By Editorial Staff / Forget about trendy restaurants and lounges, the pool is the new hot spot at US hotels. Not only can you lounge poolside with a cocktail in hand, indulge in luxuriant massages in your own private cabana, and swim up to floating bars while listening to music underwater, but, you can return at night for the hottest party in town. Miami started the wet trend with its sexy nighttime sanctuaries and now you can enjoy the same sultry poolside scene at hip hotels across the country – even in Aspen! Dive in at one of our favorite poolside hotel bars.
By Editorial Staff / Forget about trendy restaurants and lounges, the pool is the new hot spot at US hotels. Not only can you lounge poolside with a cocktail... more
UNRANKED
CURRENT SCORE
less stats more stats4.31
Rank
(best ever)
13
Score
(all time)
2482.00
Created
02/22/08
Views 2432
Votes [disabled]
Comments 0
1
The Colonnade, Boston
In a city where pubs, sports, and restaurants form the heart of the social scenes, the Colonnade gets top marks for daring to break the mold. Not only is it the only hotel in town to boast a rooftop pool, it also offers spectacular city views from its deck loungers, a full-service poolside bar, and even a signature drink, the Colonnade Cooler, a tropical concoction of light rum, apricot brandy, and banana liqueur.
2
The Fairmont, San Francisco
While you can’t officially swim in the pool at the center of the San Francisco Fairmont’s basement Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar, the tropical Hawaii setting, complete with simulated thunder and rain storms, Pacific Rim cuisine, and glorious Mai Tais, make this spot a must-see. Stop by during happy hour – one of the city’s best.
3
Grand Wailea, Maui
Whatever scene exists at this five-star Hawaii resort is all about the pool – the Wailea Canyon Activity Pool, to be precise, which is quite possibly the ne plus ultra of hotel pools worldwide. Made up of nine free-form pools (connected by white-water rapids and slow-moving tides) and outfitted with no fewer than seven waterslides, a rope swing, and an underwater elevator (!), this is one hotel where the action in the pool makes a splash – the decadent poolside and swim-up bars are mere bystanders in comparison
4
Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas
Only in Vegas can you play a hand of blackjack in your bathing suit. The Hard Rock’s rocking pool oasis lets you party all day and night, wet or dry, in a three-acre playground with its own palm-shaded sandy beach, waterfalls, a swim-up bar, a swim-up blackjack table, and Indonesian-styled cabanas complete with phones, refrigerators, and personal misting systems.
5
The Hotel, Miami
In a city that invented the hotel pool-bar scene, this spot, on the rooftop of the Todd Oldham-designed The Hotel, easily ranks as our local hands-down favorite. It’s the place to grab a sunset cocktail, when the view of the Atlantic Ocean, with a smidgeon of beach in the foreground and a purple-streaked sky above it, is simply the best way to end the day (or start an evening). The pool deck is no slouch either: done up in snazzy teal, orange, and white stripes, and lined with snuggly cabañas outfitted with cozy sofas – enclose yourself behind their tie-dyed drapes and no one will know what you’re up to.
6
Hotel Gansevoort, New York
The hotel pool-bar scene finally has a toehold in New York, at the Meatpacking District’s brand-spanking-new Gansevoort Hotel. Set on the 15th floor of this uber-trendy hotspot, the aptly named Plunge bar doesn’t actually overlook the hotel’s own pool (which is nearby but inaccessible to all but hotel guests) but rather, that of the exclusive, membership-only SoHo House, across the street. All the better for getting a bird’s-eye view of hobnobbing celebs while imbibing expensive cocktails on a sophisticated downtown alfresco terrace.
7
The Raleigh, Miami
As if Miami wasn’t sexy enough, the chic new Raleigh Hotel has just upped the ante, by mixing updated Art Deco style with the most stunning pool in Miami Beach. Rambling tropical gardens, cascading waterfalls and cool huts surround the spectacular floral-shaped swimming hole; head deckside, to the Oasis lounge, for a cocktail or, go full-out and dine at the hotel restaurant, where the outdoor terrace overlooks the dazzling pool.
8
Sky Hotel, Aspen
If ever there was a reason to visit Aspen outside of ski season, this is it. The Rockies’ newest, sleekest hotel offers views of craggy mountains, not beach or sand, from its stunning poolside bar, 39 Degrees. The daily “altitude adjustment” happy hour is a must (paying hotel guests even receive complimentary wine); order a high-end cocktail from the poolside hutch, and breathe in the fresh mountain air from a comfy chocolate- and blue-shaded settee. It’s so relaxing, you might find yourself spending the night.
9
The Standard Hollywood, Los Angeles
Jet-setters flock for a cocktail by the pool at Sunset Boulevard’s funky Standard, where an outdoor blue-astroturf-covered sundeck morphs into a hip hang out after dark. DJs hit the turntables, the clientele trades its flip-flops for Blahniks, and fashionistas relax in retro poolside furniture, while waitresses serve up martinis and appetizers like miso soup.
10
W Hotel, San Diego
A top hang out for the see-and-be-seen set, this downtown San Diego outpost of the famed W chain has the city’s choicest pool and hottest beach scene. Trendsetters spend sultry nights lounging by the pool, but, if you dare to hit the sand in your stilettos, the rooftop Beach bar boasts an even hotter nighttime scene, complete with heated sand, three cabanas, a fire pit, two full-service bars, and scantily clad staff.
Not watching this list (get updates on this list).
(all people watching this list)
).
RECOMMENDED LISTS
COMMENTS
