Lihue Airport (LIH): Approximate driving time is 30 minutes and distance is 16 miles.

Driving directions from Lihue Airport: Take Hwy 50 W through Lihue to Rte 520. Take Rte 520 to the town of Koloa. Turn right on Koloa Rd, and turn left on Poipu Rd. The hotel is 2 miles farther on the right.

Naniwa Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar - Behind a low dividing wall at one end of Shells is this intimate and stylish Japanese restaurant and sushi bar.

Amore Ristorante Italiano - At the other end of Shells, this romantic spot serves traditional Italian food with flair.

The Point - Named for the position it occupies on the resort's coastline, The Point is a casual restaurant with a long bar, lots of couch seating, a pool table, and television sets tuned to sports. Next to an outside terrace, a cook grills burgers and fish. Several nights a week, The Point becomes a night club, with live music and dancing.

Oasis Bar & Grill - This poolside spot serves burgers, fish sandwiches, salads, and tropical drinks during the day.

Amenity highlights: Seemingly lifted off a postcard, the crescent of pale powdery sand running more than a quarter mile from the resort's center is irresistible. Young and old delight in riding the gentle surf up the beach's slope and back down again. Prime snorkeling waters border the lava-rock point at the resort's center. Two pools, one near the beach with a slide and an adjacent spa and the other across the street in the resort's northern section, provide alternatives to the beach. Nearly everyone gravitates to the oceanside sunning lawn.

Insider tip: At night, spotlights highlight surf lines offshore from the beach and on the rocky point. Tiki torches flicker along an oceanfront path running the width of the resort. Settling onto lounge chairs between tiki torches and the ocean for the Pacific's sound-and-light show is as restful, and as romantic, as its gets in Hawaii.

The resort offers three tennis courts, a large fitness center with an ocean view, a massage/facial center, and a library with four computers for high-speed Internet use. In addition to all these facilities, the concierge desk in the lobby books golf times, luaus, and helicopter sightseeing trips to North Kauai's spectacular coast and arranges all other activities anywhere on the island.

Guests staying at any one of the four Sheraton Hotels in Waikiki can sign charges to their room for dining, shows, oceanfront bars, and entertainment options at any of the properties.