Mauna Lani, Auberge Resorts Collection

Mauna Lani, Auberge Resorts Collection

Along the shores of Kalāhuipuaʻa on Hawai'i Island's Kohala Coast, chef Rhoda Magbitang, winner of Top Chef Season 23, sends out nightly menus at CanoeHouse rooted in Hawaiʻi's traditions, alongside a Surf Shack dinner series and gatherings at the Francis Brown Club. None of Auberge's other 39 properties can claim a reigning Top Chef winner behind the pass every night, and that alone sets this kitchen apart on a coast full of resort dining rooms. The property itself is newly renovated, set on a white sand beach 23 miles north of Kona International Airport, with 341 rooms and bungalows spread across six low floors. Most rooms carry private lanais and ocean views, and five bungalows go further with their own private pools and hot tubs. Standard rooms run around 517 square feet with a choice of garden, mountain, ocean, or limited ocean outlooks; suites near 1,090 square feet add sea views and room to spread out. Two golf courses, a cultural center, tennis courts, and a spa with sauna and steam room fill the hours between meals, and five restaurants in total mean the food does not begin and end at CanoeHouse. A kids club and babysitting make this workable for a family without turning it into a children's resort. Check-in runs from 3pm, check-out by noon, and a 200 dollar breakage deposit applies per room per stay. What it will not offer is a walkable town outside the gates or a small, intimate property; this is a resort built for settling into, not passing through, and the woman who wants ocean mornings followed by a dinner worth remembering will find the trade an easy one. A Top Chef Season 23 winner cooks nightly at CanoeHouse on Mauna Lani's Kalāhuipuaʻa shore, a distinction none of Auberge's 39 properties share. Set on a Kohala Coast beach 23 miles from Kona airport, with 341 rooms and five private-pool bungalows, it rewards a long stay over a quick one.