Most Amazing Pools In the World

Let’s take a deep dive and have a look at some the most amazing pools in the world.

January 20, 2023・

10 min read

When it comes to vacations and hot weather, there’s not much that can beat a relaxing dip in a pool. But most of us have only been splashing around in the shallow end of the luxury pool experience. Let’s take a deep dive and have a look at some of the most amazing pools in the world.

20. Starlit Pool

The Jumeirah Dhevanafushi resort is a taste of paradise, found in the Maldives, in the heart of the Indian Ocean. Aside from the lush greenery and white sand beaches, guests are treated to the glistening magic of a star-lit pool, which looks most beautiful when the sun begins to set. Prepare to be star-struck.

19. Floating Pool

You may have floated in a pool before, but have you ever floated in one that’s floating on a lake? This amazing example of pool-ception can be found in the Grand Hotel Tremezzo on Lake Como in Italy.

The lakeside hotel offers panoramic views of Lake Como and the surrounding hills, allowing you to feel like you’re swimming in the massive lake without having to brave the cold water. Unnecessary? Maybe. Eye-catching? Definitely.

18. Gold Energy Pool

The St Regis Lhasa Resort in Tibet is said to be “standing on the roof of the world”. The hotel boasts gorgeous views of the Himalayas and the Potala Palace, which was the residence of the Dalai Lama until 1959. To top it all off, the hotel is home to the “world’s most blinged-up pool”.

The Golden Energy Pool is lined with thousands of golden tiles so it always shines, though from some angles it can look a little green. It is also said to have therapeutic qualities, as it contains healing saltwater and is constantly heated to 28-32°C. After swimming in this luminous liquid, you’ll be sure to have the Midas touch.

17. Nemo 33

Have you always wanted to do deep-sea diving but weren’t too keen on the “sea” part of it? Then check out the Nemo 33 pool in Brussels. It was initially built as a diving instruction complex but has now become a popular tourist attraction.

The pool took around 7 years and over $3 million to be constructed, and it was once the world’s deepest indoor pool before being dethroned in 2014. The Nemo 33 also offers a unique experience where guests can eat underwater, thanks to a 6.6-foot-wide, watertight sphere called the Pearl. Is there anywhere else that offers deep-sea dining?

16. Y-40 Deep Joy

If you thought the Nemo 33 looked a little shallow, then this next one is for you. The Y-40 Deep Joy pool is found in the Hotel Millepini Terme in Italy. It’s the deepest man-made swimming pool in the world, reaching a depth of 138 ft, which is around the same height as an 11-story building.

It holds 4300 cubic meters of water and offers a replica cave system as well as glass viewing portholes for those who prefer to stay dry. The pool is kept at 90-93 degrees Fahrenheit, so you don’t even have to think about wearing a wetsuit. The Y-40 seems like a lot of fun, but it’s kind of giving me the bends just looking at it.

15. Safari Park Pools

Diving into a seriously deep pool may not be your thing, but what about swimming with nature? You can get in touch with your wild side at these safari park-based pools that often have unexpected visitors joining you for a dip.

First up is the Phinda Homestead, which is located in KwaZulu-Natal’s Phinda Game Reserve in South Africa. It’s an exclusive-use house where you have your own private butler, chef, ranger and tracker. The pool at the house looks pretty normal at first, but splash around in it for a bit and you’ll soon be joined by a herd of water-loving elephants who live on the nearby reserve.

Meanwhile, if you ever find yourself in Tanzania, make sure to visit the pool at the Four Seasons Serengeti. The 25m-long, 5.7-foot deep free-form infinity pool overlooks both the Serengeti plains and a large watering hole that’s visited by a variety of different animals day and night, although elephants are once again the main attraction.

Don’t get too close, though, or you might cause a stampede.

14. The Castle Moat

The Oberoi Udaivilas is a luxurious 5-star hotel in Udaipur, India, that’s designed to make you feel like you’re in an ancient palace of the Raj. It’s surrounded by two magnificent, moat-like pools, one facing the lake and the other encircling a courtyard.

It was built like a traditional Indian royal residence, and the beautiful design makes this lengthy natatorium more than fit for a raja.

13. Seawater Lagoon

This seawater pool is so big that they should award you an Olympic medal if you can make it from one end to the other. The gigantic man-made lagoon in Chile’s San Alfonso del Mar Resort is set along the coastline and is larger than 20 Olympic-size pools, holding an astonishing 66 million gallons of seawater.

It used to be the largest pool in the world until 2015 when mega-pool company Crystal Lagoons beat the record by building Citystars in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, which covers over 1,000,000 square feet.

12. Hanging Gardens Pool

The Hanging Gardens Hotel in Bali is a luxurious getaway in the heart of the rainforest. When the idea was conceived in 2003, the intention was for the hotel to be fully immersed in the natural environment. The hotel’s swimming pool is designed to feel like it’s suspended over the rainforest.

