The Kahala Hotel & Resort

When it opened, a little over a half-century ago, the Kahala immediately turned heads, as much for its opulence as for its audacious location, in an upscale neighborhood around the sedate far side of Diamond Head from busy Waikiki Beach. It didn’t take long for this revolutionary to become the establishment, however, and the Kahala quickly became the place to stay in Honolulu, playing host to entertainers, heads of state, and every American president since Lyndon Johnson.

And while it’s kept itself quite up to date in the ways that matter, the Kahala still exudes a certain mid-century charm, an attribute that’s a decided advantage in this era of rough-edged, funky boutique hotels. There’s a time and a place for those, of course, but a hotel like the Kahala is for when you want a touch of that old-fashioned, discreet, white-glove treatment. (White gloves purely metaphorical; this being Honolulu, even the top hotel in town keeps it casual.)

It’s also where you go when you want Honolulu minus the crowds. The Kahala’s beach is blissfully quiet, the service is friendly and personal, and four high-end restaurants treat you to some of the island’s best cooking. And the activities are beyond compare; scuba, surfing, and stand-up paddle lessons are a matter of course, but how many hotels have a family of dolphins living in a lagoon, attended by trainers and marine biologists?