Sheraton Kauai Resort

Set on 20 acres along Kaua'i's southern shoreline, Sheraton Kauai Resort is a beachfront resort built around space, gardens and the Pacific. You have two outdoor pools, direct access to the beach and waterfront dining venues, so the post-dive routine can be as active or as lazy as you choose. There is room to spread out rather than retreat straight to the bedroom with a towel over your head — although that remains a perfectly respectable option.

The resort also works for a mixed group. You can spend the morning in the water while a non-diving partner chooses the spa, the fitness centre, the beach or a cultural activity. Romantic wedding locations, meeting spaces and weekly entertainment add a broader resort feel, while the setting keeps the sea firmly in view.

You are in Koloa, on Kaua'i's south coast, at 2440 Hoonani Road. Kiahuna Beach is about 0.1 miles away, and Poipu Beach is roughly 1 mile on foot. Baby Beach is about 0.9 miles away by road, while Brennecke's Beach is around 1 mile on foot. The coast is not something you need to plan into the day; it starts at the resort's edge.

Moir Gardens is about 0.2 miles away, and Poipu Beach Park is around 0.9 miles on foot. Kihahouna Heiau and Prince Kuhio Park are both within roughly 1 mile. For a wider look at the island, Lihue Airport is about 14 miles away by road, with car travel taking around 26 minutes in the stated conditions.

You also have a handful of places to eat and drink nearby, including Puka Dog and Kauai Juice at around 0.7 miles by road. A car is useful for exploring beyond Poipu, and the resort offers car hire as well as private parking.

The rooms are generous by resort standards, with the choice between garden outlooks and a proper oceanfront position. For two divers travelling as a couple, an oceanfront king room gives you the view without paying for more sleeping space than you need. The garden-view king room is the simpler choice if the room is mainly your place to shower, sleep and locate the clothes that somehow stayed dry.

Travelling with family or friends, the larger oceanfront suites give you a separate one-bedroom layout, two king beds in one option and a sofa bed. The garden-view double room also accommodates up to four people. Children of any age are welcome, cots are available for children aged from birth to three years, and the property provides no extra beds beyond the arrangements attached to the selected room.

In-room refrigerators are useful for keeping water cold when you return from the coast, while air conditioning takes the edge off a warm, salty day. Flat-screen televisions and Shine by Bliss bathroom products cover the less glamorous but genuinely useful parts of the evening. An adapted-tub oceanfront room is available, with wheelchair access, grab rails, a raised toilet and a lowered bathroom sink.

You have two restaurants on site, including RumFire Poipu Beach Dining, with waterfront venues looking towards the Pacific and Poipu Beach. The setting does some of the work; you can sit down with the ocean still in the conversation rather than treating dinner as a break from the view.

There is also a bar and an on-site coffee house, useful at different ends of the diving day. Room service is available when the sensible decision is food without another change of clothes. The information supplied does not set out a board formula, breakfast arrangement or specific meal schedule, so the practical approach is to check what is operating for your dates rather than assume an all-inclusive package.

Two outdoor pools give you an easy alternative to another swim in the sea, with sun loungers, beach chairs, umbrellas, pool and beach towels, and a hot tub. The gardens and outdoor furniture make it possible to sit down somewhere that is neither your room nor the restaurant. After a couple of dives, that distinction can matter more than it sounds.

The spa and wellness centre offers spa facilities, packages and massages ranging from full-body work to head, neck, back, foot, hand and couples massages. The fitness centre also provides fitness classes, for anyone who regards a day of swimming underwater as an insufficient training plan. A bicycle rental service, snorkelling and the beach add lower-key options, while a golf course is within about 2 miles.

The resort's wider activity programme includes cultural and fitness activities, arts and crafts and weekly live entertainment. A half-hour yoga session for two guests forms part of the resort arrangements, giving couples something structured to do before the day dissolves into drinks and dinner.

Check-in starts at 15:00 and check-out runs until 11:00. You need photo identification and a credit card at check-in, and the front desk operates around the clock. There is no minimum age requirement for checking in, and children of every age can stay.

Private parking is available on site, with accessible spaces, and car hire is offered at the resort. A lift, wheelchair-accessible facilities and non-smoking rooms are available. Laundry and ironing services are also provided, which is useful when the island, the sea and your luggage have all conspired to produce damp clothing.

Wi-Fi is available throughout the hotel. A daily resort fee covers self-parking, enhanced in-room wireless service, a one-time welcome gift of chocolate-covered macadamia nuts, half-hour yoga for two guests, cultural and fitness activities, weekly live entertainment, and arts and crafts. Cancellation and prepayment conditions vary by accommodation type, so the room selected matters as much as the dates.