Americans love lists. Locally, we love lists whereby Hawaii looks good. Best beaches. Best lava flow on U.S. soil. Most expensive gasoline in the country. Highest housing costs in the nation. That kind of thing.
So it is with pride we view the latest lists from TravelAdvisor.com and their 2008 Traveler’s Choice Awards.
Six of the 325 hotels on the list of awards are from Hawaii. Unfortunately, the Sunday brunch at the Pagoda was overlooked again.
What’s the best luxury hotel in Hawaii? Four Seasons. Where? It doesn’t matter. Big Island, Maui, Lanai. They all win. What’s the criteria for the best luxury hotels? They’re so expensive you can’t afford to stay there. Neither could anyone else who voted online. The category should have been Best Luxury Hotel You Can’t Afford To Visit.
The Best Pool was the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa. That’s wrong. The pool at the Grand Wailea on Maui is better. The voters probably based their decision on the hotel’s respective web site photos. The Grand Wailea’s photos don’t do the pool justice. The Grand Hyatt’s photos make the pool look better than it is.
Maui’s Aloha Pualani Hotel was voted as the 8th Best Hidden Gem in the U.S. If it’s hidden, how come it got votes? Regardless, it’s not hidden any more and you know what that means, right? The price just went up.
What’s the most romantic hotel in the U.S? The Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel on the Big Island, of course. We stayed there for a week one night. It would be nice to know why it made it to the top of the list.
HawaiiBlogger's Comment Policy: Keep your comment on topic, relevant, worthy, and funny. Or, pick any three. Be pleasant, helpful, and only use your real name. Comments are moderated and will not appear immediately (* required).