I was floating in the wide saline lagoon of the Grand Hyatt Kauai, drifting along on my back. Buoyed by the semi-salty water, I watched the palm fronds waving in the trade winds above me, silhouetted against the blue Pacific sky. As a deep out-of-body sense of relaxation overcame me and time seemed to slow, it made me think: does it seriously get any better than this?

In Hawaii, many resorts pull out all the stops to create over-the-top poolside settings and experiences. Whether you’re lounging in an in-water chaise or being treated like Hollywood royalty in a private cabana, drifting in slow motion down a “lazy river” or floating at the edge of an infinity pool while soaking up a Hawaiian sunset, your pool experiences can be among the most memorable highlights of a Hawaiian vacation.

If you’re feeling the urge for some Hawaiian-style poolside pampering, here are some of my favorite resorts to check out in the Hawaiian islands. Whatever pool paradise you choose, remember that Hawaii’s magic extends far beyond the resorts. Make sure to take the time to explore the islands’ stunning beaches, hike through lush rainforests, experience the rich local culture and splash in some of the natural pools — you’ll find suggestions on that score below, too.

Kauai

Grand Hyatt Kauai’s massive pool complex of palm tree-lined terraces and lushly landscaped oases, has something for everyone, including a long lazy river and a large, wonderfully relaxing saline lagoon just feet from Shipwreck Beach and the ocean surf. Details: hyatt.com

Also in Poipu, the Koloa Landing Resort has been honored with a “Best Pool in America” accolade by USA Today several years running. A huge waterfall overflowing a rock arch is the centerpiece of the main pool, but my favorite aquatic escape at the resort is the secluded adult pool and hot tub, set away from the busy main pool complex. Details: koloalandingresort.com

Maui

In West Maui’s Ka’anapali resort region, Westin Maui Resort & Spa’s lush pool complex is just feet from the beach and includes an adult pool on the upper terrace and lower pool with a waterslide that’s a hit with kids and adults. An infinity pool for adults features a sandy bottom, perfect for wiggling your toes while sipping a tropical drink from the nearby poolside bar. Details: westinmaui.com

At the far end of the main stretch of Ka’anapali Beach, the Sheraton Maui Resort and Spa’s pool is longer than a football field and has two swimming areas connected by a river. You can float between them, past waterfalls and tropical trees, plants and flowers. At one end, a family area includes a slide and shallow section for children. The other end has cabanas and a bar and is geared for adults.

Located between the pool and the beach, the Cliff Dive Grill provides prime seats for the spectacular nightly sunset torch-lighting and cliff dive ceremony at the promontory called Pu’u Kekaa (aka Black Rock). Details: sheraton-maui.com

In South Maui, the Wailea Beach Resort boasts several pools, including the serene Maluhia infinity edge pool overlooking the popular Wailea coastal path and the new Olakino wellness pool (reservations required), where poolside offerings include mini-massages, wellness workshops and wellness drinks and food.

Don’t miss the resort’s Nalu Adventure Pool, featuring the highest waterslides in Hawaii — a top attraction for thrillists seeking helter skelter descents through two slippery tubes. Details: waileabeachresort.com

Next door, the Grand Wailea, a Waldorf Astoria Resort, draws thrill seekers to experience the Lava Tube Slide and its exhilarating three-story drop at speeds up to 22 miles per hour. The sprawling resort complex boasts multiple pools, including the thrilling Wailea Canyon River Ride. Take a raft down twists, turns and waterfalls—a surefire way to cool off and get your adrenaline pumping. Details: grandwailea.com

Oahu

Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa, on Ko Olina Bay is where Disney magic meets Hawaii. Aulani’s pool complex offers family-oriented swim and water play spots ranging from the whimsical water fountain wonderland of the Menehune Bridge to the 3,800-square foot Rainbow Reef, a private lagoon where you can swim with ocean fish. An infinity pool and several whirlpool spas are perfect for parental rest and relaxation.

Kids will love the lazy river, the Keiki Cove splash zone with its water jets and slides or the more elaborate 2,100-square-foot Menehune Bridge splash zone, and the chance to meet Disney characters. Adults can unwind in the adult-exclusive pool or soak in a hot tub. Details: disneyaulani.com

Sheraton Waikiki Helumoa Playground offers two pools, two whirlpools, a water slide and a fountain play area for kids, all right beside the ocean and Waikiki Beach. There are 17 in-water chaise lounges. And during the summer — at midday Tuesday through Saturday — Citrine the mermaid, Tinker Fairy, Spider Super Hero, Polynesian Princess, Polynesian Warrior or another costumed character entertains children with storytelling, games and tricks. Details:
marriott.com/hotels/travel/hnlws-sheraton-waikiki

Island of Hawaii

The luxurious Four Seasons Hualalai in Kailua-Kona has seven swimming pools ranging from oceanside lagoons to adults-only sanctuaries. Most unusual is the recently renovated King’s Pond, which provides a 1.8-million gallon swimmable aquarium hosting more than 1,000 tropical fish and more than 60 species that you can swim with — including the resort’s resident eagle ray, Kainalu. The pond also has an adjoining lounge pool and sun deck.

