Pick the pool first, then the hotel
Infinity, rooftop, heated, kids' pools and more: hotels with great pools worldwide, compared by pool type and guest rating.
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Pick the category that matches your trip — the guide filters every hotel by it.
Adults-only pool
Grown-up, quiet water reserved for adults — calm swims and cocktails.
Beachfront pool
A beachfront pool is a hotel pool with the sand directly beyond its deck: no road, no car park, no dune path in between. No hotel on this site is confirmed with one today, so this page lists none. Rather than show you pools that only look at the sea, here is how to tell a true beachfront pool from the near misses, with the beach hotels from other pages that come closest. The best match I could confirm is Mykonos Dove Beachfront Hotel on Platis Gialos: its seawater pool has a bar between the pool and the beach, and the stretch of sand in front is kept for guests, with sunbeds and umbrellas. Rixos Marina Abu Dhabi, on the Corniche, has three pools plus a shallow children's pool and a private beach on the Arabian Gulf, though I could not confirm how close the pool decks are to the sand. Two more resorts sit on their own beach. Banyan Tree Dubai at Bluewaters has 500 m of private beach on the Arabian Gulf, outdoor pools and a children's pool, with Ain Dubai in view from the grounds. Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra keeps its own stretch of sand with loungers and umbrellas, alongside two outdoor pools and a children's pool. In both cases I could not confirm a pool deck that opens straight onto the sand. Beachfront in a hotel description often means a seafront road. Windsor Marapendi in Barra da Tijuca, Rio, has its address on Avenida Lúcio Costa, the avenue that runs along Barra beach, with Reserva beach about 300 m away; its outdoor pool faces the ocean, with a poolside bar and a rooftop terrace. A high infinity pool is the other near miss: Vencia Boutique Hotel, about a 10-minute walk from Mykonos Town, looks over the Aegean from above the town, not onto a beach. My verdict: with toddlers, I would only book a pool with only its bar between deck and sand, as at the Dove, because a road to cross turns every trip to the sea into a supervised crossing. A sea-view pool across an avenue, like Windsor Marapendi's, suits couples and older children who want the view and a long beach walk. Before booking, I check three things on the photos and the map: a road between deck and sand, steps or a drop down to the beach, and which way the pool faces at sunset.
Cave Pool
Hotels with dramatic cave-like pools carved into rock or built underground.
Cliff Pool
Spectacular pool hotels perched on cliffs with views to the sea.
Family / kids pool
Shallow ends, splash zones and kids pools the whole family can enjoy.
Floating Pool
Hotels with pools that appear to float above the water or landscape below.