Timbers Kauai Ocean Club & Residences

The Garden Island of Kaua‘i is wild enough to have featured as a filming location for TV’s Lost and various Jurassic Park films, but what’s perhaps most appealing about it is that its unspoiled landscapes and seascapes aren’t all that hard to reach. Timbers Kaua‘i is a case in point; here you’re surrounded by impossible vistas, pressed right up against the water’s edge, and yet you’re minutes from Lihue, the island’s largest settlement (and, crucially, the home of its commercial airport).

More important than convenience, however, is the fact that Timbers, set in Hōkūala on 450 acres of prime oceanfront land, is as ambitious as they come — sister to the Sebastian in Vail and Casali di Casole in Tuscany, it’s a similarly state-of-the-art luxury resort. Safe to say you’ll lack for nothing here in terms of comfort — the rest is just details.

That’s not to say the details aren’t of interest. No mere rooms or suites, the accommodations at Timbers Kaua‘i are residences, spanning two, three, or even four bedrooms. Some feature plunge pools, others lanais that extend to the water’s edge, and all are positioned for impressive views.

That a resort like Timbers will also come with a first-rate spa and an impressive farm-to-table restaurant may be taken as read, and to that you can add a surf school, a pair of swimming pools, and a substantial fitness center. Not only that, but the Jack Nicklaus–designed Ocean Course counts among this new resort’s amenities — if you’re a golfer, that’ll be all the inducement you need.