Golf | Craig Paulter | Mark Jackson | tennis | Mauna Kea

"I made my first trip there when I was making a movie called Throw Momma from the Train. We were shooting in Kauai. I only had like a half a page of dialogue, but I was there for 10 days. Kauai was beautiful. A little rainier than the other islands, but spiritually it was just really strong. We were in Princeville and Tunnels Beach. We had a house near Charo's. She had a restaurant, and her house was two doors down from the restaurant."
How did you discover the Big Island?
"Someone said, 'You should try the Mauna Lani.' And so we went, and just loved it. I like my privacy, and they have this separate area with bungalows. It was like being in a house, but you could still mingle with the hotel if you chose to. I love the feeling of it. It's a relaxed kind of hotel. It's always felt like a home away from home. The people are terrific to us and there are a lot of kids there that know our kids."

Who's the first person you call when you get to Hawaii?

"I love the golf pro there. His name is Mark Jackson. He's a great teacher, and Mauna Lani has two really challenging golf courses. Mark helped my game a lot. The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel is right next to the Mauna Lani. I've never stayed there, but they have probably the best golf course and a great restaurant, Batik. Craig Paulter was the tennis pro at Mauna Lani. He ran the tennis pavilion, and for us it was like a boot camp. We would rent it out for the whole morning and we'd be exhausted by the time we got home. We always felt like we needed a vacation when we got home because we were so athletic. But Craig was great. He's now at the Mauna Kea."

Any more rustic places to stay?