A paradise of a meeting.

Diamond Head still looms in the distance, palm trees still sway, and the pink Royal Hawaiian still reigns over the famed Waikiki Beach. The paradise that America discovered in the 1900s is still there in all its tropical glory.

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But Honolulu and the extended Hawaiian Islands are no longer a quaint outpost for bored voyagers. A vibrant city now welcomes business travelers and vacationers alike, and islanders throughout the chain are armed to serve a burgeoning industry. A fleet of new hotels has opened. And those long-popular favorites have renewed themselves, with total face-lifts and wholesale renovations or widespread room makeovers. The shopping has gone upscale, with the gleaming Ala Moana Center as well as high-end boutiques downtown, alongside the culturally rich International Marketplace. The choice of restaurants has exploded, and venues for meetings and receptions can be found throughout the islands.

The gleaming rays of sun stream down on towering palm trees surrounded by lush gardens, the tropical sounds of a 70-foot waterfall echo in the background. And that's just in the Hawaii Convention Center lobby. It's hard to imagine a lovelier place to do business, but Hawaii delivers much more than Bali Hai landscapes and great weather. It's a fertile environment for business relationships of all varieties, and this "Crossroads of the Pacific" is especially rich for international crossbreeding.

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Meeting central: A convention center with style

When you ask your members to fly across the ocean, you'd better deliver a convention worth the trip. Luckily, superlative meetings are all in a day's work for the Hawaiian-shirt-clad staff of the Hawaii Convention Center, supported by a welcoming population infused with an Aloha spirit.

Hawaii has been ranked the number two most desirable meeting site in the United States yet again on the recent Metro Poll IX survey, and a convention center conveniently located in the heart of Honolulu will translate to your most successful meeting ever in both attendance and productivity.

This massive convention center takes its tag line seriously: Where Business and Aloha Meet. That means you will find great support for your business needs, with more than 150,000 square feet of meeting space and three theaters; state-of-the-art fiber optics, uplinks, ubiquitous dataports, simultaneous translation capability, and professional support to make your meeting a success. But you will also discover an unsurpassed welcome that is central to the relaxed and friendly Hawaiian personality.

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The $300 million center, opened in 1998, starts with beautiful architecture that marries the outdoors and interiors in dramatic open spaces and stunning works of Hawaiian art. Polynesian canoes stand by towering murals outside the varied meeting spaces, and a landscaped roof garden terrace spread across two acres tops it all off, literally. And it is the ideal spot for receptions in a climate with average temperatures hovering around 80 degrees infused with mild ocean breezes. And if the high-tech facilities keep 'em working while they're here, the views from glass-encased meeting rooms will keep your attendees coming back. This all-purpose convention space will deliver on the main event and serve your small pre- and post-meeting needs with aplomb--in the 47 on-site meeting rooms. In addition, more than 30,000 convenient hotel rooms are within a mile of the center (with at least 10,000 committable), and each hotel offers its own selection of breakout meeting services spaces.

One of the center's greatest assets is its link to those hotel rooms, and your attendees, with its exclusive CTV (Convention Television). With all the goings on at association meetings--daily addresses, meeting wrap-ups, and real-time schedule adjustments--this extension of the trade show floor is a hit with CEOs and VIPs because it's another strong and relaxed way to get their messages across even after the meeting goers have gone back to their hotels.

A natural paradise: Pre- and post-meeting delights

CEOs do love the facilities here, as they make for great meetings, but they also know that the natural and man-made wonders go a long way to attract attendees to this destination.

The island of Oahu offers so much more than a cosmopolitan capital city. There is the North Shore, with its laid-back towns and surfing history; the fertile island center, where pineapple is king; the Polynesian Cultural Center, a comprehensive experience with the peoples and traditions of the Pacific (and a great place to host an event). Plus, two totally new resort areas have been unveiled outside of Waikiki: Ko Olina, on the western coast, is a new planned community and is home to the J.W. Marriott Ihilani Resort and Spa; and Turtle Bay, a large planned resort on the North Shore, provides luxury not far from the more bohemian towns and great surfing beaches.

But Oahu is just the beginning. If island hopping is attractive to your members, the six Hawaiian isles offer up six different worlds, each with its own personality.

Oahu, "the gathering place," is indeed the capital of the state and international commerce, but your executive board may request a destination even better; if so, Lanai is the answer. Exclusive is the word for this special island. The Manale Bay Hotel and its sister property the Lodge at Ko'ele are properties worthy of the description, with respective golf courses--The Challenge at Manale and The Experience at Ko'ele--that give even designers Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman pause.

Kauai tops the island chain geographically, and most concur, in beauty as well. Your reason for coming to this land of Blue Hawaii fame may be the scenery, but more likely it'll be the world-class golf at resorts that know well how to customize small and medium-sized meetings. The courses at Princeville Resort and the Kauai Marriott Resort were awarded Golf magazine's Gold Medal, and both rank, along with a course at the Poipu Bay Resort, on Golf Digest's Top 100 courses in the world.

Maui, "the magic isle," features three separate resort areas that create magical breakout meetings, or just post-vacations. Ka'anapali, the first of the luxury planned resort communities, lies just north of the historic whaling village of Lahaina on the island's leeward coast. Six major properties make up this popular spot, all with great pools and a location near the great snorkeling and revered spot known as Black Rock. Newer, quieter, and a bit grander is the planned community of Wailea, south down the coast. Resort hotels, from the Four Seasons Resort Maui and Outrigger Wailea Resort to the Fairmont Kea Lani Maui and the Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa, try to outdo each other with opulent surroundings and spas, as well as Hawaiian traditions in action. Kapalua, on the windswept north coast above Ka'anapali, is the newest luxury master-planned community, led by its star property the Ritz-Carlton, perennial AAA Five-Diamond winner and home of the annual PGA Mercedes Championships.

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Hawaii, "the big island," says big with its natural wonders, ranches, and coastline. Its one major concentration of luxury hotels is on the Kohala Coast, on its leeward side, north of the town of Kona. The lush resorts, rich green contrasts to the miles of chocolate-brown volcanic rock, combine great stays with golf courses that challenge and delight the best duffers. The granddaddy Mauna Kea (now totally renovated) has been joined by several other world-renowned properties, including the Fairmont Orchid and Hilton Waikoloa Village, a mini-city complete with dolphin rides and a tram to get around. And then there is the active volcano--you can't just see that any old place.

Beauty--in meetings, business success, or the post-convention family trips--is in the eye of the beholder. But you won't find many who don't deem this destination right at the top of the heap.

Waikiki Marriott

The 30 floors of Marriott's Waikiki hotel rise above the famous beach in the heart of Honolulu, providing one of the great views in the city. But the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa would never rest on those laurels. This year marks an explosion in renovation and upgrades to make it one of the top spots on the famed beach.

The year 2003 saw the renovation of all 1,310 guest rooms and the opening of the 6,000-square-foot Spa Olakino, created and managed by renowned hair stylist and entrepreneur Paul Brown. After a hard day on the trade show floor, what better than to be lathered with papaya and aloe vera for a soothing massage while looking out over Waikiki.

Also new are a greater variety of dinner choices. The Italian Arancino di Mare outdoor cafe opened, and it will be joined by D.K. Kodama's popular Sansei Seafood Restaurant in the Kealohilani Tower, in addition to another steak and seafood restaurant in the Tower later in the year.

New Hawaiiana comes to the property in the form of the Faith Riding Co. surfing lessons and in the new Polynesian Cultural Center Treasures gift shop, with daily hula lessons from the pros. All that and more will keep your meeting participants singing the praises of this paradise of a meeting.