We played hard all day, then handed ourselves over to Hawaii's newest hotel spas to see whether they could rub, scrub, and buff us back into loose-limbed bliss. Here are our top picks.
 
1 Hotel Hana-Maui
WHY LAND HERE: The crowds can have the other side of Maui—this is luxury unplugged.  
Way out on the lush, rainy side of the island, a three-hour drive from the nearest shopping center or condo complex, the Hotel Hana-Maui has always held to a keep-it-simple notion of luxury. The 66 airy suites scattered sparingly across its 67 Garden of Eden acres have no TVs, no stereos, and no AC. When you push aside the wall-sized screen doors and step onto your private lanai, all you hear is birds singing and palm fronds clattering in the breeze. Fiercely loyal regulars love the hospitable (and almost unheard-of) free access to the hotel's bikes, tennis courts, yoga classes, pitch-and-putt course, and brand-new dazzler of a spa. Forget the typical businesslike churn of a get-'em-in, rub-'em-down, get-'em-out hotel spa. Here, nine civilized spa suites, some with private gardens, bathtubs with a view, and minilounges for a pretreatment chat, line a breezeway that circles a lush lawn. Freshly buffed spagoers—dazed from extralong treatments that spoil you silly—shuffle into the sun and crash on lounge chairs that look out to sea. THE NEW SPA'S AAAH MOMENT: All the treatments are a cut above, but for an experience on par with the last really good drug trip you had, try the weightless Watsu water therapy, sort of like doing yoga in outer space. (800) 321-4262, www.hotelhanamaui.com, from $375.

2 Halekulani, Oahu
WHY LAND HERE: A view of Diamond Head across the waves, a tub for two, and a restaurant that beats the pants off the Ritz.
The Halekulani makes Waikiki, the capital of kitsch, feel downright civilized, with a staff—from the bellmen to the sommelier to the housekeepers—that calls you by name, a fabulous pool right above the ocean, and a restaurant that smashes the old wisdom about the don't-bother food on the islands. And now the hotel has opened a Polynesian-flavored pearl of a spa. It's not the biggest around, not by a long shot, but it makes up for its petite quarters by putting a little extra juice into its treatments, which start at a leisurely 75 minutes and go up from there. Instead of the usual locker-room steam and sauna routine, visits begin with a one-on-one "foot-pounding" ritual that's a little bit hula show, a little bit Last Supper, a little bit hocus-pocus, but a fitting start for a place that slips surprises in at every turn. A get-serious enzyme facial makes worry lines go poof, at least for the evening, and comes with a neck, arm, and hand massage. The deep-sigh wind-down from such decadence happens on a patio under the palms, with a slushy, minty lemonade in one hand and a skewer of frozen melon balls in the other. THE NEW SPA'S AAAH MOMENT: A complex combo of hot rocks, hot towels, and hot pillows placed just so during a long nonu-oil massage irons out the stubborn knots pulled tight during a morning of paddling into

waves. (808) 923-2311, www.halekulani.com, from $325.

3 Four Seasons Resort Maui
WHY LAND HERE: A hotel that serves up Hawaii on a silver platter? What's not to love? 
This most oh-la-la of the resorts in Wailea, Maui's most oh-la-la stretch of real estate, plays to a California clientele who know exactly what to expect, and like it that way: marble bathrooms, an ocean-view Spago, a Richie Rich-worthy game room, and yes-sir-right-away-sir service. Until last year, the spa, a slightly dingy ground-level space, was the one weak spot. But it's since been remade into a très chic, très Zen retreat with up-to-the-minute treatments to wow its spa-savvy guests. The lomi pohaku uses all the good parts of a hot stone massage—the rubbing with polished river rocks—and skips the New Agey bits that so often interrupt. To maximize the wow factor, book it in an oceanfront hut at sundown. THE NEW SPA'S AAAH MOMENT: The couples' suites (pictured at left) host such romantic extravaganzas as the Wailea Cocoon Experience. First, you disappear into a steam room to lather each other in coconut bath gel and dunk into a double-wide whirlpool tub dosed with bath salts, then you get slathered in papaya-pineapple enzyme and lowered into trance-inducing "cocoon beds"—sort of a warm, extrasoft water bed that wraps all the way around you and sends you happily off to dreamland. (808) 874-8000, www.fourseasons.com/maui, from $345.

4 Hyatt at Kaanapali, Maui
WHY LAND HERE: A splashing, squirting kids' pool keeps the crew happy while you retreat to the grown-up playpen of the sprawling spa.
The string of hotels, malls, and themed restaurants at Maui's own Waikiki makes Kaanapali a love-it-or-hate-it kind of place. If you love it—for its never-ending beach, kid-friendly flavor, and something-for-everyone ease—add the Hyatt to your list of things to love. Why? Not only does it have surprisingly un-chain-like rooms, recently redone in a tasteful Hawaiiana style, its already formidable spa just moved the fitness center out of earshot and added an oceanfront couples' suite and manicure-pedicure room so close to the waves you can taste the salt spray. So, send your brood to the keiki play pool or sign them up for a day of adventuring with the kids' camp and disappear. Crash out in the open-air, beachfront "relaxation lounge" (pictured at right) or take a dunk in the sunlight-drenched hot tub before going in for a Thai massage. Affectionately known as lazy man's yoga, it's kind of like having your big sister sit on you and twist your arm behind your back—but in a good way. Your therapist pushes your limbs around to loosen up tight spots, walks on your feet, and pulls on your fingers and toes. THE NEW SPA'S AAAH MOMENT: The Royal Moana is a decadent all-over "facial" that, aside from the usual steam and clean, has you smeared in something called Amazonian bee poop—they swear it's good for you—and your hands and feet dipped in hot paraffin to make them buttery soft. (808) 661-1234, www.maui.hyatt.com, from $345.

5 Manele Bay

Hotel, Lanai
WHY LAND HERE: Take Maui, subtract the crowds, and add two of
the world's top golf courses—that's Lanai for you.
For serious golfers with some serious cash, a reservation at Lanai's twin
luxury resorts—the woodsy, clubby Lodge at Koele up-country and its sister property, the palatial Manele Bay Hotel at the beach—is better than sex. The co-owned hotels, a half-hour shuttle ride apart, were dubbed number one and four in the world, respectively, by gushing Condé Nast Traveler readers last year—and these people know from golf. Nongolfers come for the solitude (the island gets only 5 percent of the visitors Maui does), the crescent beach, and the spa at the Manele Bay Hotel, where a top-to-bottom renovation has replaced sterile white hospital tile with wood trim, whimsical tropical murals, and polished bamboo floors. The spa is not the expansive, stay-all-week variety, but it sure comes in handy for a rub. THE NEW SPA'S AAAH MOMENT: When you walk off the 18th green and your feet feel like dried-up shoe leather, it's time for the Hehi Lani foot treatment, Hawaiian for "step into heaven." A steaming towel wrap, salty exfoliation, and a soothing, seemingly endless massage bring them back to tingling life. For those who always thought the foot rub was the best part of a massage anyway, this is 50 minutes of below-the-ankle bliss. (800) 321-4666, www.islandoflanai.com, from $400.