Extravagant Hotel Pools You Need to See

For a lot of us, the pool is the holiday and the holiday is the pool. The success or failure of a getaway in the sun is determined by just how good the pool is.

Knowing this, many hotels have some truly absurd swimming pools. Absurd for their grandeur and extravagance, these pools alone would make an unforgettable holiday.

St. Regis Lhasa, Tibet, China

Beautifully and precisely designed, locally crafted gold tiles line the floor of St. Regis Lhasa’s pool, turning the water gold and giving the pool a unique magic.

Billing itself as “standing on the roof of the world,” St. Regis Lhasa Resort is surrounded by the peaks of the Himalayas and overlooks Himalaya Palace, the Dalai Lama’s former residence. In such an area, it is little wonder that this pool almost seems to have spiritual qualities. This is no doubt aided by its “Golden Energy Pool”, which contains salt water and is always heated between 82 and 90⁰ F.

In case this doesn’t offer enough relaxation for you, there’s 24-hour butler service, too.

Four Seasons Safari Lodge, Serengeti, Tanzania

At the Four Seasons Safari Lodge, you can be doing two activities simultaneously that you would struggle to do anywhere else: swim breaststroke and go on safari.

Sitting in the Serengeti, Tanzania’s wildlife reserve, the hotel pool is not quite part of the landscape, but you’ll certainly be close enough to the action. Indeed, the hotel’s pool, which is perched on various elevated platforms, overlooks a watering hole where lions, leopards, buffaloes, elephants, and rhinoceroses roam free.

As you rest at the end of the pool wheezing after doing that last lap a bit too fast, there can fewer sights better at returning your heart to resting beat than families of elephants drinking and playing in the watering hole next door.

Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

Famous Israeli Canadian architect Moshe Safdie designed what is one of the largest rooftop pools.

Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands is 57 stories up, too, and is one of the most expensive hotels ever built. Whilst the hotel rooftop is longer than the Eiffel Tower laid down, along its roof edge sits its 150m infinity pool, offering some of the best views you could ever wish to see, as palm trees frame your look out over the city.

Amangiri

Very few pools can be as remote as this one. Tucked away within 600 acres of Utah wilderness, Amangiri is peaceful and cut-off from most of the world.

The entire hotel is designed to blend in with its rock and canyon surrounding. As such, the pool is carved around a huge mesa rock formation that juts out of the canyon. Plus, the pool’s terrace is within a sunken courtyard.

Located in the United States’ Grand Circle region, Amangiri is a stunning desert-holiday unlike many you could possibly experience in this part of the world.

Jade Mountain, St, Lucia

Yes, there is a rooftop pool topping this hotel, unique for its view across St. Lucia’s famous UNESCO-listed Piton Peaks.

This stunning zero-edge pool sits in the middle of the hotel’s restaurant, lined with colorful glass tiles. But, even after that, you’re left with at least 24 different options to rival this. That’s because each of the hotel’s 24 suites — known as sanctuaries — has its own pool with a view, glass-tiled oases between 400 and 900 square feet large.

Grace Hotel, Santorini, Greece

On top of a caldera (what’s formed when a volcano collapses) in Santorini, the Grace Hotel’s infinity-edge pool overlooks the sea. This gorgeous view makes it the perfect spot for a romantic evening sunset-watching.

Situated in the village of Imerovigli, this is one of the most photographed villages in all of the Greek Islands. While it is famed for its whitewashed house and blue-domed churches, the pool plays no small part in this feat.

Bali

Bali stands out on this list because it has more than one pool that could rightfully claim a spot on this list.

Firstly, there’s Amankila. In Bali’s eastern coast cliffside, the three-tiered pool is offset by views of sacred Mount Agung as its backdrop and views of Lombok Strait down below. Many say that the three-tiered pool is reminiscent of the rice paddies throughout Bali and Indonesia.

Secondly, the Amandari Resort, renowned for its tranquility, is home to an equally tranquil infinity pool set amongst Balinese nature.

Finally, Alila Villas Uluwatu stands on limestone cliffs 300 feet above the Indian Ocean, on which its 164 feet long pool offers guests a “deeper kind of relaxation.”

Marianna Ianovska / Shutterstock

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