From Lake Como to the Savannah, these are the world’s best hotels with swimming pools
From early morning laps to evenings spent with cocktails in hand, make the most of these swim spots in glorious hotels around the world
ValVades
Whether it’s an infinity pool that appears to melt into the Caribbean landscape, a snaking cliffside affair in Greece or one which looks out across the African Savannah, a refreshing dip in a memorable swimming pool can tip a hotel stay from brilliant to unforgettable.
Some swimming spots float on shimmering lakes, some slosh over infinity edges towards a sea view, blurring the edges of the horizon, while others are set in jungly surrounds soundtracked by lilting birdsong. Whatever the surroundings, nothing says luxury travel like a beautifully appointed swimming pool.
From a lap pool for a brisk front crawl session while basking in seriously spectacular views, to those where geothermal waters and spa treatments make for an extra restorative soak, we’ve scoured the globe for the standout hotel swimming pools for some of the most spectacular swims the planet has to offer. And for something closer to home, explore our guide to the best hotels with swimming pools in the UK.
Best hotels with swimming pools in Europe
Best hotel for romance: Grace Hotel, Auberge Resorts Collection
Location: Santorini, Greece
Famed for its whitewashed architecture and blue-domed churches, Santorini’s best swim-with-a-view comes courtesy of the Grace Hotel’s cliffside infinity pool. With far-reaching views of the volcanic caldera and craggy headland Skaros Rock, which juts into the azure Aegean Sea, this 22m heated pool is the centrepiece of the 23-room, adults-only hotel, which spills down seven levels in the rock face in Imerovigli.
A favourite with couples, thanks to its secluded feel and crisp, minimalist-luxe rooms, Grace is within easy reach of Fira and Oia, and sunsets here are unrivalled, whether enjoyed from the pool, seafood restaurant Varoulko Santorini, or with a tiki cocktail at 363 Bar.
Complimentary guided hikes up Skaros Rock, Greek Aperitivo hours where signature cocktails are accompanied by tales of island life, and poolside frozen sorbets and mini mastiha spritzes add further appeal.
Read more: The best hotels in Santorini
Location: Umbria, Italy
Enjoy views of Umbria’s olive groves, ancient vineyards and cypress-peppered landscapes while soaking in Reschio’s gorgeous oval-shaped pool. Flanked by umbrella pines, it’s designed so it seems to melt into the manicured lawns of the 10th-century castle turned heritage-led boutique hotel. Plus, there’s a unique poolside bar for cocktails and gelato, Il Torrino, the castle’s former watchtower.
Done with swimming? Make for the wine-cellar-turned-spa for subterranean hammams; feast on farm-to-table food (with most produce coming straight from the 1,560-hectare estate’s beehives, kitchen garden and vineyards); take a riding lesson, explore the nearby medieval hilltop towns of Perugia and Assisi, or gen up on Umbrian crafts during fabric dye, or paper marbling workshops. A two-night minimum stay applies.
Read more: The best hotels in Rome
Location: Blue Lagoon, Iceland
If you’ve cash to splash, the most stylish way to experience the Blue Lagoon’s steamy, electric-blue, geothermal waters is with a stay in one of The Retreat’s 62 suites. Its series of terraced pools are open only to hotel guests, and those who snag a handful of day passes, meaning you can enjoy unhurried relaxation in the famed mineral-rich waters, minus the hoopla and selfie sticks of the busy main lagoon.
In the next-level spa, slather up with algae masks and lava scrubs, then relax back in bedrooms in lichen-green and duck-egg blue hues with views out to moss-carpeted lava fields. Don’t miss fine dining at One Michelin-starred restaurant Moss, and be sure to turn on your “northern lights wake-up call” before you sleep.
Read more: The best hotels in Malta
Location: Skåne, Sweden
Nailing LA-meets-Scandinavian pool club cool, this former castle-meets-countryside estate turned swish hotel in southern Sweden’s Skåne has four vibey pools. Most happening is the soundtracked by summery beats, 22 metre, 34C indoor-outdoor number. Extending from a glass-ceilinged conservatory, a suspended disco ball rubs up against floral chaise longues, Art Deco-style lampshades, and bartenders whipping up aperitivo-hour spritzes.
