Hawaii's best for chillin' and Honolulu's No. 8 for grillin'

ANOTHER DAY, another top-in-the-world rating for Four Seasons Resort Hualalai.

Two, in fact.

The Zagat Survey 2007/2008 World's Top Hotels, Resorts and Spas guide ranks Four Seasons Hualalai as the top resort and top spa, based on surveys of nearly 22,000 frequent travelers and more than 1,600 travel agents.

The guide costs $15.95, but if you only want to know how hot Hawaii's haute hotels are, read on.

Hualalai's sister property, the Four Seasons Wailea, on Maui, has the No. 3 destination spa in the world. Second place went to Esperanza on Mexico's Baja Peninsula. Except for the Phoenician in Arizona at No. 8, the rest of the top 10 are in Bali, Germany, Mexico and Uruguay.

Four Seasons Wailea is also No. 3 among the Top 10 Resorts with more than 100 rooms, which has the Halekulani at No. 7.

Zagat also revealed its top-five rankings in other categories, including best rooms, service, dining and facilities.

Hualalai came in third on the rooms list, behind Singita in South Africa and Amanjiwo in Indonesia; and it came in at No. 4 on the facilities list behind Amanjiwo, Singita and Oberoi Udaivilas in India. The only other U.S. property on any of the top-five lists was the Inn/Little Washington, in Washington, D.C.

A THRILL TO GRILL

IT'S HARD to imagine that Honolulu is not No. 1 on this list, but Blue Rhino, the propane tank company, ranks us at No. 8 on its list of "Top 100 Ideal Cities to Grill In."

Was Honolulu not No. 1 due to our 40-plus rainy days in 2006, from whence Blue Rhino harvested National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data?

No. The company's ideal grilling days are between May and August -- and our Ark-weather subsided by early April, according to the NOAA Honolulu Web site.

Maybe our greening, cooling tradewind showers kicked us down a notch or two.

Blue Rhino counted the number of sunny, rain-free days cooler than 90-degrees in major metro areas, said publicist Dana Genheimer, explaining the list's lack of other local locales.

Still, glass half-full, right? Honolulu's in the Top 10, preceded by Sacramento, Reno, Flagstaff, Fresno, Los Angeles, Boise and San Francisco -- and followed by Salt Lake City, Utah and Grand Junction, Colo.

Zagat Survey -- 2007/2008

World's Top Hotels, Resorts and Spas

Hotel Chains:

1. Amanresorts
2. Four Seasons
3. Mandarin Oriental
4. Raffles
5. St. Regis
6. Ritz-Carlton
7. Rosewood
8. Orient-Express
9. Oberoi
10. Shangri-La

Top Destination Spas:

1. Four Seasons/Hualalai, Hawaii
2. Esperanza, Baja Peninsula, Mexico
3. Four Seasons Wailea, Hawaii
4. Las Ventanas, Baja Peninsula, Mexico
5. Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay, Bali
6. Amandari, Bali
7. Four Seasons, Carmelo, Uruguay
8. Phoenician, Phoenix/Scottsdale
9. Brenner's Park, Baden-Baden, Germany
10. Schloss, Buhlerhohe, Baden-Baden, Germany

Large Hotels (100+ rooms):

1. Four Seasons George V, Paris
2. Peninsula, Chicago
3. Peninsula, Bangkok
4. Peninsula, Hong Kong
5. Oriental, Bangkok
6. Four Seasons, Chicago
7. Four Seasons, Budapest
8. Mandarin Oriental, Miami
9. Peninsula, Los Angeles
10. Four Seasons, Las Vegas

Resorts (100+ rooms):

1. Four Seasons/Hualalai, Hawaii
2. One & Only, Baja Peninsula, Mexico
3. Four Seasons Wailea, Hawaii
4. Four Seasons, Canadian Rockies
5. Burj Al Arab, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
6. Four Seasons Resort, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
7. Halekulani, Hawaii
8. Ritz-Carlton, Cayman Islands
9. Four Seasons Resort, Provence
10. Four Seasons, Punta Mita, Mexico

Small Hotels, Resorts & Inns (less than 100 rooms):

