Kukui‘ula combines a comfortable home-away-from-home vacation experience with the sophistication and style of a world-class resort. Visitors can book luxury accommodations at this private South Kauai club and residential community and enjoy all of its amenities and services, including golf, tennis, spa, tours, fine dining and special events.

The Plantation House is the heart of Kukui‘ula; it’s where to go for meals, including complimentary continental breakfast and snacks (think fruit, candy bars, ice cream, homemade granola and freshly baked cookies). Numerous gathering places invite conversation and camaraderie: a restaurant; bar; the Game Room, with pool, shuffleboard and arcade games; the Keiki Room, where kids meet for crafts, board games, movies and more; and the open-air Great Room, offering books, ample seating and spectacular views of sunset, the ocean and Spouting Horn.

Home sweet home

The Lodge at Kukui‘ula’s collection of cottages, villas and bungalows exude tropical living at its best. All of the homes have large lanais, gourmet kitchens, separate dining areas, outdoor lava rock showers, washer/dryer, flat-screen TV/DVD in the living room and every bedroom (there’s surround sound in the living room), island-inspired furniture and original art, and ocean, mountain and/or golf course views.

Families and friends traveling together might consider staying at the Club Villas. Sleeping up to eight people, these four-bedroom, single-family homes provide 3,219 square feet of living space. The fourth bedroom is a separate unit that’s perfect for the nanny, grandparents or those in the group who want extra privacy. A gas grill, tiki torches, fire pit and plunge pool draw occupants to the backyard for hours of fun and relaxation.

Whatever the accommodations choice, diversions galore are close at hand.

Cuisine art

Kukui‘ula operates its own farm, where more than 70 kinds of fruit, herbs and vegetables flourish, including basil, bananas, chives and Swiss chard. Most of the produce in the dishes the culinary team presents for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily comes from the farm. Guests are welcome to visit the farm to chat with the farmers and gather ingredients and organic eggs laid by the resident chickens for meals that they prepare.

The 20-acre lake bordering the farm is stocked with peacock bass, which avid anglers are welcome to catch and cook.

Regular food-centric events include the weekly Chef’s Choice Dinner and Family Dinner, the twice-weekly Wine Dinner and the monthly Chef’s Table, a gourmet four-course repast with wine pairings for just a dozen guests. A recent menu featured Tataki of Opakapaka, Lobster with Saffron Cream and Potato Puree, Roasted Duck with Mushroom Risotto, and Pineapple Lilikoi Cheesecake with Mango Gelee and Almond Crumble.

In the swing of things

Keeping your eye on the ball might be tough at the 18-hole golf course designed by Tom Weiskopf. It showcases gorgeous greenery (from palms and plumeria to lychee and lauae fern) and spectacular ocean panoramas starring leaping dolphins on any given day and breaching humpbacks this time of year.

At stations throughout the course, golfers can choose from an array of refreshments; think beer, wine, Champagne, frozen pineapple and grape cups, house-made beef jerky and chocolate chip cookies, and even root beer floats.

Five sets of tees on each hole accommodate all skill levels, and for those who want to fine-tune their game, pros are available for lessons that might include the use of a Flightscope Launch Monitor, a radar tracking device that measures distance and trajectory.

Complimentary Friday classes for women focus on everything from rules and etiquette to swing techniques. There are also complimentary classes for junior golfers every other Saturday and a twice-yearly Junior Golf Boot Camp, three days of instruction that covers all facets of the game.

And more …

Guests can also reserve time for croquet on the Great Lawn; tennis on two brand-new courts; swimming in seven connected saltwater pools; and bocce, horseshoes and volleyball by the pools. In addition to fishing, the farm is a great spot for hiking, canoeing and picnicking.

Kukui‘ula’s Island Pursuits staff can arrange off-property adventures, including hiking, biking, kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding. Mahealani, the club’s 32-foot boat, is available for sunset cruises, fishing expeditions, snorkeling tours to Niihau, crabbing and whale watching through April and, from May through September, snorkeling excursions to magnificent Na Pali, known for its sea caves, 3,000-foot-high cliffs and secluded coves and beaches.

Ah, the spa

Massages, scrubs, facials, manicures, pedicures — Hi‘ilani Spa + Fitness offers multiple paths to rejuvenation. In this 18,000-square-foot sanctuary are lava rock saunas, glass steam pavilions, indoor-outdoor treatment rooms, outdoor garden showers, a lap pool, Jacuzzis, cold plunge pools, fitness equipment and a movement studio where exercise classes are held, including yoga and Pilates.

Prep your mind, body and spirit for your appointment by arriving an hour earlier for the complimentary Seven-Step Wet Ritual. Then indulge in your treatment, which can be customized. For instance, add acupuncture and Chinese medicine to a lomilomi massage.

That, in fact, describes Kukui‘ula as a whole: the ultimate escape, which unfolds your way, at your pace.

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.