If it’s time to say aloha to our fiftieth state…
Honolulu, HI
Slip on your lei and your sarong and prepare to be delighted. This 22-acre award-winning resort, which borders waikiki’s widest stretch of the top-rated white-sand Duke Kahanamoku Beach, offers family-friendly vacationing at its best. Choose a room in one of five towers: consider the sumptuous Ali’i Tower with its sweeping ocean views, or the Rainbow Tower, which looks out over the must-see Diamond Head Crater. Splish-splash in one of five inviting pools, from the 10,000-square-foot Super Pool (the largest on Oahu) to family-oriented Paradise Pool, which boasts Waikiki’s longest waterslide. What to do with the hearty appetite all that swimming and sunning has yielded? Dine in one of the resort’s 20 international restaurants. Since no Hawaiian holiday is complete without a luau, be sure to partake in the Waikiki Starlight’s sensual feast of Kalua Pig, Island Fish, Huli Huli Chicken and much more, along with the excitement of drumming and Hawaiian, Tahitian and Samoan dancers. For a more soothing taste of Hawaii’s environs, explore the Village’s exotic waterfalls and beautiful botanical gardens. You’ll see 60 types of birds, turtles and fish and more than 50 floras native to Hawaii. Soak up some local culture by learning to play a ukulele or donning a coconut bra and grass skirt for hula lessons. Finally, a romantic evening awaits as you set sail at sunset on the Spirit of Aloha catamaran, complete with whales and dolphins happily swimming nearby.

Essentials for kids
Camp Penguin (ages 5–12) offers stimulating activities with a focus on Hawaiian heritage and culture, including extraordinary excursions to the Honolulu Zoo or the Waikiki Aquarium; water sports in the beach lagoon; surfing demos.

For moms
The Mandara Spa, with its heated bamboo massage, mani-pedis and fitness center; 90 on-site boutiques and specialty shops.

Info
Rooms from $179 per night; 800-HILTONS, hiltonhawaiianvillage.com