ASHLEY PEARSON joins Jennifer Aniston and Nicole Kidman by the pool in Maui, Hawaii...

Fancy hiking into a volcano, sitting next to an A-lister on a sunlounger, trekking through the tropical rainforest, surfing, watching whales frolic in the ocean, playing a round of golf or admiring the fiery sunsets under a gently swaying palm tree? This may sound like someone’s lifetime dream wish list, but you could tick all these off in Hawaii in a matter of days. No wonder it’s known as America’s tropical playground, one that boasts year-round average temperatures of 26˚C.

Marooned 2,500 miles off the west coast of California, the Hawaiian archipelago comprises eight main volcanic islands and 120 tiny islets.

Click here now for amazing offers to Maui!

One of the largest is Maui, a mountainous island with the hotel and condo-studded Kaanapali Beach on the north-west coast, the upscale resorts of Wailea on the west and the untouched, rugged scenery along the Road To Hana on the east. Furthermore, Hawaii is a magnet for A-listers – recent visitors include George Clooney, Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Aniston – who come here for work and pleasure, so keep your eyes peeled.

WHERE SHOULD I STAY?
If you like luxury resorts offering every activity imaginable, then you’re going to love the Grand Wailea Hotel. Backed by the Haleakala mountains, the 728-room palatial hotel is fronted by manicured gardens, a private beach and the azure waters of the Pacific Ocean. Everywhere you turn you can smell the vibrantly coloured flowers as well the aroma of the coconut and pineapple trees. It’s not only flowers that are in abundance, so is water – there seemed to be more elaborate water features and fountains than in Rome! Everywhere you look there are cascading waterfalls, inviting pools (nine of them) and meandering lagoons. In short, it’s 40 acres of tropical paradise. No wonder the stars of the hit TV show Lost, which was filmed on Hawaii, used to hang out here on their days off. OK!’s spacious bedroom featured an imposing four-poster bed, an ocean-facing balcony and a large marble bathroom with lovely, aromatic honey and mango bath products.

WHAT CAN I DO AT THE HOTEL?
Aside from the Camp Grande, the Wailea’s kids’ club which features a games room and a cinema, adults and kids are bound to love the varying-level swimming pools connected by a meandering river that carries swimmers at various speeds from one pool to another.

WHERE CAN I SPA?
Spa bunnies will think they’ve died and gone to pampering heaven when they clap eyes of the 50,000 sq ft luxury Spa Grande at the Grand Wailea. Leave aside time for the thalassotherapy experience as you plunge your body into hot and cold tubs, saunas and five scented baths. OK!’s favourite was the pink crystal sea salt soak – we smelled of pineapples and lemongrass for the rest of the day. We also enjoyed a Rain Massage and fell asleep while being gently massaged by jets of water. This was followed by a rub down with a mix of Maui sugar cane, coconut and macadamia nut oil, leaving us with baby-soft skin.

For another upscale spa experience, try the one at the recently renovated Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua. This 17,500 sq ft hotel spa, featuring private gardens, outside showers and couples’ cabanas, offers many native Hawaiian healing therapies. We enjoyed a sublime hot stone lomilomi massage before having a Mai Tai pedicure, where they served us cocktails while they worked on our toes.

Want incredible deals to Maui? Click here now...

WHERE CAN I EAT?
At the Grand Wailea, dine at the hotel upscale restaurant Humuhumunukunukuapua’a, or Humu as locals sensibly call it! The seafood restaurant hovers above the ocean on wooden stilts, so
close that OK! was able to feed fish during our meal. We picked our lobster from the nearby lagoon, while our seared lime scallops were delicious. For a more laid-back vibe, try the poolside Bistro Molokini.
Outside the hotel there’s the upmarket Italian eaterie Longhi’s, where Owen Wilson and Kate Hudson were spotted when they were together. Also in Lahaina is Gerard’s, a fine dining French restaurant housed in a charming plantation-style inn. Chef Gerard Reversade is a local celebrity and his bananas au gratin dessert was worth the trip alone! Further north at the Ritz-Carlton we dined at the award-wining Banyan Tree. On an ocean-facing terrace, OK! watched the sun set while enjoying Dungeness crab, Kobe beef so tender we used our fork to cut it, and a flame-roasted apple tart.

WHAT STARS MIGHT I SEE?
Never has celeb spotting been so easy for OK! – Nicole Kidman nearly ran us over in a golf cart within minutes of our arrival at the Grand Wailea! She was with her co-stars Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler, shooting scenes for new movie, Just Go With It at the Wailea. We regularly spotted Jen walking her beloved dog Norman and worked out next to Adam Sandler in the gym. Rocker Jon Bon Jovi and his kids like the water slides at the Wailea, while Paris Hilton likes to visit during Christmas. Cameron Diaz is a fan of the hotel as well as a Hawaii regular and loves to surf. Penélope Cruz is currently in Hawaii preparing to film the new Pirates Of The Caribbean movie.

WHAT ELSE CAN I DO?
A paddle board appears to be the latest celeb holiday accessory. Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox are paddle surf fans as are Jennifer Garner, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. So OK! had to join the club and went for a lesson with Maui local legend Kimo at the nearby Makena resort. He showed us what to do, singing traditional Hawaiian songs as we went along. With his direction we were eventually able to stay aloft for more than an hour and had the added bonus of seeing giant turtles swimming beside us.

Treat yourself to a helicopter island tour and see Maui’s diverse scenery or visit the 10,000ft dormant volcano Haleakala, part of a national park. Once at the summit of this huge moonlike crater, the more adventurous can hike down right into its centre.

Or take a ferry to the unspoiled tiny island of Lanai, with its three hotels and stunning sandy beaches – including one with a massive ghostly shipwreck. American billionaire Bill Gates booked the entire island for his wedding in 1994.

HOW DO I GET THERE?
United Airlines (www.unitedairlines.co.uk; 0845 8444 777) flies from London Heathrow via San Francisco to Maui. Return prices start at £721. Room rates at The Grand Wailea (001 800 888 6100; www.grandwailea.com) start from £275 a night. Room rates at The Ritz-Carlton Kapalu (www.ritz-carlton.com) start from £250.

For more information, contact the Maui Visitors Bureau on www.visitmaui.com or for general Hawaii tourism information, visit www.gohawaii.com. The DK ‘Eyewitness Hawaii’ (www.stanfords.co.uk) guide has an excellent chapter on Maui. For more on paddle surfing lessons, email jennifer@thelimtiacocompany.com. For more on the helicopter tours, visit www.helitour.com.