Kona & Hapuna

Floor-to-ceiling glass doors frame the Pacific from the living room, and the covered lanai – where the golf course rolls out below and the ocean sits beyond – is the kind of spot where mornings stretch into afternoons. Both bedrooms have their own bathroom, and a den with a fold-down bed gives families or two couples plenty of room. The beach kit packed into this apartment is thoughtful: Tommy Bahama chairs, snorkelling gear, boogie boards, and coolers, all ready to go. Hapuna Beach, one of Hawaii's finest stretches of white sand, sits right on the resort and is minutes away.

Home truths:
* You'll want to rent a car for your stay – while the resort itself has beaches, restaurants, and shops within reach, exploring the rest of the Big Island requires your own wheels, and even the nearest shopping complexes are a drive away.
* For those with reduced mobility, there's a ground floor bedroom and bathroom here.
* You'll have access to the on-site community pool and recreation center here. They're shared with the building's other residents.
* Your host can provide a cot for little ones.
* At full occupancy, two guests will sleep on the sofa bed in the living area.