The edges of these pools seem to just drop off into space, threatening to whisk swimmers off a cliff, into the sea or over the edge of a skyscraper. Infinity pools, also known as zero-edge pools, use glass walls or waterfall-like overspill troughs to achieve this sometimes vertigo-inducing effect. These 15 particularly scenic infinity pools will have you daydreaming about booking summer vacations.
Cliff-Hanging Home with Cantilevered Pool
(images via: marc gerritsen)
Talk about dream houses – this jaw-dropping ultramodern residence in Thailand not only perches on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean, it’s got a shimmering cantilevered infinity pool that seems like it extends out forever into the sea. Designed by Original Vision, the home features stacked levels that lift the living spaces high above the tree level, providing the best views possible.
Ubud Hanging Gardens Hotel, Bali
(images via: freshome)
Swimming pools don’t get much more scenic than this. The Ubud Hanging Gardens Hotel in Bali has a towering, multi-leveled infinity pool that looks like a natural cliffside and was in fact designed to mimic the surrounding hills. In addition to the two main pools, each of the 38 guest rooms at Ubud has its own mini infinity pool with views of the nearby Pura Penataran Dalem Segara temple.
Hill House with Amazing Edgeless Pool
(images via: malik architecture)
With views of both the sea and the city of Mumbai and a stunning wrap-around rooftop-deck infinity pool, this unusual geometric house design has it all. While the exterior of the house is a bit eclectic to say the least, the pool more than makes up for it. Lifting the pool above ground level must give the sense of swimming in the sky, especially given the house’s location on top of a hill.
Jade Mountain, St. Lucia
(images via: jademountain.com)
Another tempting resort with an infinity pool for each room is Jade Mountain in St. Lucia, where the views are almost too gorgeous to be believed. The pools are referred to as ‘sanctuaries’ and are classified as ‘stars’, ‘moons’, ‘suns’ and ‘galaxies’ according to size. A night experiencing one of these pools for yourself will range between $950 and $2,700.
Villa Mayavee, Phuket, Thailand
(images via: inspire first)
A private modern residence in Phuket, Thailand, Villa Mayavee has a beautiful slatted wood exterior and lots of glass for looking out at those enviable views of the ocean, but more importantly, check out that pool! Situated between floors, the large infinity pool seems to spill out of the house itself.
Hotel Caruso, Ravello, Italy
(images via: citalia.com)
Renowned for its spectacular rocky cliffs overlooking the sparkling Mediterranean Sea, Italy’s Amalfi Coast is one of the most beautiful places in the world. At Hotel Caruso in Ravello, guests can enjoy these views from a heated infinity pool on a clifftop 1,000 feet above sea level. The modern pool is a stunning contrast beside the historic 11th century hotel, a former palazzo.
Astarte Suites, Santorini
(images via: freshome)
What better way to contemplate the natural beauty of Santorini than from a sparkling pool with cliffside views? The Greek island’s Astarte Suites mimics the blue of the ocean and the rocky landscape with its pools and stone pillars.
Langham Place Miora Resort & Spa, Phuket
(images via: phuket-miora.langhamplacehotels.com)
One of Thailand’s prettiest pools is at Langham Place Miora Resort & Spa, located in Phuket. Overlooking the ocean as these resorts typically do, the pool wraps around the exterior of the resort – on the second floor. Each of the 78 designer villas also has its own private plunge pool with retractible floating dining tables.
Huvafen Fushi, Maldives
(images via: only exclusive travel)
Studded with submerged lights and extending out right over a private lagoon in the Indian Ocean, the Huvafen Fushi Resort’s zero-edge pool is a fantasy swimming experience. Just like many of these other high-dollar resorts, Huvafen Fushi’s 43 private bungalows each have their own smaller pool, as well. The resort also has an incredible underwater spa with glass walls that give relaxed patrons dreamy views of passing marine life.
Hemeroscopium House Rooftop Infinity Pool
(images via: home-designing)
Few homeowners can boast not only of a conventional in-ground swimming pool, but also a rooftop infinity pool that cantilevers out over the grass. Hemeroscopium House by Ensamble Studios is a prefabricated concrete house built from three huge I-beams, two segments of an irrigation canal and two steel girders for a highly unusual look. It took just a week to assemble.
Intercontinental Hotel, Hong Kong
(images via: intercontinental hotel, designsxtra)
And now for something completely different: an infinity pool that overlooks not some tropical paradise, but the bustling urban metropolis of Hong Kong – from a third-floor deck. This glass-walled pool still has the feel of a luxury vacation, of course, not just because of the pool itself and the hotel’s many amenities but because of the stretch of water that separates the hotel from the city.
Hotel Joule, Texas
(images via: urban fabric, lost at e minor)
Swim out to the glass end wall of the cantilevered rooftop pool at the 10-story Hotel Joule and you’ll feel like you’re about to spill out into the streets of downtown Dallas, Texas. The pool juts out eight feet beyond the exterior walls of the hotel, enhancing the experience.
Manava Suite Resort, Polynesia
(images via: tripadvisor, lax magazine)
The sound of waves hitting the sand? Check. The sound of a waterfall just below you, as the infinity pool you’re relaxing in spills over into a decorative fountain basin? Check. All the incredible sights of tropical Tahiti? Check, check, check. If you’re lucky enough to stay in a place like this, even for a night, you’re lucky enough.
Marina Bay Sands Hotel, Singapore
(images via: swag like me, kiwi collection)
From WebEcoist: “When most people envision a pool with an incredibly scenic view, they most likely think of tropical beaches, not skyscrapers – yet there’s no denying that the scenery at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel pool is absolutely breathtaking. Not only is this nearly 500-foot-long pool set into a rooftop skypark, 679 feet above the ground, but it’s an infinity pool, giving swimmers the feeling that they could swim right off the edge of the building. The pool looks out onto one of the world’s most modern cities, which is brilliantly illuminated once the sun goes down.”
Natural Infinity Pools of Pamukkale, Turkey
(images via: dreaming traveller)
As if man-made infinity pools weren’t cool enough, there are also natural edgeless pools that will take your breath away with their beauty. Perhaps the most stunning example is the cliffside hot springs of Pamukkale, Turkey, where falling mineral water rich in calcium has carved basins and stalactites into the rock and turned the entire area snow-white. Visitors are no longer allowed to swim in the pools, as the site is now a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site.
