10 Remarkable Hotel Pools: Design, Setting and the Details That Matter

A wonderful pool can change the rhythm of a holiday. It gives you a reason to leave an afternoon free, watch the light move across a view or return to the hotel before dinner. The important part is finding a pool experience that actually comes with the stay you book.

Ten pool designs appear in this collection, with five settings considered in closer detail first. They use water in different ways: framing a distant coast, extending a private room or projecting above a city street. Treat the photographs as starting points for comparison and identify the exact property and space that interests you. The room entitlement and seasonal arrangements then determine whether that particular experience belongs to the stay you are considering.

Overview: Katikies, Santorini: the caldera as a backdrop

The appeal of the Santorini pool photographs lies in the relationship between pale architecture, blue water and the open caldera view. A shaded arch can frame that view as effectively as a broad terrace.

Katikies has more than one property and accommodation category, so match the photograph to the exact hotel and room you are considering. Start with Katikies Santorini and ask which pools are shared and which belong to particular suites. Our guide to choosing a Santorini base helps put the hotel within the wider trip.

Overview: Caruso, Ravello: a pool with a high coastal outlook

At Caruso, the infinity-edge effect connects the water visually with the distant coast. The setting suits a holiday in which time at the hotel is part of the attraction.

The hotel’s official page is the place to confirm seasonal arrangements. Ravello sits above the shoreline, so plan transfers and coastal outings realistically. It does not have a railway station beside the hotel. Combine the stay with a considered visit to Amalfi, allowing for the journey between the two.

Overview: The Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur: water within palace-inspired design

Domes, courtyards and water create a strong sense of architectural continuity at The Oberoi Udaivilas. The pool experience is part of that composition rather than a separate feature added behind the building.

Check the official accommodation descriptions carefully. A photograph showing water immediately outside a room may represent a specific category, not the facilities attached to every booking. Confirm whether access is private, shared between selected rooms or part of the main hotel pool.

Overview: The Joule, Dallas: swimming above the street

The Joule’s cantilevered pool brings a playful architectural idea into an urban hotel. Its projecting edge makes the street below part of the experience.

The pool page explains current reservation options. Distinguish ordinary guest access from a reserved cabana or daybed, which can carry separate fees and spending requirements. A city pool day can be lovely without needing to turn into an unexpected package purchase.

Overview: San Alfonso del Mar, Chile: lagoon-scale water

The enormous lagoon at San Alfonso del Mar belongs in a different category from a conventional hotel swimming pool. Its scale is striking, but older claims calling it both the world’s largest and deepest pool should not guide a booking.

Our San Alfonso del Mar article explains the setting and corrects those circulated claims. Confirm the permitted activities and the facilities included with the specific apartment or accommodation provider.

Five questions worth asking

Before booking, check pool access, heating, seasonal availability, age restrictions and any separate reservation charges. If the pool is the main reason for the trip, get those answers for your dates. The best choice is the one that delivers the afternoon you have in mind.

Explore the ten pool designs

This collection explores pool design and landscape through ten properties. Use the historical photographs to compare settings, then confirm prices, transfers and access with the accommodation provider for your own dates.

1. San Alfonso del Mar, Chile

The large artificial lagoon at Algarrobo dominates this entry. Its long horizontal form is the important design feature, contrasting with the apartment buildings and coast. World-record comparisons depend on both the date and the measurement: surface area and depth describe different qualities of a pool.

San Alfonso del Mar is in the Southern Hemisphere, so its summer falls during the months that many northern visitors call winter. Use the actual travel month when asking about facilities and permitted lagoon activities. Air temperature, water conditions and operating arrangements are separate questions, and a sunny photograph answers none of them for a future booking. Clarifying the season helps connect the striking lagoon design with the kind of stay you would enjoy.

2. The Oberoi Udaivilas, India

The Udaipur setting connects water surfaces with palace-inspired architecture near Lake Pichola. Pools associated with particular suites are distinct from the wider hotel facilities. That distinction matters: seeing a pool in a photograph does not establish access from every room category.

3. One&Only Reethi Rah, Maldives

The pool’s relationship with the surrounding sea is central to the image. Its projecting shape makes the boundary between built water and ocean visually interesting. Confirm transfer times for your arrival and booking rather than relying on a historical estimate.

4. The Sarojin, Thailand

The Khao Lak pool uses raised or isolated lounging areas to break up a broad water surface. That creates a different feeling from a pool whose appeal is mainly an uninterrupted horizon. The beach setting and the pool are complementary spaces rather than interchangeable swimming environments.

5. Caruso, Ravello, Italy

The pool at Ravello is framed by its elevated relationship with the Amalfi Coast. An infinity edge makes the pool surface appear to continue towards the distant water. Reaching the hilltop setting involves its own onward transfer from any rail journey, so the view and the practical approach describe different parts of the experience.

6. Mardan Palace, Antalya, Turkey

The broad resort pool belongs to a large architectural complex. Its scale is the visual theme, but scale alone cannot guarantee that it feels uncrowded. Occupancy, layout and the part of the pool in use would all affect a guest’s experience.

7. Katikies, Santorini, Greece

White surfaces, shade and the caldera setting give this entry its character. A cave-like pool space and an open infinity-edge pool are different experiences. The cave-like architectural effect does not mean the entire pool was carved directly into the geological caldera.

8. The Pedregal resort, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

These historical photographs, published under the Capella Pedregal name, connect private pool spaces and a larger resort pool with the coast. For a stay, check the property's present branding and the pool facilities included in the exact room category.

9. Amirandes, Crete, Greece

The resort’s design draws on Minoan palace inspiration. The long pool axis and its relationship with the sea make that architectural intention readable in the image. A general resort description does not establish direct pool access from every suite.

10. The Joule, Dallas, United States

The projecting rooftop pool is a very different response to setting: it creates an elevated urban edge rather than merging with a distant sea. The building and surrounding city provide the drama. Its unusual shape is the subject of the photograph, not a reason to assume public access.

Compare the experience behind the image

A pool can be designed for laps, lounging, a private terrace or the impression of floating above a view. Those purposes are more useful comparison points than a vague claim that one is the best. The same photograph may emphasise architecture while showing very little of the space available to swimmers.

For a real stay, the relevant details are the exact room entitlement, seasonal operation, pool type and any restrictions supplied by the property. The photographs offer design inspiration, while travel times and seasonal conditions need checking for the dates of a stay.