Don’t confuse kauai with the “other” Hawaii. The farthest west of the state’s five big islands, Kauai is sparsely populated, wonderfully wild, and relaxed in a way the rest of the world can only dream of. As is Kukui’ula, the only private golf club and community on the island, where the emphasis is on spending time with friends and family and enjoying a rich bounty of activities, natural and manmade.
The 1,000-acre former sugar plantation is anchored by the Plantation House, which has pools, tennis courts, and other sport options, plus dining rooms that are supplied by the community farm. (Residents can pick vegetables, fruit, herbs, and flowers.)
A full-service spa sits to one side of Plantation House; on the other is the pro shop that leads to the Tom Weiskopf-designed golf course, a sprawling sensation that runs from rolling inland to a fantastic finish along the Pacific Ocean. There’s a wide choice of neighborhoods and homes, lots to custom-builds to villas. In Kulal Makai, the newest launch, 19 custom sites along the ocean are available, one-half to three acres, from $4–12 million. A number of contemporary spec homes in Kainani, starting at 3,700 square feet (including covered lanai), begin at $5 million. Like everything on Kauai, they are something special.