1. Singita, Kruger Area, South Africa
2. Amanjiwo, Borobudur, Indonesia
3. Four Seasons Tented, Golden Triangle, Thailand
4. Como Shambala, Bali
5. Four Seasons, Chiang Mai, Thailand
6. Oberoi Udaivilas, Rajasthan, India
7. Amankila, Bali
8. Gidleigh Park, Devon, U.K.
9. Four Seasons Sayan, Bali
10. Blanket Bay, Queenstown, New Zealand

Rooms (based on Rooms score):

1. Singita, Kruger Area, South Africa
2. Amanjiwo, Borobudur, Indonesia
3. Four Seasons/Hualalai, Hawaii
4. Amankila, Bali
5. Oberoi Udaivilas, Rajasthan, India*

* Indicates a tie with the property above

Service (based on Service score):

1. Como Shambala, Bali
2. Amansara, Siem Reap, Cambodia
3. Four Seasons Tented, Golden Triangle, Thailand
4. Amanusa, Bali
5. Inn/Little Washington, Washington, DC

Dining (based on Dining score):

1. La Maison Troisgros, Loire, France
2. Michel Bras, Aveyron, France
3. Inn/Little Washington, Washington, DC
4. L'Eau a la Bouche, Montreal
5. Hastings House, Vancouver

Facilities (based on Facilities score):

1. Amanjiwo, Borobudur, Indonesia
2. Singita, Kruger Area, South Africa
3. Oberoi Udaivilas, Rajasthan, India
4. Four Seasons/Hualalai, Hawaii
5. Blanket Bay, Queenstown, New Zealand

SOURCE: Zagat Survey
» www.zagatsurvey.com

Blue Rhino's Top 100 Ideal Cities to Grill In:

1. Sacramento, CA
2. Reno, NV
3. Flagstaff, AZ
4. Fresno, CA
5. Los Angeles, CA
6. Boise, ID
7. San Francisco, CA
8. Honolulu, HI
9. Salt Lake City, UT
10. Grand Junction, CO
11. Fort Wayne, IN
12. Spokane, WA
13. Las Vegas, NV
14. Galveston, TX
15. San Diego, CA
16. El Paso, TX
17. Albuquerque, NM
18. Milford, UT
19. Phoenix, AZ
20. Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
21. Evansville, IN
22. Oklahoma City, OK
23. Fargo, ND
24. Portland, OR
25. Tucson, AZ
26. Detroit, MI
27. Milwaukee, WI
28. Denver, CO
29. Indianapolis, IN
30. Memphis, TN
31. Lincoln, NE
32. Omaha, NE
Springfield, IL
Rapid City, SD
35. Des Moines, IA
36. Green Bay, WI
37. Richmond, VA
38. New York, NY
39. Chicago, IL
Cleveland, OH
Madison, WI
42. Topeka, KS
43. Buffalo, NY
Toledo, OH
45. Little Rock, AR
46. Springfield, MO
47. Boston, MA
48. Wichita, KS
49. Atlanta, GA
Charlotte, NC
Kansas City, MO
52. Miami, FL
53. Harrisburg, PA
54. Rochester, NY
55. Louisville, KY
56. Grand Rapids, MI
57. St. Louis, MO
58. Atlantic City, NJ
59. Dayton, OH
60. Albany, NY
Burlington, VT
62. Knoxville, TN
63. Tulsa, OK
64. Moline, IL
Lynchburg, VA
66. Portland, ME
67. Norfolk, VA
68. Asheville, NC
69. Nashville, TN
70. Columbus, OH
Syracuse, NY
72. Corpus Christi, TX
73. Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem, NC
74. Charleston, SC
75. Seattle, WA
76. Dallas, TX
Shreveport, LA
78. Washington, DC
79. Greenville/Spartanburg, SC
80. Baltimore, MD
Providence, RI
82. Philadelphia, PA
83. Hartford, CT
84. Austin, TX
85. Chattanooga, TN
86. Birmingham, AL
87. San Antonio, TX
88. Raleigh, NC
89. Pittsburgh, PA
90. Columbia, SC
Houston, TX
92. Allentown, PA
93. Jackson, MS
Tampa, FL
95. Jacksonville, FL
96. Savannah, GA
97. Montgomery, AL
98. New Orleans, LA
99. Elkins, WV
100. Anchorage, AK

SOURCE: Blue Rhino
» www.bluerhino.com

Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4747, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached at: eengle@starbulletin.com