America's Best Coastal Hotels

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America's Best Coastal HotelsBook a room at one of these top waterfront properties fromGeorgia to California.

By Adrien Glover

While hotels and resorts have long leaned on MotherNature to enhance their guest experiences, few wild

assets rival that of prime waterfront real estate—be it ona sugary sand beach or a dramatic rocky bluff.Fortunately for travelers, there’s a lot of choice for thoseseeking a great coastal getaway.

Culled from Travel + Leisure ’s 15th Annual World’s Best

Survey Awards, the following hotels were determined by

readers to be among the top hotels in the country—andall come with ocean breezes, water views, andultra-scenic shores. Asked to rate properties onrooms/facilities, location, service, restaurants/food, and

value, 2010 poll takers once again made it clear that acoastal location can also be one of a hotel’s greatestfeatures.

No matter your definition of what makes a great coastalhotel, there’s one clear characteristic—whether you’re in

Big Sur or on a Hawaiian island—that all of the properties

flaunt: location, location, location.

#1 Inn at Palmetto Bluff

Bluffton, SC

With Spanish moss dripping from low-lying oak branches

and egrets soaring overhead, life at this plantation-styleluxury resort seems to move at the pace of a deep-southern drawl. But the many diversions—a JackNicklaus Signature golf course, fly-fishing, spa treatments, naturalist-led alligator

“hunts”—sequestered on 20,000 acres of South Carolina coastal marshland leave little time for ennui.

Twenty-nine cottages house 50 enormous rooms and suites (1,150 and 1,350 square feet,respectively), with pine floors, gas fireplaces, and private screened porches.

Room to Book: Cottages Suites have antique pine floors, fireplaces, plasma TVs, and screenedverandas.

Insider Tip: Though river views are pricier due to impromptu bottlenose dolphin shows, the lagoon isequally lovely and attracts an abundance of birdlife.

#2 Post Ranch Inn

Big Sur, CA

The hotel opened in 1992 and is made up entirely of

small buildings set on a ridge high above the Pacific. In2008 Post Ranch added 10 new sculptural structures,

spiraling Pacific Suites, cantilevered Peak Houses, andRichard Serra-esque Cliff houses clad in torques ofrusted steel. Staying in a Paci fic Suite, wherever youstand you are exposed to the ocean and the sky but

unseen by other guests. Even the tiled bath, big enoughfor two, has a commanding vista, and a floor-to-ceilingwindow that opens to let in Paci fic breezes. The walls are

paneled in redwood salvaged from old wine barrels andsheet metal art adorns the bathroom. Sierra Mar, thehotel restaurant will pack you a lunch to take down the

Pacific Coast Highway in a Lexus convertible that guests can borrow for free. The mini-bar is

complimentary, so take advantage on your balcony overlooking the ocean.

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Little Palm Island Resort & SpaCourtesy of Little Palm Island Resort & Spa

Four Seasons Resort Hualalai at HistoricKa’upulehuSusan Seubert / Courtesy of F our Seasons Resorts,

Hualalai

HalekulaniCourtesy of Halekulani Hotel

MontageCourtesy of Montage Laguna Beach

Room to Book: Mountain House rooms have views of the Santa Lucia mountain peaks from the bed,couch, tub, and terrace.

Insider Tip: Weather permitting, join the resident amateur astronomer in a star-gazing session.

#3 Little Palm Island Resort & Spa

Little Torch Key, Florida Keys

Florida’s most secluded and romantic retreat: a SouthSeas-style idyll set along a white-sand beach on a private

6-acre island, accessible only by boat or seaplane.

Room to Book: Suites 15 and 16 offer the most privacy.

Insider Tip: Visit Looe Key, in the Florida Keys National

Marine Sanctuary, located minutes away from the resortby kayak.

#4 Four Seasons Resort Hualalai at

Historic Ka’upulehu

Kailua-Kona, HI

“Perfect,” “heaven,” and “the best vacation of my life” are

just a few ways guests describe this understatedlygorgeous, isolated resort where all 228 rooms, in low-rise

bungalows, have ocean views. It’s popular withHollywood celebrities for good reason: the five-starservice is impeccable; the grounds border the dramatic

volcanic rock coast with seawater and freshwater

swimming pools; an open-air spa teems with tropicalvegetation; and yoga, personal training, and a ful l menu

of fitness classes are offered daily. The private7,100-square-foot oceanfront Jack Nicklaus signaturegolf course is carved right into the underlying black lava,which serves as occasional bunkers.