For laps there’s a cooler, 260-square-metre freeform resort pool (26C) where green-and-white striped daybeds sit beside foxglove-filled flowerbeds. Another two pools sit in the estate’s grounds, one sea-facing, beside the lawn of grand manor Hill House, while another, steamy and heated to 35C, is tucked next to the hotel’s newer Sugar Club building.
As well as beautiful bedrooms, playful lounges with flickering fires and pool tables, there are padel courts and three atmospheric restaurants to discover.
Location: Mykonos, Greece
Stretching for 130 metres — that’s over double the size of an Olympic pool — and following the natural curve of a cliff edge, Cali Mykonos’ heated pool is a showstopper. Set on the eastern side of the Cycladic isle extra flair, thanks to the hotel’s first fashion collaboration, sees poolside loungers — and parasols and daybeds at the forty villa property’s petite, private golden sandy beach below — dressed in turquoise Missoni prints, which mirror the shade of the Aegean Sea vistas.
A DJ spinning tunes whilst dippers enjoy tzatziki-zucchini fries, kaimaki ice cream and frosé adds poolside magnetism, as do bookable at-your-lounger foot, head, neck and scalp massages. In addition to bedrooms, white with marine and earthy-hued accents, all luxe villas have private pools, ranging from plunge to more spacious, with sea views.
Read more: The best hotels in Mykonos
Location: Lake Como, Italy
Appearing to merge with the glittering waters of Lake Como, the Herzog & de Meuron-designed 40 metre-long floating infinity pool at Mandarin Oriental Lago di Como is a dream. Not only is one of the world’s largest floating, infinity pools equipped with clever anti-wave technology to keep it from swaying even if the lake’s waters are a-ruffle, a steel structure and dark Cardoso sandstone clad interior creates an optical illusion blurring the pool’s edge into the blues of the freshwater lake.
Backdropped by arched colonnades, it’s flanked on one side by a wooden terrace. Enjoy post-dip lazes on cloud-white sunbeds and parasols, or relax in wicker chairs at poolside NAMI Cafe whilst dining on maki rolls or forkfuls of truffle tagliolini.
Inside Neoclassical marvel Villa Roccabruna, the former home of opera soprano Giuditta Pasta, expect lounges with restored coffered ceilings and gilded boiserie, and restful suites with marble bathrooms.
Best Alpine hotel/ hotel for mountain vistas: The Brecon
Location: Adelboden, Switzerland
While the pool at The Brecon might be small (5 metre x 3 metre) the views it affords to the wraparound-rugged Swiss mountains and slopes are mighty. Set just above pretty Adelboden (45 minutes from Bern), the hotel’s open-to-guests-only spa is a knockout spot to unwind after days spent taking on pistes aplenty in winter, or hiking and biking trails during the summer. Kept at 34C year-round, the pool’s built-in bubbling Jacuzzi jets, and close-by sauna and steam room make things extra restorative. Sip wine, or herbal tonic, as you dip, then sprawl in a fireplace-filled relaxation room scented by Aesop candles.
The hotel’s recent reimagining as The Brecon, brings fresh, earthy allure and cosseting bedrooms to former sixties darling-of-the-Alps, The Waldhaus. Think tactile timber, wool and stone-rich interiors by Nicemakers, vintage and contemporary-mix furnishings, and artwork from Bisou Gallery. Plus, for lap swimmers, just a three-minute walk away, is Adelboden’s very Accidentally-Wes-Anderson Olympic-size public pool, with pastel-pop curved pavilions, diving board and similarly impressive Alpine scenery.
Best hotels with swimming pools in Asia
Best hotel for tropical elegance: Capella Singapore
Location: Sentosa, Singapore
Few swimming setups are as pretty as Capella Singapore’s three lava stone, turquoise-tiled pools, which tumble down a forested hillside, punctuated by grassy steppes with architecture inspired by Balinese rice fields and jungly vistas set against the South China Sea. Pick from a romantic infinity-edged number where peacocks often perch poolside, one suited to family-friendly frolicking, or skinny lap pool. Friendly staff proffer iced fruit smoothies and sunhats.
