A Classic Revisited: Maui To The Core
You can't get closer to aloha than the Hotel Hana-Maui, a 66-room refuge on an old sugar plantation in Hana. Getting there requires maneuvering blind hairpin turns and falling-rock zones (better yet, take a puddle-jumper to the town's tiny airport). But it's worth it. Recently updated, with teak and bamboo furniture, and Yvonne Cheung's watercolor murals, the cottages create a perfect spot to witness the natural drama taking place across the open channel, where Mauna Kea looms above a ring of clouds on neighboring Big Island. Don't miss the taro rolls and lilikoi babyback ribs in the open-air dining room or the new spa's traditional treatments. Then take a walk on black-sand beaches or a dip in rainforest waterfalls. Rooms, $295-$725. At 5031 Hana Highway; 800-321-4262, 808-248-8211; www.hotelhanamaui.com.
Big Adventure: A Rough and Smooth Guide
Hawaii is a magnet for adrenalin freaks—kite boarders love Oahu's Windward Coast, kayakers paddle the flume on the Big Island, and paragliders drift above Maui's rainforest. But after flexing all that muscle, even thrill-seekers need pampering.
SURF THEN SPA IN OAHU - At Hans Hedemann Surf School (two hours for $130; 808-924-7778; www.hhsurf.com, a pro circuit surfer will help you read the waves on Waikiki Beach and the North Shore (if balance is a problem, take bodyboarding or kayaking instead). Then watch local pros catch the sunset tide from the lanai of a Diamond Head Suite at the Halekulani $1,400; 800-367-2343; www.halekulani.com. Finish with a sweet hibiscus lotion body wrap from the new hotel spa ($250).
SCALING NEW HEIGHTS ON MAUI - Soar above Haleakala in a six-seat A-Star helicopter, banking steeply to view the oxide-red cinder cone and a forest ribboned with 1,000-foot waterfalls. Halfway down the volcano, the pilot will rendezvous with a Latatudes & Adatudes guide ($250; 808-661-7720; www.ecomaui.com for a hiking trek into Haleakala Crater. (Or bump through ohia and eucalyptus forests on a Cannondale mountain bike.) Afterwards you'll be treated royally in the palatial Lokelani Suite at Four Seasons Maui ($2,850; 800-334-6284), overlooking Wailea Beach and the West Maui mountains.
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