The Four Seasons Resort at Hualalai guaranteed it 
would get the attention of tennis players by becoming the first resort in the U.S. to utilize Rebound Ace throughout its entire court complex. Rebound Ace is, of course, the same rubbery surface the pros used to play on at the Australian Open, but here the courts have been attractively surrounded with lava-rock walls and tropical ferns and flowers. Between points players can settle into an unfinished teak chair in the shade of a latticework ramada and gaze up at the dormant volcano. It's all just steps away from full-service European spa with treatment rooms, an outdoor lap pool, and a Cybex-equipped fitness center open to the tropical breezes.
A personable New Zealander and former satellite player Mark Willman runs the operation. "Our claim to fame is we've always had fantastic coaches," says Willman, including at times his brother Daniel, who ranked as high as 285, and head pro Aussie Jim Murray. "Over the holidays and in summer we get a lot of families, so I started a 'Gold Coin Kids Program.'" It awards plastic gold coins for things like hitting targets and those coins are redeemable for candy, cookies, and even logo shirts and junior racquets. Adult players, meanwhile, are treated to chilled mint-scented towels, ice water and Gatorade.
Tennis aside, there is much to love about this 10-year-old resort, adult or child. Its 243 spacious and exceptionally tasteful rooms have been scattered around the property in low-rise bungalows. Some accommodations have their own outdoor gardens with private lava-rock showers. There are several swimming pools, the largest a rimless version next to the lava-rock coast, as well as two unusual man-made lava-rock ponds filled with a mix of fresh and saltwater and stocked with tropical fish or small red Hawaiian. Great cuisine is as close as Pahu i'a, a waterfront restaurant known for its ocean-inspired contemporary Pacific cuisine and breeze-wafted setting.
Golf Courses. Jack Nicklaus designed Hualalai's 18-hole golf course, laying its 7,100 yards out through a black-lava landscape, at once daunting and uncommonly beautiful. Its par-3 17th hole perches on a black-lava promontory that juts into the Pacific, and can be even more dramatic when waves crash against the shore.
If the Fours Seasons' elegance and many dimensions appeal to you, also look at:
The following rates are for lodging only exclusive of taxes and service charges.
Jan. 1-Apr. 11, 2010
Rooms: $725-$1,155. Suites: $1,000-$2,850
Apr. 12-June 20, 2010
Rooms: $595-$1,035. Suites: $1,300-$2,750
June 21-Aug. 25, 2010
Rooms: $775-$1,155. Suites: $1,450-$2,850
Aug. 26-Dec. 17, 2010
Rooms: $595-$1,035. Suites: $1,300-$2,750
Seasons. Year-round.
General Tourist Information. Visit the Big Island Visitors Bureau web site or contact them at 250 Keawe St., Hilo, HI 96743. Phone: 808-961-5797. Or for information about Hawaii as a whole, visit the Hawaii Visitors Bureau web site or contact them at 2270 Kalakaua Ave. #801, Honolulu, HI 96815. Phone: 808-923-1811 or Fax: 808-924-0290.