The impression you get is that you’re floating not only in water but also above the trees, which is kind of what you’d expect for the $800 per night price tag. Perfect for if you want to feel like you’re in the jungle, but don’t want to deal with the insects.

11. The Red Pool

While most of the pools in this article will make you feel like jumping in, the next one is a little less inviting. The Library Hotel in Koh Samui is named after its collection of over 1400 books, but there’s not much explanation as to why their pool is the color of blood.

The effect is achieved by lining it with hundreds of red, orange, and yellow tiles, and the water stands in stark contrast to the clear ocean water beyond it. It’s certainly popular with fans of the movie Jaws, but it’s undeniably a pretty weird choice.

10. Marina Bay Sands Infinity Pool

In a stunning feat of structural engineering, this 150m long infinity edge stainless steel pool sits across the top of the three buildings that make up the Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore.

The hotel, which opened in 2010, cost $5.7 billion, and the engineers needed to install custom jacklegs to allow the pool to adjust its level flow as the building settles into the ground more over the years. It’s both the largest and highest infinity pool in the world. It provides amazing views of the financial district from 57 floors up. The construction team really raised the roof on this one.

9. Blue Lagoon

One of Iceland’s most popular attractions is the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa. This natatorium is situated in a lava field near Grindavik, and its water is supplied by the nearby Svartsengi geothermal power station.

While the milky-blue water, minerals, white silica mud, steam, and algae are all natural, the shape of the lagoon, the water movement and the temperature are all man-made. For sufferers of the skin disease psoriasis, the water is supposed to have healing properties, and over a million people visit the site every year.

8. White Cave

Another perfect hybrid of nature and human architecture is the Cave Pool at the Katikies Hotel in Santorini Greece. This perfectly white pool is carved into volcanic cliffs and gives bathers a panoramic view of the Aegean Sea, which is enough to relax even the most stressed-out swimmer.

7. Golden Nugget’s “The Tank”

Of course, leave it to Vegas to offer visitors a chance to swim with the sharks. The famous $30 million pool in the Golden Nugget Hotel, called “the Tank”, features a 200,000-gallon aquarium filled with sharks, sting rays and various other fish.

You can either swim among the sea creatures or enjoy a drink at the poolside lounge. The Tank is open year-round, so you don’t have to wait for Shark Week.

6. The Cambrian Pool

If you prefer to be surrounded by the Swiss Alps rather than sharks, then take a trip to the Cambrian in Adelboden, Switzerland. The hotel rests 4,400 feet above sea level and boasts incredible mountain views wherever you look. Green in summer and white in winter, this is the most versatile view that money can buy.

5. Wine Pool

At the Yunessun Spa Resort in Japan they are reinventing the swimming pool; or at least what’s in it. Bathers can choose to immerse themselves in red wine, coffee, green tea or sake, which all sounds kind of dangerous, but the people in the photo below seem to be enjoying themselves.

4. Mardan Palace Pool

The Mardan Palace has been called Europe and the Mediterranean’s most expensive luxury resort. So of course, the pool has to match that reputation. It spans 5 acres, and at its centre sits the Mardan’s seafood restaurant, which looks like an island castle. It also has a sunken aquarium with 2,400 fish, which are presumably not for eating.

3. Classical Pools

The Hearst Castle in California is lavish and its pools are fit for the gods, or at least the statues that represent them. The 32m-long outdoor Neptune Pool evokes ancient Greece and Rome with marble statues of Neptune and Nereid standing guard.

The smaller indoor one is designed like a Roman bath with rich blue and gold mosaic tile patterns and statues of Roman gods, goddesses and heroes. This is probably where Zeus would have his pool party.

2. Bondi Baths

The well-known Bondi Baths in Sydney, Australia have been a historical landmark for Bondi Beach for over 100 years. Ocean pools became a trend in the late 1800s because competitive swimmers needed a safe place to do laps.

The effect that’s created when a huge wave crashes into the pool is breathtaking to say the least. It might not be the easiest place to swim, but at least you’re safe from sharks.

Honorable Mention

Before we explore the top spot, let’s give an honorable mention to this epic multi-pool concept. The idea behind the Jade Mountain hotel in St. Lucia is to give guests a “carefully orchestrated sensory experience”, which is definitely achieved as you look out from your pool at the towering island mountains and the vast Caribbean Sea.

The pools even have fiber optics to illuminate them at night, which definitely deserves a round of applause. The hotel plans to expand and build a multi-leveled, multi-colored series of viewing platforms so that you can share your experience with others. So much for privacy!

1. 360-Degree Infinity Pool

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any more high-concept, this project blows all the others out of the water. Compass Pools is a company that wants to build this four-sided pool on top of a London skyscraper. But how are you supposed to get out?! The company proposes that it would be accessed by a submarine-style door below the surface.

It will contain 600,000 liters of water, which would be contained by clear walls made out of high-durability acrylic. The bottom would also be a skylight for the building, which would be lit up at night.

I hope you were awed by these most amazing pools in the world. Maybe one day you'll get the chance to splash around in one of these. Thanks for reading!