There’s perhaps nothing quite so luxurious as a hotel pool, especially one conceived with great design in mind. As the summer heats up, here are our picks for the most beautiful, and beautifully designed, places to cool off.
12 Stunning Hotel Pools Around the World
As the summer heats up, cool off with a dip in one of our top picks
The Loveliest: The Halekulani
Honolulu, HawaiiAdd the sunset and the Waikiki beach to this 82-foot-long pool and you arguably have the prettiest in the world. This circa-1930s era hotel designed by Charles Dickey is an architectural icon—and that mosaic on the bottom, made from more than one million Italian tiles ranging in color from pale aqua to midnight blue, is of a lush orchid.
Photo: Courtesy of the Halekulani
The Most Striking: Villa Caletas
Jaco, Costa RicaDive in, and the world seems to fall away here. This rainforest resort about 90 minutes from the country’s capital city of San José features a dramatically designed and landscaped pool on the side of a cliff —truly jaw-dropping. Located around 1,350 feet above the ground, it overlooks the Gulf of Nicoya, which is shaded a vivid deep blue.
Photo: Courtesy of Villa Caletas
The Most Spectacular: Qasr al Sarab
Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesThis resort is, literally, in the middle of nowhere—specifically, in the so-called “Empty Quarter” of the Liwa Desert, 90 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi. Designed by Dubarch Architects, the complex is set against a cinematic, almost hypnotizing, backdrop of red, pink, and golden sand dunes. Views from the pool—which is open well into Arabian night—include lumbering camels and soaring falcons.
Photo: Courtesy of Qasr al Sarab
The Fantastical: The Faena Hotel
Buenos Aires, ArgentinaPhilippe Starck designed this boutique property in the Puerto Madero neighborhood, and the infinity pool is notable for its cardinal-red chaise lounges, deep plush cushions and the spouting golden crown fountain that floats at one end. Seasonal decorating touches include Christmas lights and the occasional tango dancers.
Photo: Courtesy of the Faena Hotel
The Most Artistic: The Colombe d’or
Saint-Paul-de-Vence, FranceSplash by a masterpiece? Yes, that’s a towering, turning Alexander Calder mobile at one end of the pool at the Colombe d'or, a tiny yet historic 25-room-and-suite hotel in the south of France. If that isn’t impressive enough, artworks by Picasso, Chagall and Leger, all previous guests—along with Yves Montand and Orson Welles—also dot the property.
Photo: Courtesy of the Colombe d’or
The Most Surprising: The Dolder Grand
Zurich, SwitzerlandThe Dolder Grand, a member of Leading Hotels of the World, is a stunning chateau atop a hillside in Zurich. (It’s reachable chiefly by a steeply inclined funicular that’s half the fun of getting there.) Sculptures by Botero, Dubuffet and Moore dot the grounds and gardens but under the castle is a masterpiece of it’s own, a flooded catacombs of a pool, mysterious, spectacular and quite unlike your usual European bath.
Photo: Courtesy of the Dolder Grand
The Most Serene: Aman Tokyo
Tokyo, JapanSkyscraper hotel pools have become routine, but this relatively new one (opened December 2014) is set apart by a refreshing and graceful minimalism that offsets Tokyo’s electric energy particularly well. Understated yet breathtaking, as light streams in from its oversize windows onto its dark stone surfaces, it offers a pocket of calm.
Photo: Courtesy of the Aman, Tokyo
The Most Stylish: The W South Beach
Miami Beach, FloridaSeveral pools in the Magic City could make this list, but remove the ones that are tiny, off-beach, unshaded or insanely packed, and the competition shrinks. The W, which brags that its “WET” complex pool is kept at a constant 85 degrees F, is fringed with just the right number of palm trees and serviced by an army of servers offering drinks, organic juices, and an exceptional iced mint lemonade. As a plus, the property, which is co-owned by art collector Aby Rosen, is decorated with works by artists like Warhol and Murakami.
Photo: Courtesy of the W South Beach
The Most Elaborate: The Venetian
Las Vegas, NevadaBellagio's five pools get the buzz, but the Venetian and its sister resort, the Palazzo, have ten set in shaded alcoves, plus a poolside Wolfgang Puck eatery. Add ample palm trees, effusive fountains and a view from the resort’s faux Campanille tower of Venice’s St. Mark’s Square, and it's almost continental. The property’s art collection includes a giant Laura Kimpton sculpture, Love, too.
Photo: The Venetian
The Chicest: Hotel Molitor
Paris, FranceThe competition for the best hotel in Paris would be an epic one, but the city's greatest hotel pool is a far shorter list. Built in 1929 and renovated about a decade ago by architect Jacques Rougerie this art-deco era masterpiece pool—once the city’s most popular public pool—forms the center of the 16th-arrondissement boutique property. As a plus, it’s just a short walk to the leafy Bois de Boulogne.
Photo: Courtesy of Hotel Molitor
The Best View: Terranea Resort
Rancho Palos Verdes, CaliforniaIn a world full of hotel pools with magnificent vistas visible from their infinity edges, what really sets Terranea apart is not its beautiful Pacific Coast scenery but its wildlife. The California resort, directly across from Catalina Island, is in the migration path of various species of whales from December through spring, so views from its three tiers of pool include frequent sitings. Dolphins scamper nearly year-round and, at the base of the cliffside resort right next to its spa, seals make their home.
Photo: Courtesy of the Terranea Resort
The Lushest Indoor: Crystal Springs Resort
Hamburg, New JerseyNorthern New Jersey seems an unlikely spot for a luxurious indoor pools complex, but this expansive hillside resort not far from Sterling Forest features a tropical-garden biosphere under glass. Add a roomy sauna cave, hot tubs, a gelato bar and grottos that, at night, are lit softly by colored lights, and the effect is decadent and romantic.
Photo: Courtesy of Crystal Springs Resort
