For Kauai's Honorable Mentions, click here.

LANAI
Lanai is a company town. Castle & Cooke, Ltd., successor to the Dole Food Company, owns 98 percent of the 18- by 13-mile island—including Lanai's two resorts, the Manele Bay and the Lodge at Koele. Life revolves around these two luxe properties rather than the modest downtown. Amazingly for an island this manicured, Lanai is a haven for outdoor enthusiasts, and in particular offers some of the best hiking and diving in the entire chain.

Lodge at Koele, Lanai City
Number of accommodations: 102
The Lodge at Koele is for those for whom lodge means foie gras and greens fees. Arriving by hotel van from Lanai's small airport, you'll see nothing in the spare, red-dirt landscape that prepares you for this rambling country house on 250 acres in the center of the island. At its heart lies the Great Hall, a vast clutter of gorgeous curios, local artwork, and suede sofas. Every corridor leads to intimate spaces—a library, a trophy room, a music room—each inducing you to sit, relax, and contemplate redecorating your own home. Guest rooms are unabashedly feminine, with flowery fabrics and painted tiles that perfectly echo the country manor theme. Balconies overlook the croquet lawn or the horse stables; in the near distance lies the 18-hole golf course—ranked number one in the world in Condé Nast Traveler's 2003 Golf Poll (June). For dining, you have your choice of three on-site restaurants—one fancy, one very fancy, and the third a lunch-only clubhouse cafe. For variety, walk the ten minutes into town or take the hotel shuttle to the Lodge at Koele's sister property, the Manele Bay Hotel (20 minutes away and twice the size), where you'll find five restaurants, a spa, and a fine, swimmable beach (800-321-4666; www.lodgeatkoele.com; doubles, $400-$575; wheelchair-accessible; concierge; housekeeping; nature; restaurant; room service; sports; swimming; view).

MAUI
Maui is two islands in one, connected by a sugarcane-covered isthmus. Swimming-pool loungers and golf nuts favor west Maui, where posh resorts line the coast and the historic whaling town of Lahaina draws a daily crowd. The pace is slower in east Maui, a hilly jumble of cow pastures and hippie towns with the island's best sights—Haleakala Crater and the Hana Coast.

Aloha Cottage, Makawao
Number of accommodations: 2
The name may be generic Hawaiian, but this place is all about the Orient. Ten slow-moving miles from the beach, in Maui's bucolic Upcountry, the guesthouses come into view in intriguing snippets: the peaked roof of the Thai Tree House, the dramatic hand-carved archway marking the entrance to the Bali Bungalow. Co-owner Ranjana Serle is a part-time decorator and such an avid collector of Southeast Asian handicrafts—Vietnamese ceramics, intricate wood carvings, glittering tapestries—that one might think she built the cottages only after running out of room in her own house (also on the property). That said, Serle has a light touch and lets the scenery steal the show. The Thai Tree House, with its cushioned loft and imported teak cabinets, sits on stilts amid bamboo and fragrant eucalyptus. At the other end of the property is the octagonal Bali Bungalow, where the custom-made bed lies in the center of the room, beneath a skylight. Both have stylish kitchens, outdoor Jacuzzis, and sublime views. At check-in, you'll get flowers, some nourishment (sushi, papaya, a selection of cheeses), and enthusiastic directives: "Haliimaile General Store is the best restaurant on Maui. Order the blackened ahi." After that, you're pretty much left to yourself. Housekeeping comes around once a week, and the closest restaurants are a 15-minute drive down the hill in Makawao. But you can—and should—arrange for at least one moonlit, all-organic dinner on your deck. As for activities, there are miles of hiking trails nearby and the island's best windsurfing is at Hookipa Beach, a 20-minute drive away (888-328-3330; www.alohacottage.com; bungalows, $195-$260, with a three-night minimum; wheelchair-accessible; nature; value; view).