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HAPUNA BEACH STATE PARK
Natalie had come in the night before from Toronto so I took her for a drive along the Kohala Coast. Then we checked out the Big Island's best beach: Hapuna Beach State Park. I had no idea the island had such a nice sandy beach; most of the island's shoreline is volcanic rock. The beach is half a mile long and 200 feet wide. It's open to the public and parking is free. Just remember never to leave anything valuable in your car. Hawaii is a very safe place but like all tourist destinations, petty crime abounds and tourists who leave their belongings in plain view or put stuff in the trunk while people are watching, are just asking for trouble.

FOUR SEASONS HUALALAI
We checked out of the Waikoloa Marriott and into the Big Island's nicest hotel: The Four Seasons Resort Hualalai. From the Marriott, it's just a 15-minute jaunt down the road in the same direction as the airport. The Four Seasons Hualalai's excellent service begins the instant you arrive as an army of valets and bellhops attack the car. We were escorted into the open-air, Balinese wood lobby and greeted with cold towels, iced tea and a flower lei for Natalie and kuku beads for me. Everything about it was laidback except the front desk and concierge staff who wore Janet Jackson headsets and worked frantically behind the counter to make sure everything was 100% perfect for current and future guests. I doled out my credit card and the agent asked if we preferred a ground floor or second floor room in one of the resorts many two-story villas.

OUR ROOM
Normally, I would take the room on the second floor because it's safer, offers better views and is typically quieter because you don't hear the guests above. But I asked the receptionist what she thought and she enthusiastically recommended the ground floor room because it has an outdoor shower. Let me tell you: After being whisked to our room through the perfectly manicured grounds in an electric golf cart, I'm glad I listened to her. In my opinion, the Four Season rooms were nice but nothing out of the ordinary. Don't misunderstand me; I loved the easy, breezy island-style interior, the plantation shutters, bamboo furniture, ceiling fan and the largest flat screen TV possible. And then there was the gently draped sheer canopy enveloping the comfy bed, which had soft, one-zillion thread count sheets just screaming that they're the perfect remedy for lazy mornings.

OUTDOOR SHOWER
But what really made this room special was the outdoor shower. I am so lucky to have experienced outdoor showers all over the world (Tahiti, Fiji, Australia, Nantucket, Malaysia, South Africa …) but this was by far the best in the world. The bamboo-covered shower, with slate stones, soft rocks and lush green fauna, was through a door from the indoor shower, connected to the already plush marble bathroom. Besides the upscale Gilligan's Island feeling, the water pressure was strong, the water hot, L'Occitane toiletries were poised on the shelf and the fact that in Hawaii, you don't have to worry about any snakes or poisonous insects ... well, that sealed the deal. I could have slept out there and been happy. I practically did. It was so fantastic, I took a shower three times a day. Talk about being squeaky clean.

PERFECT FOR FAMILIES
The only thing I didn't like about our room was that I could occasionally hear light footsteps of the guests above and the fact that we were situated right in front of the newly renovated kiddie pool. The double pane glass sliding doors muffled the screams but it would have been nice for us to just leave the doors open to feel the clean, crisp ocean air and hear the sound of the waves breaking. So room 1404 is perfect for families but not couples. If you want privacy, be sure to request a room at the far end of the resort. Another thing: with room prices being what they are (they begin at $775) the hotel should include Internet access for free instead of charging $9.95.



SPORTS CLUB & SPA
Natalie and I woke early to get some exercise and watch the sun rise over the mountains. We walked along the oceanside path and the lush green 18-hole Jack Nicklaus signature golf course. For more exercise, we later walked over to the Hualalai Sports Club and Spa. It was a little too hot and a little too much effort to try out the rock climbing wall but we did shoot some hoops on the full-size outdoor basketball court and pump some iron in the indoor state-of-the-art gym. But we were on vacation, so after one rep, we found ourselves unwinding in the exotic spa. Both the men's and women's sections have their own lap pool, whirlpools, saunas, steam rooms and cold plunges. Then I had a choice of having my spa treatments in the open air, secluded behind bamboo screens or inside the spa. I opted for the latter and had the Hualalai signature treatment: Ayurvedic foot massage.

AYURVEDIC FOOT MASSAGE
The $165 price tag for the 50-minute treatment is outrageous but no one can say it's not divine. It begins with an Ayurvedic herbal footbath. Then the therapist had me get up on the table, put a sheet over my naked body and put my legs up like I was giving birth (I felt like I was pregnant after indulging at the breakfast buffet). Next, she put four different oils on her hands and told me to take three deep breaths. The one I liked the best was from Madagascar and was good for the lungs. She said the other would relax me and the next thing you know, I was out like a light. I caught myself snoring on four separate occasions. I kept going in and out of REM and mumbling "I'm sorry", then slipping back into the deep trance-like state. I felt like jelly afterwards and wish I had an endless supply of money so I could have just kept shelling out the $207 (with tax and tip) every time the clock ran out.

THE LITTLE THINGS
The Four Seasons can charge the big bucks because they do all the little things right. For example, I left my book open to the page I was reading face down on the bed. When I came back from dinner, the bed was turned down and the book was on the end table with a Hualalai bookmark in the page that the book had been open to. How nice is that? Also, when I called for a bellman to grab our luggage, he literally showed up within two minutes. Now that's service.

DINING
Speaking of service: To experience top-of-the-line service without mortgaging your house, enjoy dinner at Pahu i‘a, the on-site hotel restaurant. It is their top restaurant and has been rated the best restaurant in all of Hawaii by a number of publications and has even been awarded Four Diamonds by AAA. Book a table outdoors on the Naupaka Terrace, which offers panoramic views of the ocean, which is just 20 yards away. Pahu i‘a means "aquarium" in Hawaiian and the specialties all come from the sea: Keahole Lobster, Dungeness Crab and Fire-Roasted Kona Kampachi. But for land lubbers like me, have no fear ... I had the Kobe beef. For a different view, come down here in the morning, sit at the same table you had dinner at and enjoy the outstanding breakfast buffet ($30). You'll get to see the ocean glistening, which in Hawaiian, is what Hualalai means.

SURF, SAND & STARS
Looking for fun for the whole family? Head over to the Beach Tree Bar & Grill on a Saturday night for the popular Surf, Sand & Stars event on the beach (BTW: The beach here is not that great to swim but the six pools make up for it). All the guests are in bare feet as they hop from one station to the next at the all-you-can-eat buffet. They have everything you can imagine but on the BBQ there are ribs, steak, chicken, lobster tails and fish ... all grilled to order. To top it off, there's even a small campfire to roast marshmallows for s'mores and a telescope to view the stars ($78 for adults, $39 for children). Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, 72-100 Ka‘upulehu Drive, Ka‘upulehu, HI, Tel: 808-325-8000.

VIDEO
Here's a four-minute Johnny Jet video of my trip to the island of Hawaii. We also have all the Johnny Jet videos ever made on YouTube.

NEXT WEEK
The island of Oahu. Stay tuned.

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Happy Travels,
Johnny Jet

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Note: This trip was sponsored by the Big Island Visitors Bureau, Marriott Hotels and the Four Seasons.





Copyright 2007 JohnnyJet, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.