Filed under: Your Home, Fun Stuff, Design, etc
Dive in to our round-up of the most inspiring places to cool down.Listen up, armchair travelers: You don't have to leave your office to enjoy some pool-side fun. Let us bring the pools to you. Since some of the prettiest places to cool off feature some of the prettiest design elements, we decided to round-up some of the places where we'd love to take a dip. Let it serve as inspiration. Sure, you may not have the yard for a pool and maybe you can't even afford to put one in, but we can all dream, can't we? And maybe you'll finally get around to booking that vacation.
It's difficult to tell where the pool ends and the surrounding waters in Bora Bora begins. Photo: Hilton Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa
An infinity pool set against the backdrop of Tahiti's turquoise waters and white-sand beaches? We're in! What looks like an optical illusion -- the pool seamlessly melting into the lagoon -- is actually a true scene (above). And it's the kind we would love to step into. To add a bit of adventure, guests at Hilton Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa can rent snorkeling gear and explore the sea.
This beautiful pool's adjacent pavilion is the perfect spot to towel off and sip iced tea. Photo: Jerry Abowd
Because the Southwestern desert can be scorching during summer, there's a valid argument for having a back-yard pool to relax in after the sun sets. This Scottsdale, Arizona, homeowner took an upscale approach with a design that evokes the Mediterranean and is surrounded by palm trees to boot (above). Until a few years ago, this was reportedly the largest residential pool in the entire state of Arizona, requiring 62,000 gallons of water and measuring 1,592 surface square feet. Bonus: the custom-built home is on the market for $975,000, pool included, of course!
What makes us want to dive into this pool is the view -- rolling hills in Portugal's Douro Valley marked by vines that produce award-winning wines. Photo: Quinta Nova
A new hotel in Manhattan offers a rooftop pool to guests with a view of the Empire State Building. Photo: Gansevoort Park Hotel
We don't think there's a finer view of Manhattan's skyline (including the Empire State Building) from any other pool in the city than from the Gansevoort Park Hotel. Architect Stephen B. Jacobs, who also designed The Library Hotel, is responsible for the hotel's slick rooftop pool (above). Located in the Meatpacking District, the pool is a prime spot for watching sunsets over the Hudson River.
Billed as the world's most expensive hotel, the infinity pool at this Singapore property was constructed 55 stories above the ground, providing the best view of Marina Bay below. Photo: Marina Bay Sands Resort
5. Skyline Pool
Marina Bay Sands, a brand new resort in Singapore, elevates the infinity pool to a whole new level -- 55 stories off the ground, to be precise (above). It's three times the length of an Olympic-size swimming pool and sits on top of the hotel's three towers. In other words, when you are doing laps in this pool, you feel like you're flying above the city.
With the same passion she brings into her styling and interior-design career, Anicia Bragg's backyard pool is just as tasteful. Photo: Michael Baxter
Stylist and interior designer Anicia Bragg, who lives in Paradise Valley, Arizona, has a pool (above) that's as stunning as the homes she decorates through her company, Abragg Design. With decorative boulders, a waterfall, an outdoor fireplace, an outdoor chandelier and several seating areas, it's the perfect splash space.
The infinity pool at Jade Mountain on St. Lucia is whimsical with colored custom tiles on its floor, which are repeated on the ceiling overhead. Photo: Jade Mountain
Jade Mountain, a resort in St. Lucia set on a 600-acre beach, doesn't hold back on color or sparkle in their pools (above). Each suite has its own infinity pool that's uniquely designed by architect owner Nick Troubetzkoy. Guests can swim or relax in total privacy. The size of each infinity pool ranges from 400 to 900 square feet, leaving plenty of room to flip and float above the custom glass tiles. At night, fiber-optic lighting illuminates each pool.
Check out this clever design: a hot tub and pool that's located inches from a lake. Photo: Stonetown Construction
For a home located on the New Jersey side of Greenwood Lake (part of the lake lies in New York State), Stonetown Construction looked to the lake for inspiration and designed a pool (above) that appears to spill right into it. What you can't see in the photo is the multi-tier adjacent patio area with a flat-screen TV, outdoor kitchen with stainless appliances and a pergola. A lakeside sitting area is outfitted with a fire pit and a walkway to the boat dock. But even with all of those little luxuries, we'd rather spend a lazy summer afternoon in the pool.
For a patio design, the homeowner chose large stones spaced far enough apart to show grass growing underneath. Photo: Michelle Woods
A beautiful backyard pool deserves an equally breathtaking setting and that's what this Irvine, California, home has got. The surrounding walls, patio and border are all in character with the pool's Tuscan design (above), constructed from rock that's as natural as the grass growing between the stones on the patio. It's the perfect spot to throw a poolside-party -- and we like that the brick walls will absorb the guests' noise.
As part of Boulders Resort, the Golden Door Spa provides top-notch spa treatments and a pool to relax at. The property is surrounded by large rocks -- creating a very inspiring poolside setting. Photo: The Boulders Resort
The Boulders Resort, just north of Scottsdale, Arizona, is aptly named for the large rocks that surround the resort, which includes Golden Door Spa. That's where this luxury pool (above) is located. So imagine yourself smelling like avocado and citrus, and reclining in the sun after a massage that incorporates those summertime ingredients. Oh yes. We are sooo there.