Elsewhere, expect a combination of terracotta-roofed, verandah’d heritage buildings (from the property’s former life as British Royal Artillery base) in lipstick-palm filled gardens, the contemporary curves of a Foster+Partners’-designed wing, suites with mid-century modern decor by André Fu, and Fiamma, an Italian restaurant with menu masterminded by Mauro Colagreco.
Best hotel for architectural wow: Amanbagh
Location: Rajasthan, India
Deep in the western Aravalli mountains in slow-paced Ajabgarh is Amanbagh’s fit-for-a-maharaja pool. Flanked by mint-green parasols and gnarly-trunked date palms, the spacious 33 metre x 12 metre pool reflects the ultra-luxe property’s rose-coloured Mughal-style architecture, domed roofs, scallop-edged doors and jali latticework screens beautifully.
Soundtracked by chirruping birds, it’s serene by day and even more enchanting when illuminated by twinkly lights at night. Warmed naturally in summer months and heated during winter, as it sits adjacent to a smaller wading pool – and as guests at the 37-room property are often unwinding in the spa – it never feels crowded. Other attractions include grounding fire meditations at dusk, dosha-specific meals packed with herbs grown in the kitchen gardens, and an on-site Ayurshala facility where spa treatments’ tinctures are made.
Location: Siem Reap, Cambodia
Fringed by landscaped gardens and knotty-limbed frangipani trees, the 35-metre lap pool at this hotel takes inspiration from Angkor’s ancient royal bathing pools. It’s long enough to do a proper workout, but also a lovely spot to luxuriate in the marvellous architecture of the alabaster-hued, French Art Deco-style hotel.
Everyone from Jackie Kennedy to Michelle Obama has checked into the opulent suites here, which are kitted out with writing desks and vintage rotary phones. While it retains masses of old-world charm – not to mention its original wrought iron and teak lift – guests can delve into the hotel’s storied past with resident historian Mouth Saravann, or book in for exclusive ‘Curated Journeys’ including candlelight dinner in, or Vespa tours around, the Angkor temple complex which is just 20 minutes away.
Read more: The best hotels in Cancun
Best hotels with swimming pools in Africa
Location: Windhoek, Namibia
Omaanda’s 15-metre infinity pool not only looks out to a 7,500-hectare nature reserve, all greeny-gold savannah and acacia trees with the Auas Mountains rippling in the distance, it’s also the ideal vantage point to spy on a nearby watering hole. This means, after days spent wandering among elephants and cheetahs on safari, you can continue the wildlife spotting as you swim – perhaps catching a glimpse of warthogs gambolling by the water.
After sunset, dip underneath a sky spangled with stars, relax by the fireside boma on comfy scatter cushions, hit the rustic wooden bar, or retreat to one of 10 soulfully decorated thatched cottages inspired by local Owambo architecture.
Read more: Unmissable beaches in Malta and Gozo
Best hotels with swimming pools in the Caribbean
Location: St Lucia
Placed to take in sweeping views of the Caribbean Sea and St Lucia’s Pitons, Jade Mountain’s swimming pools are legendary. As well as a kaleidoscope-mosaic-tiled communal pool at the Jade Mountain Club, each of the 24 infinity pool suites has its own “vanishing edge” pool in lieu of each room’s exterior wall.
Ensuring a connection to nature at all times, they’re ideal for bathing a deux, and combine shallow lounging areas with a larger swimming area. Surfaced with iridescent glass tiles in varying bright shades, at night there’s added chromotherapy, thanks to coloured lights.
Pools aside, Jade Mountain’s private beaches, chocolate laboratory and 242-acre tropical estate will keep you busy.
Read more: The best hotels in Barbados
Best hotels with swimming pools in North America
Location: Miami, Florida
A trio of three 24-metre-long infinity pools set at different temperatures – a 23C lap pool, a central pool at 29C and a warmer family pool at 35C – hold court in the palm-fringed gardens of this Art Deco hotel.
Orientated east to west, to capitalise on sunrise and sunset, the series of pools leads towards a private stretch of sugar-white sand on South Beach, with day beds and parasols for all-day lounging.
Suites have Asian touches – think glossy dark woods, mother of pearl mosaics and ancient artefacts. There’s excellent Asian fare at Jaya restaurant, the Sunday jazz brunch is not to be missed and service here is unfailingly five-star slick.
Read more: The best hotels in Santorini
