These are the world’s best hotel pools worth planning a trip around

Beautiful swimming pools are a major draw for those hunting for their next vacation spot. This is something high-end hotels know all too well, bringing in expert architects to design aquatic marvels that reflect each property’s aesthetic and sit harmoniously in the surrounding environment. Amidst a plethora of stunning options around the world, we have put together some of our favourite outdoor hotel pools – jump in.

15 of the best outdoor hotel pools to book now

137 Pillars Suites Bangkok

137 Pillars House is one of Chiang Mai’s most awarded hotels; its city-slick sister, on the top eight floors of a sparkling skyscraper in Bangkok, follows suit. The brand’s 18th-century heritage is kept in rocking chairs on each of the 34 suites’ private balconies, the ground-level Bangkok Trading Post café, and the handsome Jack Bain’s bar named after one of the Company’s most distinguished managers. But this is a decidedly modern escape, with walk-in wardrobes and five-fixture marble bathrooms, a spa and wellness centre offering aerial yoga and Reiki classes. Not one but two sky-high infinity pools may feel far removed from the city, but a glass floor looks dizzyingly down to the private driving ranges on the sixth-floor terrace, cleverly linking the hotel to the world below.

137 Pillars Suites Bangkok is located at 59/1 Sukhumvit 39, Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand

7132 Hotel

Therme Vals was completed in 1996. Almost three decades on, Peter Zumthor’s genre-defining spa in the Swiss canton of Graubünden remains a place of pilgrimage for architecture enthusiasts the world over. Half buried in the hillside and constructed using local Valser quartzite slabs, the hotel itself was renamed 7132 Hotel under new ownership in 2012, and while the property continues to undergo changes and developments, the baths remain blissfully untouched, as ageless and enduring as the mountains around them. Carefully positioned gaps in
the ceiling and walls flood the hotel’s indoor pool with shafts of light. Upstairs, a grass-roofed outdoor
pool is complete with a sunbathing terrace.

7132 Hotel is located at Poststrasse 560, 7132 Vals, Switzerland

Amangiri

Tucked within a canyon in Utah, Amangiri’s pool could be a glimmering mirage in the heat of the dust. Fortunately, its beauty is not a figment of imagination, and the mesa-embracing pool echoes the tranquillity of the canyons. Born from the collaboration between award-winning architects Marwan Al-Sayed, Wendell Burnette, and Rick Joy, Amangiri sits low within the untouched red-rock desert landscape and is blissfully at one with its native context. Its water pavilion also offers a steam room, sauna, plunge pool and heated step pool to cool off under the western sun. The resort offers 34 contemporary suites and has a camp of 10 tented pavilions to act as a base for any mountainous expeditions.

Amangiri is located at 1 Kayenta Rd, Canyon Point, UT 84741, United States

Amankila

Amankila, which translates to ‘peaceful hill’ in Sanskrit and is extraordinarily situated on a dense hillside beneath sacred Mount Agung, has been the go-to spirit-lifting sanctuary in Eastern Bali since its opening in 1992. The resort’s distinct tiered infinity swimming pool, also the work of the late American architect and furniture designer Ed Tuttle, sees three pools cascading down to one another, akin to Bali’s terraced rice fields, that blend with the vast expanse of the blue horizon that awaits in front. The design takes inspiration from the nearby Taman Ujung water palace, which sees three large ponds connected by elegant bridges and pathways. Amankila’s large 41-meter turquoise-tiled lap pool is equally alluring, found at the sun-kissed private black-sand Beach Club and nestled amidst tall coconut palms and frangipani trees.

Amankila is located at Manggis, Karangasem Regency, Bali 80871, Indonesia

Cali Mykonos

Situated on the serene cliff front that embraces Kalafatis Beach, far away from the bustling Old Town nightlife, the whitewashed hotel Cali Mykonos draws immediate attention with its 130-metre infinity pool, which elegantly winds around to mimic a neighbouring stream’s curvature. Filled with solar-powered heating panels and fresh seawater drawn directly from the Aegean Sea, Cali’s aquatic tour-de-force furthers the hotel’s integration into the landscape – its water being equally crystalline as the private port’s below. The pool, like the hotel’s main building and villas, is the work of Athens-based architectural firm STFN Lab and combines traditional Cycladic architecture with natural landscape features. As such, it boasts natural marble and stone sourced from the original property excavation. Guests can enjoy the most natural swim alongside the pool bars, which boast mythology-inspired cocktail menus.