Room to Book: The second story of bungalow 8: It overlooks a saltwater snorkeling lagoon, hasocean views, and is in the quietest, northern section of the property.

Insider Tip: For families there’s a tricked-out teen lounge and baby-proofed rooms for guests with

infants.

#5 Halekulani

Honolulu, HI

Service rules at this recently renovated 5-acre WaikikiBeach beauty, which has existed for nearly a century.The Orchid Suite, the newest of the hotel’s premier

rooms, made its debut in 2008. The fabled-hotel is ahigh-style base on Waikiki beach. Stay in one of two VeraWang–designed suites—especially if you’re there to get

married at sunset. Don’t miss breakfast either. At theopen-air dining room at Orchids restaurant, paddlestraight for the Hawaiian specialties: pipi kaula beef jerky,

marinated ahi tuna poke, lomilomi cured salmon,

Waimanalo roast suckling pig, local Kula tomatoes, andBig Island goat cheese. The Halekulani kitchen alsowhips up the Pacific’s best popovers.

Room to Book: Diamond Head suites on floors nine and higher have the best ocean and volcanoviews.

Insider Tip: Book a traditional Polynesian spa treatment like Lomi Lomi Hawaiian massage.

#6 Montage

Laguna Beach, CA

Montage aims for an experience you might find in

Positano, crisp service and the smell of the surf. You’llfind a pianist in the lobby, and a meal at the Studio, thehotel’s celebrated restaurant. The Arts and Crafts–style

Montage Resort & Spa, the most architecturallyimpressive spot on the beach offers—in a too-rare

instance of architectural common sense—262 rooms withPacific panoramas. The location is exceptional, on a 30

acre spot on a bluff with a 280-degree view of the Pacific.The shingle-style architecture, all twists and turns andgables and porches, is incurably romantic; it’s a

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Kahala Hotel & ResortCourtesy of The Kahala Hotel & Resort

Inn at Spanish BayJeff Greenberg / Alamy

Lodge at Sea IslandCourtesy of Sea Island Resorts

The CloisterCourtesy of Sea Island Resorts

re-creation of the world of the California Impressionists who gathered in Laguna during the teens andtwenties, lived in humble beach bungalows, and painted this coastline. The Montage showcases

natural materials—stone, dark wood, copper—and a prominent collection of art from early in the 20thcentury, including works by William Wendt, Jean Mannheim and the other air painters who put this

area on the map.

Room to Book: Ocean Surf View rooms on the upper floors have great views of the Pacific Break.

Insider Tip: Don’t miss the Thalassic Beach Walk—a complimentary, spa-therapist–guided stroll thatfocuses on the mind-body benefits of ocean air.

#7 Kahala Hotel & Resort

Honolulu, HI

Oahu classic—fresh from a major renovation—withthoughtful in-room details (Frette linens; chenille robes;

oversize showerheads). This 1964 colossus benefits from

having about it a whiff of archaism. It was here, at whatwas then a Hilton and known as the Kahollywood, that

Richard Burton and Liz Taylor hid out from the paparazziin a private cabana.

Room to Book: Ocean suites have panoramic views of

Diamond Head.

Insider Tip: Swim with dolphins in the hotel’s lagoon.

#8 Inn at Spanish BayPebble Beach, CA

Spanish influences in rooms and restaurant interiorsamid Monterey pines, next to the famed golf course.

Room to Book: Those that overlook the fire-pits can seethe bagpiper play at sunset.

Insider Tip: Check the inn’s calendar beforebooking—frequent and major events take place at Pebble

Beach, from car shows to golf tournaments.

#9 Lodge at Sea Island

Sea Island, GA

English country manor charm meets Southern hospitality,

overlooking fairways and the coastline.

Room to Book: Suites and living rooms are more than1000 sq. ft and have water or golf course views, plus

24-hour butler service.

Insider Tip: Don’t miss the bagpipe serenade at duskevery night.

#10 The Cloister

Sea Island, GA

Long a favorite of the East Coast Establishment; a

mansion set on 1,000 acres of a barrier island.

Room to Book: Beach Club Suites, with kitchen,

fireplace and balcony have family-friendly location closeto three pools, an ice cream parlor, movie theater andchildren’s center.

Insider Tip: Would-be Annie Oakley’s can sign up for

ladies-only clay target shooting lessons at The Sea IslandShooting School.

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