and an onsite organic garden. Best of all, though, is the location, perfectly placed to hike the stunning Na Pali Coast, kayak down the Hanalei River or make a splash at the nearby Queen’s Bath, a natural tidal pool enclosed by lava rock.
Hana-Maui Resort
5031 Hana Hwy, Hana
Image credit: Travaasa Hana | Website
Located on a former sugar plantation and cattle ranch on Maui’s remote eastern tip, Hana-Maui Resort is one of the most peaceful and isolated spots to stay in the whole of Hawaii, and the first place on the island to catch the sunrise. Having first opened its doors in 1946 with just six rooms, it's now a fully-fledged 70-room resort, with spacious cottages and private suites stretching out over Maui’s spectacular tropical wilderness.
You’ll get there via the famous Hana Highway, or “Road to Hana”, an incredible scenic drive over 78 km of rugged coastline, dense rainforest and towering waterfalls, which is itself one of the must-dos on the island. The resort itself features two saline pools, a yoga pavilion, a spa, a croquet lawn, two tennis courts, and a library plus banana-bread on arrival and an all-day open-air restaurant overlooking Hana Bay.
Looking for more of Hawaii’s best? Check out:
Image credit: Moana Surfrider | Website
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