Koloa

It’s soothing just to lie still in one of the outdoor treatment-room cabanas, the smell of tropical blooms permeating the air. Once the treatments get going, they’re utter bliss: brightening peels, stimulating oxygen therapy, LED lights, and an especially pampering hot stone therapy designed to invigorate skin.

Locally grown coffee, Kauai clay, and essences from wild tropical flowers come together in the treatments at this spa that’s right on the beach. Few things are as relaxing as listening to the rhythm of the waves as you get a circulation-boosting face massage. If you’re sun-scorched, the Sun Comfort Facial feels effing fantastic with soothing layers of aloe, a noni superfruit mask, and a coconut scalp massage.

Fancy Italian might seem out-of-place on an island as laid-back as Kauai, but when you've had enough of island food, it's a welcome break—and it's also delicious. The far-ranging menu includes everything from pear and gorgonzola flatbreads, to a decadent lasagna and eggplant parmesan. They also serve an egg-centric breakfast that's the perfect way to fuel up before a big hike or day at the beach.

So much better than your typical (open-faced) ballgame dog, Puka Dog serves their variation in their own Hawaiian sweet bread, which they toast on custom skewers. Rather than slicing the bread open, Puka serves their Polish sausages and veggie dogs—along with your choice of garlic lemon secret sauce, Hawaiian fruit relish, and mustard sauce—fully enclosed in the roll, which makes them surprisingly easier to eat. All that said, this meal is best followed by an afternoon nap at the beach, as opposed to say, a hike.

Inspired by chef Cathy Shyne’s hometown of Altomonte, Calabria in Southern Italy, Pizzetta is a go-to in Old Koloa Town. It has all the classics you’d expect, along with entrées that are Italian-meets-Hawaiian—like kalua pork (grilled in papaya BBQ sauce) and grilled ono (Hawaiian mackerel). Set in an airy, open space with indoor and outdoor seating, it’s perfect for a laid-back meal of quality comfort food.