All around the world, hotels are making a splash with spectacular swimming pools. Designed to amaze your eyes and restore your spirits, they range from sophisticated mirrors of liquid tranquility to playful rivers cascading with family fun. Which one is the right fit for you? Here are some that just might tempt you to pack your swimsuit, hop on a plane and jump right in.
High Dive
For sheer drama, it’s h
ard to top the high-altitude Infinity Pool at Singapore’s 2,200-room Marina Bay Sands hotel. The 150-meter pool is the centerpiece of the jaw-dropping Sands SkyPark, a nearly three-acre tropical fantasy land perched atop the hotel’s three towers, hovering 57 stories in the air. Open only to hotel guests, the pool is divided into three zones — one for adults, one for families and one just for kids. The pool deck features rows of sun loungers and swaying palm trees, and it’s a fabulous spot for watching the sunset or admiring the city lights twinkling after dark. Top off the day with a Singapore Sling from the Poolside Bar or grab some sushi or refreshing, locally made Momolato ice cream.
The adjacent Spago Bar & Lounge serves an all-day poolside menu, with the Cé La Vie Restaurant offering al fresco fine dining and Cé La Vie SkyBar and Club Lounge hosting a night-time party scene. Not a hotel guest? Visitors can buy a ticket to gaze out over the skyline and waterfront from the Sands SkyPark Observation Deck, located near the pool.
Photos By Richard Waite
Wild Dive
On the plains of the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania’s 77-room Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti rests on a series of elevated platforms. The grand house infinity pool overlooks an active watering hole that regularly attracts herds of elephants and other animals roaming the savannah of this vast wildlife reserve encompassing approximately 5,700 square miles. In this “Big Five” country, guests might spot a lion, elephant, leopard, rhinoceros or Cape buffalo. Poolside sunbeds are cozy resting places after a game drive or hot-air balloon safari, and the Maji Bar and Terrace and Kula’s Restaurant offer indoor-outdoor dining just above the pool. Maji Bar and Terrace serves dishes like Zanzibar prawn linguine and pan-seared Nile perch along with tempting cocktails including a Black Mamba and an African Queen Martini, both signature drinks suggesting a mood of African adventure. Along with the main pool, the Lodge’s 12 suites and five villas each boast its own private infinity pool. The Presidential Villa’s infinity pool offers an especially high vantage point for lucky guests to glimpse animals below.
Photos By CHRISTIAN HORAN
Dream Dive
The minimalist-chic Viceroy Los Cabos resort, near San José del Cabo in Mexico’s Baja California Sur, offers five stunning pools overlooking the Sea of Cortez. Designed by architect Miguel Ángel Aragonés as a beachy dreamscape, the hotel emphasizes the harmony between sea and sky. Water is literally at the heart of the resort, with a liquid courtyard reflecting the crisp white architectural forms and elevated walkways providing winding paths above mirror-like pools. Accommodations at the Viceroy Los Cabos include a selection of 186 rooms, casitas and villas. Two beachfront infinity pools, a main pool, family pool and a rooftop pool for adults create a shimmering visual connection from the resort to the sea beyond. Rows of teak sun lounges provide stylish seating and the nest-like Nido restaurant, designed to look as if it’s floating, serves an international ceviche menu and handcrafted cocktails. Poolside meditation sessions take advantage of the hypnotic tranquility of the water, with sound healing experiences using quartz bowls and gongs to encourage guests to relax and connect with their inner wisdom.
