A team of Oyster reporters spent weeks exploring Kauai's top resort hotels. We slept in the beds, lounged on the beaches, ate in the restaurants, and even danced some hula, all with an eye toward selecting the most distinguished properties. Here's a list of our favorite hotel spas. Aside from the deluxe Anara Spa at the Grand Hyatt, Kauai's spas aren't as exceptional as Maui's best facilities. But they still deliver relaxing, high-quality treatments -- at slightly more reasonable prices than you'll find on other islands.
The 46,000-square-foot Anara Spa is hands-down Kauai's biggest and best, with 11 treatment rooms, five couples massage huts in the garden, a sauna, stream room, and whirlpools, lava rock outdoor showers, a 25-yard lap pool, and its own restaurant, Kupono Cafe. The spa's award-winning treatments are inspired by la'au, the Hawaiian tradition of herbal medicine.
The Marriott has an unbeatable lineup of great features for a midpriced Kauai hotel, the Alexander Day Spa and Salon among them. The spa offers a full menu of massages -- given indoors or in an outdoor cabana -- waxing, body treatments, manicures, and haircuts and styling. Treatment prices are the most reasonable on the island. It's a day spa, though, so there are no facilities beyond the four treatment rooms.
This Hilton's natural beauty and serene atomosphere provide a perfect setting for the Hawaiian Rainforest Spa, which blends traditional Hawaiian healing arts with modern techniques. Its body care, massages, and facial and eye treatments range in price, but are mostly reasonable. It's a small space, though, with only four treatment rooms (none outdoors), a sauna, and two locker rooms.