Cali Mykonos is located at Mykonos 846 00, Greece

Capella Ubud

Inspired by the first European settlers in Bali in the early 1800s, Capella Ubud remains true to the concept of a rainforest camp by providing 22 one-bedroom tents and a two-bedroom lodge nestled within lush forest terrain with traditional sloping rice terraces. Famed American landscape architect Bill Bensley, the creative force behind the project, ensured that no trees were cut during construction, preserving the camp as a secluded sanctuary boasting maximised jungle views. Despite each guest space featuring individual saltwater pools, Capella Ubud’s crown jewel is The Cistern, a vast amenity presenting a 360-degree panoramic view of the Keliki Valley. The pool, shaped like a rainwater reservoir, comprises marine-grade steel plates, which had to be transported manually to the site due to their 100-kilo weight.

Capella Ubud is located at Jl. RY Dalem, Keliki, Kec. Tegallalang, Kabupaten Gianyar, Bali 80561, Indonesia

La Co(o)rniche

At La Co(o)rniche, the Atlantic does most of the talking. Philippe Starck’s 2010 renovation kept the bones of a 1930s neo-Basque hunting lodge – dark timber, frescoes, old Arcachon manners – then loosened it with cabins that borrow from Cap Ferret’s oyster huts. Set between pine forest, sand and the Dune du Pilat, the hotel’s pool frames the Arcachon basin, suspending guests between water and sky.

La Co(o)rniche is located at 46 Av. Louis Gaume, 33115 La Teste-de-Buch, France

Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo

At Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo, luxury comes with topography. Set within a 1,200-hectare private reserve on Mexico’s Pacific coast, the resort is arranged along jungle, cliffs and shorelines, with 157 rooms, three cascading infinity pools and an oceanfront golf course. Architects Victor Legorreta, Mauricio Rocha and Mario Schjetnan treated the land with discipline, placing architecture along the contours 300ft above the sea. In the spa, Oaxacan red clay, volcanic stone and a found boulder turn wellness into ritual.

Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo is located at La Huerta, K, México 200 Manzana 7.5, 48898 Barra de Navidad, Jal., Mexico

Mandarin Oriental, Lago di Como

The ethereal beauty of Mandarin Oriental, Lago di Como, has long been perceived as infinite, much like its recently introduced heated outdoor swimming pool and sun deck, which float over the lake’s cinematic southeast shores. Designed by Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron, the 40-meter pool elegantly sits against a lower vaulted stone colonnade, featuring a dark local Cardoso sandstone finish and prefabricated steel structure that reflects the water’s cobalt-blue surface. Here, the hotel’s casual dining venue, Nami Café, offers a laid-back poolside menu of classic Italian al fresco lunches, complemented by refreshing cocktails and freshly prepared juices – all set against the original 19th-century stone arches of the building, once the home of celebrated Italian opera singer Giuditta Pasta.

Mandarin Oriental, Lago di Como is located at Via E. Caronti, 69, 22020 Blevio CO, Italy

Miramonti Boutique Hotel

The panoramic view from the Miramonti Boutique Hotel’s outdoor infinity pool is among the region’s most spectacular. From its cliff-edge perch overlooking the sleepy town of Merano, mountain chains unfold in all directions. The pool is just the first in a sequence of alfresco wellness stops. A trail winds up the hill through the pine forest, and along it guests can find a plunge pool, sauna hut, lounge chairs and, at the top, a heated pool, each with a sweeping view of the valley. Recent architectural and interior redesigns, including the guest rooms, the Onsen Pool, and the ground-floor renovations, were led by Heike Pohl and Andreas Zanier of the Merano-based firm Tara Architects

Miramonti Boutique Hotel is located at Via S. Caterina, 14, 39010 Avelengo BZ, Italy

Nekajui Peninsula Papagayo, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve

Nekajui Peninsula Papagayo, the first Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Central America, and only the eighth in the world, stretches over 570 hectares of lush cliffside, but if you gaze up towards it from the sapphire waters below, you can barely tell it’s there at all. The development of Nekajui was led by The Athens Group, who worked with architects from Gensler and 10 Design to create a property that never looks out of place in its majestic surroundings. The 107 rooms and 37 residences spread across the property all face the ocean and are reliably spacious, with even the most modestly sized Ocean Reserve rooms measuring in at 872 square feet. The infinity pool at the Nimbu Spa offers panoramic ocean views and creates the sensation of swimming in the air.