Desert Dive
Set in the red-rock landscape of southern Utah’s canyon country, near Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park, Amangiri brings drama to the desert. The elegant oasis encompasses a range of exquisite suites, some with their own private pool, outdoor lounge and fireplace. In a sunken courtyard at the heart of the resort, Amangiri’s main, heated pool flows around the contours of a 165-million-year-old Entrada Sandstone escarpment, finishing at a hot tub set against the base of a sheer rock wall. A poolside lounging terrace offers king-size day beds. The open-air Fireside Pavilion, beside the pool, hosts dinners prepared on the grill and Amangiri Restaurant guests who opt to eat on the pool terrace can select dishes including a four-course “Spirit of the Journey” tasting menu inspired by Native American cuisine. The Aman Spa has a Water Pavilion with a cold plunge pool, sauna, steam room and stone-lined spa pool with views of the surrounding canyonlands. A short distance from the main resort, Camp Sarika offers ten luxurious tented pavilions, each with its own pool and the four-bedroom Mesa Home boasts a 50-foot infinity pool with an adjacent stone terrace perfect for entertaining.
Photo By Tryfon N. Georgopoulos
Island Dive
Clinging to the cliffs of the idyllic Greek island of Santorini, high above the Aegean Sea, the Grace Hotel charms visitors with serene and timeless beauty. Part of the Auberge Resorts Collection, the 20-suite hotel is built on sleek, whitewashed terraces with eye-popping, panoramic views of the volcanic caldera. Guests who float in the luxurious, 22-meter infinity pool might feel as if they’re drifting right into the big, blue sky. Chaise lounges line the pool deck for sun-worshippers, and there’s a poolside bar offering all-day dining and cocktails. Michelin-awarded Chef Lefteris Lazarou oversees the hotel’s restaurant, Varoulko Santorini, with a menu showcasing fresh ingredients and seafood as diners sit at tables beside the infinity pool overlooking the sea. The 363 Bar, named in celebration of its elevated status at 363 meters above sea level, becomes the perfect place for a champagne toast at sunset. If that’s still not enough water, 18 of the hotel’s 20 suites also have private, heated plunge pools and the 1,615-square-foot Villa has its own heated indoor plunge pool and a private, heated swimming pool, too.
Soak Up The Sun At One Of These South Florida Pools
The Boca Raton’s Harborside Pool Club
501 E. Camino Real, Boca Raton
Phone: (855) 874-6551
Website: thebocaraton.com
The Boca Raton’s new Harborside Pool Club is an aquatic playground with family-friendly features including a 450-foot-long floating river, three pools, water slides, a FlowRider surf wave simulator, Banyan Bunch kids’ club, teen’s lounge, pool bar and luxury cabanas with personalized butler service.
Venetian Pool
2701 De Soto Blvd., Coral Gables
Phone: (305) 460-5306
Website: coralgables.com/attractions/venetian-pool
Created from a limestone quarry pit and opened as the “Venetian Casino” in 1924, the Venetian Pool is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Complete with grottos and waterfalls, it’s refilled daily with over 820,000 gallons of spring water from an underground aquifer.
Fontainebleau Miami Beach
4441 Collins Ave., Miami Beach
Phone: (800) 548-8886
Website: fontainebleau.com
There are 11 different pools to suit every style of swimmer at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, with a famous main pool in the shape of a bowtie and a variety of luxurious cabanas and day beds for glamorous lounging. The adults-only Arkadia Day Club pool has a party vibe with live DJs.
JW Marriott Miami Turnberry
19999 W. Country Club Drive, Aventura
Phone: (305) 932-6200
Website: marriott.com/en-us/hotels/miajt-jw-marriott-miami-turnberry-resort-and-spa/overview
The exciting Tidal Cove Waterpark at the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa boasts a giant, 60-foot tower with seven water slides, a FlowRider Triple, a lazy river, 4,000-square-foot Kids Cove, zero-entry Laguna Pool and Oasis Pool, plus 25 cabanas with stocked mini-fridges and flat-screen TVs.
The Breakers
1 S. County Road, Palm Beach
Phone: (844) 625-9206
Website: thebreakers.com
The Mediterranean-style Beach Club at The Breakers Palm Beach offers a half-mile of private beach and four oceanfront pools — the Main Pool, a 25-meter Adult Pool, the infinity-edge South Pool, and zero-entry Active Pool—plus six whirlpool spas and 25 adorable, fully-furnished bungalows for daytime rental.
