TheBuzz Erika Engle

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Hawaii rocks another Travel + Leisure list

Hawaii's Fairmont Kea Lani is the best resort for families in our hemisphere, according to Travel + Leisure magazine's eighth annual reader survey.

In fact, it and two other Hawaii resorts are in the magazine's top 10.

However, the magazine did not present the information that way in a news release trumpeting its September issue, nor is it presented that way online.

Your columnist wanted to see how Hawaii resorts stacked up against others in the cited regions, hence, the geeky task of finding scores for each and arranging all accordingly was undertaken.

The magazine presents the information in four lists -- the best in the U.S. and Canada; the best in Mexico and the Caribbean and the best in Hawaii and Florida.

The Fairmont Kea Lani tops the Hawaii list and its points put it at the top of the manually consolidated hemisphere list.

Hawaii's No. 2 and 3 properties, the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea and the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa are No. 5 and 6 on the combined list, just below the No. 2 resort on the U.S./Canada list, Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa in Anaheim.

Both rank above the No. 1 hotel in Mexico and the Caribbean, the Four Seasons Resort Nevis, in the West Indies.

The Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa and the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa, Nos. 4 and 5 in Hawaii, are in the top 20 at Nos. 15 and 16 overall.

The Hawaii list has the Westin Maui Resort & Spa at No. 6, but is at No. 22 in the overall list; Halekulani is No. 7 in Hawaii and tied for No. 25 on our half of the globe. It ranks above the No. 10 U.S./Canada property, Sea Pines Resort in Hilton Head, S.C.

Hawaii's eighth-ranked Kauai Marriott Resort & Beach Club is tied for No. 31 on the larger list and the Sheraton Maui Resort, No. 9 on the Hawaii list, is No. 33 overall, scoring higher than the Ritz-Carlton Cancun, the third-ranked Mexico/Caribbean hotel.

Hawaii's top 10 is wrapped up by the Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, which at No. 36 on the hemispherical list is a notch above the Ritz-Carlton Naples, which is No. 10 on the Florida list.

Speaking of Florida, the top five of the 10 on the Florida-only T+L list are all Disney properties.

Its No. 1 property, Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge in Orlando, Fla., is the No. 2 resort on the larger list, which also has three more Disney digs among the top 10.

A cattier columnist than yours might observe that without the House of Mouse, Florida could be in danger of being called Bore-ida -- but that's not how your columnist rolls.

The top 50 resorts for families

Travel + Leisure magazine's annual survey results show resort rankings according to geographic regions, including the U.S. and Canada and Mexico and the Caribbean, though Hawaii and Florida were separated into different lists.

The Star-Bulletin consolidated the lists of resorts according to points, to see how Hawaii's resorts rate among T+L readers who travel with their families and who responded to its survey.