The swim-up bar at the Palm Grove Pool is a popular choice for in-water libations, a perfect place to gaze out at the endless blue Pacific Ocean or take a dip. Details: fourseasons.com/hualalai

The Hilton Waikoloa Village features multiple pools, each with its own unique charm. The jewel of the resort is a swimmable, four-acre saltwater lagoon connected to the ocean. It teems with tropical fish and green sea turtles that enter the lagoon under a footbridge, providing an opportunity for snorkelers to see a variety of Hawaii’s colorful underwater denizens up close. The quieter Kohala Lagoon Pool offers a swim-up bar and a beautiful lava rock waterfall, while the Kona Pool boasts the thrilling 175-foot Kona Crater Slide. Details: hilton.com

Nature pools

The Hawaiian islands also abound with waterfalls and swimmable natural pools. In the Waimea Valley on Oahu, for example, a 1,800-acre valley features a natural pool fed by freshwater springs. It’s perfect for a refreshing dip surrounded by cascading waterfalls and tropical flora. Details: waimeavalley.net

On Kauai, join a five-hour guided adventure that starts with a kayak paddle on the wide, calm Wailua River followed by a hike through the lush jungle to the remote-feeling Uluwehi waterfall for an unforgettable swim session in the pool beneath the falls. Details: kayakkauai.com

Originally Published: July 29, 2024 at 9:00 a.m.

HONOLULU — A top Hawaiian Electric Co. official says the company’s wildfire notification and mitigation efforts are moving forward on several fronts “to give people as much notice as we can.”

Jim Kelly, Hawaiian Electric’s vice president of government and community relations, detailed the company’s recently unveiled Public Safety Power Shutoff, or PSPS, program and other efforts at a Honolulu City Council meeting on Thursday.

“The purpose of this PSPS is probably the most prominent element of our wildfire safety strategy; it’s only one piece of it,” Kelly told the Council’s Committee on Public Safety. “Because we want to make the point that PSPS is really the last line of defense. We want to do a lot of other things before we ever have to get to the point of shutting off the power to keep the public safe.”

On July 1, Hawaiian Electric implemented its PSPS program, which will cut off power to its customers in multiple fire-prone areas throughout the islands when conditions prove too hazardous to life and property.

The state’s largest electrical utility said power shutoffs would mainly occur along O‘ahu’s Waianae Coast and affect about 2,400 customers. Similar power shutoffs on Maui and Hawai‘i island could affect a combined 45,400 customers, the company said.

Those actions will occur on so-called red-flag warning days, as determined by the National Weather Service, when warmer temperatures, lower humidity and stronger winds could produce an increased risk of fire danger.

The PSPS program and the company’s other efforts follow the Aug. 8 Maui wildfires, which destroyed most of Lahaina and killed at least 102 people. Many lawsuits allege that downed electrical lines during a powerful windstorm that day sparked the fire, which the company denies.

As part of its wildfire safety strategy, Kelly noted advanced cameras have been placed on Hawaiian Electric substations.

“These are AI (artificial intelligence) cameras that look for any evidence of a fire starting,” he said. “They can identify smoke at a pretty far distance.”

He added that the cameras are used by utilities in California and across the West. “They’ve been very effective in being a really good early-warning system on any potential wildfires starting,” he said.

He said the company is also putting in weather stations, which are “going to give us more visibility into what is happening in particular areas.” This will include potential trigger data for wind speeds, generally above 45 mph, and relative humidity, generally below 45 percent.

“Again, it’s providing that environment where fire can flourish,” he said.

Hawaiian Electric is also making changes to equipment, including overhead power lines or “covered conductors,” he said. “Or putting insulation on the power lines, so if they did fall down, it’s not falling directly on the ground; they’re insulated. That’s one of the many tactics that we’re looking at employing over the next five years.”

Kelly said residents and businesses that might be impacted would include those located on Oahu’s Leeward Coast, as well as portions of the North Shore.

“We’ve worked to limit the potential impact to the PSPS by putting in devices called ‘sectionalizers,’ which enable us to turn off power in one area but limit the scope of the potential outage,” he said. “So if we really have to do a PSPS it impacts a smaller group of customers.”

As far as notifications to the public in the event of a PSPS, Kelly said, “We want to really try to give people as much notice as we can.

“And we’re aiming for at least 24 hours’ notice,” he said. “To say, ‘Hey, we’re looking at potentially doing a PSPS, get ready, you need to get ready, your own house, your own business, and get ready for it and really pay attention to what kind of notifications that you’re getting.’”

However, he added, “I can’t tell you that it will for sure be 24 hours.”

“It depends on the weather, it depends on the situation,” he said. “Everything we’re doing is about keeping people safe, and if we are erring on the side of safety, and we feel like we need to call a PSPS very quickly, on very short notice, that’s what we’re going to do.”

