America's Best Hotel Pool
 

Lunch hour distraction...

It's hot and steamy here in New York and at this moment I'd like nothing more than to take off somewhere for a quick 2-3 trip that involved sitting next to a great pool and reading a book.

Do you have a favorite pool out there? Do share...

The pool at the Beverly Hills Hotel

The infinity pool at the Post Ranch Inn.

The Main pool at the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach

Katie,
Shouldn't you be using your prestigious position at Fodor's to go over to the Peninsula Hotel to "research" this question?

Unfortunately, I've yet to come across a hotel pool in the US that comes close to the pools at the resorts I've stayed in while in Asia. The pool at the Peninsula in Hong Kong and the Four Seasons in Bali are tough to beat.

I can't remember any pools pre-kids that I'd put on that US list. With kids, the pool at Disney's Beach/Yacht Club is the reason to stay there.

Las Vegas- Wynn, Mirage and the Golden Nugget.
Hawaii/ Big Island- Hilton and Marriott Waikoloa.

Ryan...thanks for the tip. It's only two blocks away! =)

Unfortunately, the Peninsula Pool is under renovation until October. <sigh>

The last pool I sat by was LA's Hotel Roosevelt; not a great pool--but definitely a "scene".

trippinkpj-- I haven't been to Vegas since the pre-Wynn days. What makes the pool so great?

andrew8--- Breakers Hotel; what a classic.

I'm thinking Vegas as well, but I'm not a big 'pool' guy. I will defer to the pros.

"Best" can mean different things to different people, but I think the pool at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables (Miami), Florida is still billed as the "largest" hotel pool in the Continental US.

Here's a pic of part of that pool:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Pool_Biltmore_hotel_coral_gables_florida.jpg

I, too, would endorse the Biltmore's pool.

The pool at the Williamsburg Inn is also lovely, kind of old-time luxurious glamour. I still remember the big fluffy yellow towels, white wooden furniture, and excellent service. Not a "scene," just old-fashioned, "why spend less" luxury.

This pool isn't anywhere as big as this motel makes it look in their opening shot.....but check it out for a laugh.
Ah the wonders of photography!

www.ogunquitmotel.com

The Nugget in Vegas was the first thing that came to my mind but this time of yr you'd just trade hot & steamy for extremely hot & dry so not really an upgrade.

I really like the pool at the Hapuna Beach Prince hotel on Hawaii.

Something about being able to sit in the pool and look out at the ocean.

It probably isn't the best-fanciest-largest-most spectacular, but I really like it.

My favorite is the whole scene around the pool at the Hyatt Regency at Gainey Ranch in Scottsdale.

They have a sandy bottom beach type pool, a swim up bar and karaoke pool, lots of small 2 person pools, slides, whirlpools and waterfalls. It's especially beautiful at sundown.

My favorite is near you as well: the rooftop pool at the Parker Meridien, with a view over Central Park.

The salt water pool at the Hyatt Kauai has been my favorite so far.

Katie, the Wynn's pool(s) are fascinating in that they are tiered according to levels of wealth and what you are paying for your room. The most expensive suites have their own private large pools at their doorstep. Then the tower suites have their own pools with excellent service and it is like a caste system as you stand atop a bridge overlooking people that are paying the normal $300/nt. It is hard for a tower suite guest to go to the main pool and vice-versa. The towels are also different colors according to your section. Elitism at it's finest! It is so brazenly obvious which I think was Steve Wynn's intention. Great place to people watch.

I agree with travelinwifey, it's the pool at the grand hyatt in kauai. And don't forget the Bellagio's pool in Vegas.

"tiered according to levels of wealth"

Actually, they are tiered according to levels of spending, not wealth. Two very different things.

I'd add any pool to the list where I can just walk up and get a spot at will. I hate the competition for a place to sit that occurs at some resorts. But, if the only way to get a decent spot is to get out there by 7:30, I'll be there by 7:25.

I know someone here posted about this pool in Chile, recently named the world's largest. It's a little too big I would say...isn't that why we have oceans?
http://preview.tinyurl.com/5eloqu

Pools with views of oceans though do appeal to me. On a visit to Miami, my SO and I stayed at The National, which I believe has either Florida or the country's longest "infinity" pool:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/6cll6w

I sat up on our deck overlooking the pool; while he swam laps, I watched the ocean. RELAXING.

While for my own sake, I'm thinking of quiet and relaxing pools---I wouldn't mind hearing from kid-minded travelers their brood's favorite pool.

And for everyone...is the pool ever a deciding factor for where you choose to stay?

Katie,

From the perspective of my 6 and 5 year old, any pool is a great pool.

But, if I had to pick one that we would all agree on, for completely different reasons, my family would choose the pool at Disney's Polynesian. (I suspect if we took them to one of the pool's in Kauai with a lazy river, they would change their mind.)

For now, from my kids perspective they are looking for a pool where they can jump in, where there is something to explore (like a waterall), where there is a beach nearby and that has a decent slide. The volcano pool at the Polynesian fits that description.

From my perspective, I want a pool where I can easily keep an eye on them and where there is a big enough shallow area for them to stay in. Both are really strong swimmers but its nice to know they are in water not over their head at all times. More importantly, the top of the slide can easily be seen from the pool so I know when they are coming down.

The pool at the Beach/Yacht Clubs in WDW is the coolest pool we have ever gone to. Sandy bottom, zero entry, whirlpools, big slide, two small slides for the little ones, a mini river, hidden spas, pirate ship. Lots of fun for kids.