This is the Big Island’s version of Tranquility Base. A blue pool high in the heavens above the rolling green volcanic slopes of coffee country, this aquatic attraction is not huge but does manage to be highly exclusive. That’s ’cause the Holualoa Inn is actually on the small side, with only six rooms. But small can be quite beautiful, particularly if the inn in question has everything you would expect from a bigger hotel (except perhaps the gym) minus the press of other people. The pool, of course, says it all – an infinity all its own. Sure, do the big pools down the hill. But remember that a few small inns have got pools to rule, too.

Holualoa Inn (rooms from $295)
Kona Coffee Estate on the Big Island of Hawaii
76-5932 Mamalahoa Highway, Holualoa, Hawaii 96725
(808) 324-1121