Diamonds cause sparkle and nail-biting

The 2009 AAA Four Diamond list has several Hawaii first-timers and returnees among its restaurants and hotels.

On the Net:

The first-time restaurants are Kau'iki Dining Room at Hotel Hana Maui; Dondero's at the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa, and The Dining Room on Lanai. They join 10 four-rock-restaurant veterans statewide.

The shock comes in comparing 2008 to 2009 and seeing who is missing -- Chef Mavro.

Chef-owner George Mavrothalassitis had an eight-year streak with the 2008 list, which is "still in effect," said AAA spokes-woman Elaine Beno.

She could not divulge whether Chef Mavro is on the five-diamond list, to be released in October or November. The one-to-three diamond ratings will be out in January in the 2009 AAA TourBook.

Chef Mavro doesn't seem worried. "We're having a very good 10th anniversary year," he said.

Among lodgings, Four Seasons Resort Lanai, The Lodge at Koele has joined its Manele Bay sister.

The $60 million renovation of the Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa was diamond-worthy for the new listee and the Westin Maui Resort & Spa last had four diamonds in 2006.

Oahu's Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort & Spa is not a first-timer. Its 25-year run ended in 2002, so the listing marks its triumphant return to four-diamond-dom.

Restaurants

Big Island

» Hualalai Grille by Alan Wong, (Four Seasons Hualalai), 4

» Pahui'a, (Four Seasons Hualalai), 9

» The Grill, (Fairmont Orchid), 5

Maui

» Ka'uiki Dining Room, (Hotel Hana Maui), 1

» Sarento's on the Beach, 6

» The Banyan Tree, (Ritz-Carlton Kapalua), 7

Kauai

» Dondero's, (Grand Hyatt Kauai), 1

Lanai

» The Dining Room, (Lodge at Koele), 1

Oahu

» Azul, (JW Marriott Ihilani), 13

» Bali By The Sea, (Hilton Hawaiian Village), 20

» Hoku's , (Kahala Hotel & Resort), 7

» Orchids, (Halekulani), 14

» Tokyo Tokyo Restaurant, (Kahala Hotel & Resort), 3

Lodgings

Big Island

» Fairmont Orchid, 18

» Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows, 10

Kauai

» Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa, 18

Lanai

» Four Seasons Resort Lanai at Manele Bay, 2

» Four Seasons Resort Lanai, The Lodge at Koele, 1

Maui

» Fairmont Kea Lani, 7

» Grand Wailea Resort Hotel and Spa, 10

» Hotel Hana Maui and Honua Spa, 6

» Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa, 14

» Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, 1

» Westin Maui Resort & Spa, 1

Oahu

» Halekulani, Waikiki, 8

» Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort & Spa, 1

» JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa at Ko Olina, 9

» Kahala Hotel & Resort, 3

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