29 resorts mapped to their actual beaches with water quality ratings. The beach name on your hotel’s website isn’t always the same as what locals or the DOH call it.
Updated May 29, 2026. Ratings are historical risk signals, not real-time measurements.
Why This Matters
Tourists often don’t know the actual name of the beach in front of their hotel. The Hyatt Regency Maui is on Ka’anapali Beach, but the beach the DOH just flagged for 10x bacteria levels is Hanakaoo Beach Park — also called “Canoe Beach” — just a short walk south along the same coastline. These distinctions matter for water quality.
Hotels on different beaches have very different bacteria risk profiles. On Kaua’i, the Grand Hyatt sits on Poipu Beach, while the Marriott sits on Kalapaki Beach, where Surfrider testing has shown repeated bacteria threshold exceedances since 2016. Same island, completely different water-quality profile.
Hotel Beach Decision
Before You Book, Check the Exact Shoreline
The useful question is not just “which hotel is best?” It is whether the beach in front of that hotel sits near a canal, river mouth, lagoon, stream, or dry open coast.
Waikiki hotels need an Ala Wai and rain check. Ko Olina and Aulani have calmer lagoons, but slower circulation. Kaua’i resort beaches split sharply between Poipu, Hanalei, and Kalapaki. South Maui and the Kohala Coast usually have lower runoff pressure, but current advisories still come first.
Man-made lagoons with ocean current exchange. Near former Waimanalo Gulch Landfill; check current advisories and lagoon conditions before relying on the calm-water setting.
Sits at the south end of Ka’anapali Beach. Hanakaoo Beach Park (“Canoe Beach”) is immediately south — that beach hit 10x the EPA recreational threshold in Feb 2026. Ka’anapali proper has different water dynamics but is close enough to warrant awareness.
South Maui is the driest coast on Maui. The Wailea-to-Makena corridor has one of the island’s lower-runoff resort water-quality profiles per Hui O Ka Wai Ola monitoring data.
Guest-access resort cove on a low-runoff stretch of the Kona coast. Kua Bay (Manini’owali) is a nearby public beach, not the resort’s actual beachfront.
⚠️ Kahalu’u hit 15x the EPA recreational threshold in Jan 2026. UH Hilo confirmed cesspool wastewater reaches the shoreline. Popular snorkeling but elevated bacteria risk.
⚠️ Hanalei Bay has been DOH-impaired for enterococcus since 2004. Over 360 cesspools are in the watershed. The hotel’s beachfront location is beautiful, but the bay’s water-quality profile — especially near the river mouth — is consistently problematic. The western end of the bay near the hotel is generally lower-risk than the river-mouth area.
⚠️ 100% bacteria failure rate since 2016. Every Surfrider sample collected at Kalapaki has exceeded the EPA recreational threshold. Persistent brown water advisory since Dec 2025. This is one of Hawaii’s highest-risk resort-beach water-quality profiles. Consider Poipu Beach (25 min south) as an alternative.
Marine preserve. No development and no streams immediately at the bay; routine public water-quality monitoring is limited on Lāna’i. Spinner dolphins frequent the bay.
Understanding the Risk Ratings
Low — Open ocean, no streams, no obvious cesspool source nearby. Consistently lower-risk test history.
Moderate — Generally lower-risk, but some risk factors are present. Avoid water contact after heavy rain.
Elevated — Near stream mouths or drainage. Check current advisories before water contact.
High — Chronic contamination issues. Treat as a caution zone, especially after rain.
Very High — Persistent test failures. Consider alternative beaches.
Ratings are based on DOH monitoring data, Surfrider Foundation testing, and geographic risk factors. They are not real-time measurements. Learn how rain affects water quality →
Safe to Swim Hawaii is an independent passion project — it is not affiliated with the Hawaii Department of Health or any government agency. Water quality ratings are estimates based on publicly available testing data and geographic analysis. They are not real-time measurements and may not reflect current conditions. “No DOH Alerts” means no advisory is currently posted — it does not mean the water was tested and found safe. DOH only monitors a fraction of Hawaii’s beaches, and some areas have no regular testing at all.
This site does not recommend or advise anyone to swim at any beach. We share government data and geographic analysis so you can make your own informed decisions. By using this site you accept full responsibility for your own safety. See our Terms of Use for full details.