Kelly said notifications to Hawaiian Electric customers would be delivered to electronic and digital devices including smartphones.

“What happens during the PSPS is you get the notice, power goes out. How long the duration of that is would depend on, obviously, the weather system; it could be hours, it could be days,” he said. “And during that time we’re going to keep people posted on what the situation is, we’re going to over-communicate about the situation.”

“I’ve said all along people are probably not going to be happy about PSPS, but if we have to do one I don’t want anybody to say, ‘I didn’t know anything about this,’” he said.

Kelly noted restoration of power following a PSPS could take time to complete.

“We’ve got to then check all of our equipment and make sure there’s not things lying on the ground, there’s nothing that’s broken, there’s no lines that need to be attached,” he said. “And so that effort can take awhile.”

During Council questioning, Val Okimoto, chair of the Public Safety Committee, asked how Hawaiian Electric would address the needs of those who rely on electricity for use of medical devices for health-related conditions.

Kelly said the utility has been working with the city, including police and fire, to ensure that “people who rely on medical equipment get the notifications.”

“So right now, that’s what we’re focused on, the communication part of it,” he said.

Okimoto also asked about those who do not have or readily use electronic or digital devices — particularly kupuna — to receive such notifications.

“So those people who probably are the ones who will be affected by having medical equipment that they need, how will you get the information to them if they’re not the type to have the smartphone with the apps or push notifications?” she asked.

Kelly asserted that Hawaiian Electric will be physically going out to customers if they’ve not confirmed receipt of electronic information about the power shutoff program.

“Because we’re asking people to confirm the information that we’re giving them,” he said. “And if we haven’t heard back from them we’re going to go out and put door hangers. We may have people going door to door.”

Council member Andria Tupola also asked if Hawaiian Electric “had a plan or any hopes to compensate residents if they are financially affected or have to move out” due to the PSPS outages.

“No, we don’t have any plans to compensate people,” Kelly replied. “We’ve actually gotten quite a few questions about that.”

Still, he said the benefit to the community from Hawaiian Electric’s PSPS program is that it will remove “the potential for an ignition of one of our pieces of equipment to start a wildfire.”

“As we’ve worked with folks on the West Side we’ve come to understand that wildfires are pretty common out there over the last 10 to 15 years, that there have been some pretty big fires … that start back in the valley,” he said. “And we’ve heard some pretty harrowing stories about wildfires back there.”

According to Hawaiian Electric, it’s taking steps to mitigate potential hazards, including advancing its $190 million grid resilience plan to harden against wildfires, hurricanes, tsunamis and flooding, and adapt to climate change.

“Half of this multiyear program is to be paid by the federal government with the other half matched by customers,” the company said.

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Using DNA technology, authorities have identified a Hawaii Island resident as the man who brutally attacked and killed Dana Ireland on Christmas Eve in 1991.

The shocking revelation offers hope of closure in a mystery that gripped Hawaii for decades.

The man’s name is not yet being released, but authorities say he was a resident of Hawaiian Paradise Park. The 57-year old would have been 25 at the time of the crime.

Last week, after law enforcement secured a search warrant for a cheek swab, the man killed himself. He lived within two miles of the fishing trail where Ireland was found, brutally beaten.

She died the next day.

Ireland had been kidnapped, beaten and raped. She died from blood loss.

Special Series from HNN: Who Killed Dana Ireland

DNA collected from seven separate samples were used. Semen found on her body and on her clothes, plus sweat and skin from a Jimmy’z t-shirt were all tested and all pointed to one person.

The Hawaii Innocence Project, working with law enforcement, sent the DNA samples to the California lab Indago Solutions. Steve Kramer, of Indago Solutions, is credited with identifying the man known as the Golden State Killer — who committed more than a dozen murders.

Ken Lawson, of the Hawaii Innocence Project, said Kramer used forensic genealogy testing in the Ireland case. “He was able to go back to records, back to the 1700s here in Hawaii,” Lawson said.

Through that extensive research, Kramer identified one potential suspect in February and gave the results to the FBI.

An FBI agent and Hawaii County police officers subsequently started surveillance on the man and last month, were able to get a fork that the man used and publicly discarded.

That fork was also sent to the lab for more testing and a match was reported in July.

On July 19, court records said officers, with a search warrant, collected DNA from the man using a cheek swab. Days later, the man was found dead in his home from an apparent suicide.

The next day, the DNA results from the cheek swab confirmed, yet again, it was a match.

“He didn’t spend a day in jail,” said Lawson.

Three men were arrested and charged for the murder of Ireland in 1999. Albert Ian Schweitzer spent 23 years in prison before his conviction was vacated in January 2023. In October 2023, his brother Shawn Schweitzer had his conviction vacated.

Frank Pauline died in prison while serving time for the Ireland murder.

The Hawaii and New York Innocence Projects represented the Schweitzer brothers.

Lawson said the man responsible for the crime “took the easy way out” after attacking Ireland and allowing others to go to prison instead.

A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday to discuss the new developments in the case.

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