I absolutely love Australia, everything about it ... especially Coolangatta, which is a really lovely, laidback town near Surfers Paradise. You can catch the bus to Surfers if you want to shop, or walk to the great local eateries. The beach is swimmable, although the sharks aren't far away (there are nets, but they'll still find a way in if they can). A few years ago we hired a convertible and did a little road trip, stopping in at Palm Beach, where Home and Away is filmed. That place is absolutely incredible ... if you had a few million to spare and wanted to retire in paradise, that would pretty much be it.
My least favourite is Hawaii ... it's just very dirty, feels quite seedy, and there seem to be a huge amount of homeless people now. We've been a few times over the years and you used to be able to walk around at night with no worries; not so nowadays ... well, you probably could, but I wouldn't recommend it. The only thing I really love about Hawaii now is the ever-present smell of coconut lotion in the air - it's heavenly! I don't think we'll go back again in a hurry though (assuming life ever returns to normal anyway).