Top Picks

Dive In: Skylark's Favorite Pools

By: Staff

A hotel pool is never a bad thing, but not all hotel pools are created equal. We’ve selected six favorites whose setting, view or design—or sometimes all three—are a splash above the rest. See our collectionto start planning your next dip. 

Canyon Point, Utah

It may be man-made, but the pool at Amangiri—supremely isolated in the red rock desert of southern Utah—never lets you forget you’re in nature’s dominion. And after a day spent hot air ballooning above the Vermillion Cliffs and hiking through Bryce Canyon, you’ll want a good, long soak.

Marrakech, Morocco

Two things you should reserve as soon as you book your stay at the Royal Mansour: a hammam treatment at the stunning spa, and one of the newly added pavilions by the palm-fringed pool. Each is like a Bahia Palace in miniature, with sitting rooms, a poolside terrace, and stylish furnishings that reflect the best Moroccan artisanship.

St. Lucia

The water, the mountains and you. That’s the formula at Jade Mountain, where all but five of the villas have enormous private pools (as large as 900 square feet!) that overlook the looming Pitons. In fact, the rooms have just three walls—the fourth is open to the elements—but they’re precisely sited to ensure skinny-dip-level privacy.

Santorini, Greece

Blue is said to bring about a sense of calm. It certainly hits the mark at Canaves Oia, where the impossibly turquoise infinity pool looks out to the ineffably azure Aegean Sea. The only thing that might violate the color scheme is your glass of rosé.

Siem Reap, Cambodia

After a day wandering the ancient sites of Angkor, from the carved heads of Bayon Temple to the tree-wrapped ruins of Ta Prohm, you’ll be in a state of awe—not to mention hot, tired and in need of a nap. That’s where the pool at Belmond La Residence D’Angkor comes in: lush, elegant and guarded by a stone lion, it’s the perfect way to end the day.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

What’s the next best thing to staking out a spot on busy Ipanema beach? Tanning with the likes of Victoria Beckham at Fasano Rio de Janeiro’s rooftop pool. The enviable location, above the crowds but still right in the middle of everything, is the best place in Rio to watch the sun set on the iconic coastline.