Nekajui Peninsula Papagayo, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve is located at Peninsula Papagayo, End of the 253 National Route, Provincia de Guanacaste, Liberia, 50104, Costa Rica

Our Habitas AlUla

Waking up to an impressive view takes on a new meaning at Our Habitas AlUla. Being right at the centre of Ashar Valley in Saudi Arabia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the property ensures the immense beauty of the natural world and the dramatic splendour of human creations from every angle – its swimming pool flaunting front-row views of the golden sand stretches and rocky outcrops that emerge from the desert’s expanse. Despite having been a hub of trade and cultural exchange for millennia, AlUla, often likened to an open-air museum, is a brand-new tourism destination. This is why the in-house Our Habitas design team (with the help of global firm Aedas) was tasked with creating Habitas’ distinctive social architecture, bringing guest experiences and human connections to life. Bathing in an ancient desert valley might not be on everyone’s bucket list, but after discovering this property, it certainly will be.

Our Habitas AlUla is located at QV65+RH3, Ashar Valley, AlUla 43511, Saudi Arabia

Reschio

Reschio, a 3,700-acre pastoral estate with a 1,000-year-old castle at its core, has long observed the twists and turns of history from the passage of pilgrims to world wars. Today, following a transformation by architect Count Benedikt Bolza and his wife Donna Nencia, it stands as a boutique hotel, known for its star-studded guestbook full of names of those seeking an escape from Hollywood. Located in the heart of Umbria, a region known as the ‘green heart’ of Italy, Reschio is well at home within its context. Its outdoor pool poses as a lake and seamlessly reflects the surrounding greenery, making it a tranquil spot to dip into. Opposite the old watch tower, it has been converted into a refreshing poolside bar offering tempting gelato and freshly made cocktails.

Reschio is located at Tabaccaia di Reschio, 06060 Lisciano Niccone PG, Italy

The Retreat at Blue Lagoon

Located on a private inlet of the titular lagoon, The Retreat at Blue Lagoon was designed by Basalt Architects and Design Group Italia as an extension of an earlier complex, creating a natural transition that blends a concrete superstructure the colour of dark grey lava with terrazzo, sand, water features and moss. The 62 guestrooms feature a quietly rugged mood of walnut and lava surfaces that are dressed with pieces by Antonio Citterio and Patricia Urquiola – though the marquee attraction has to be the private blue lagoon pools and spa, a subterranean pleasure dome of interlocking chambers cut into the volcanic rock that offers treatments based on the silica, algae and minerals of geothermal seawater.

The Retreat at Blue Lagoon is located at Norðurljósavegur 11, 241 Grindavík, Iceland

Le Sirenuse

The swimming pool at Le Sirenuse, a family-run boutique hotel in the beautiful coastal town of Positano, Italy, is akin to a swimming pool of dreams. In 2024, as part of the hotel’s ongoing site-specific commission series, art advisor Silka Rittson-Thomas asked Swiss artist Nicolas Party, best known for his abstract interpretations of familiar landscapes, portraits and still lifes that are both fluid and vibrant, to thoroughly transform the poolside terrace in time for the summer season. The result? An immersive and playful space where organic forms intertwine and dance underwater. Party’s work, a lively aquascape made of Bisazza mosaics – a choice instructed per the wishes of the hotel’s co-owners, Antonio and Carla Sersale, to honour Antonio’s late father’s vision – is a joyful reinterpretation of the location’s distinctive view of the sea and mountains.

Le Sirenuse is located at Via Cristoforo Colombo, 30, 84017 Positano SA, Italy