World's Most Extraordinary Swimming Pools
By dorotix, August 26th 2009, Comments (172)
Be it for location, design or size, these pools are more than just enclosed bodies of water intended for swimming - as put in a definition. These extraordinary pools give a whole new meaning to swimming. In some cases you would have to be super rich to dip yourself in the luxurious waters, but a few of them are set in amazing sceneries, open to the public, and quite inexpensive.
1. The Icebergs. Sydney. Australia.
The ocean's waves often break over the side of the Icebergs swimming pool located in the corner of the famed Bondi Beach. This beautiful full-sized 8 lane, 50m swimming pool is open to the public and the fee is only 5 AUD.
2. The Neptune Pool, Hearst Castle. California, the USA.
Unlike with Icebergs, you would have to be a millionaire to immerse yourself in the waters of the Neptune Pool. The pool, located at Hearst Castle, was originally constructed in 1920s for William Randolph Hearst, an American magnate, and then rebuilt twice.
3. The Joule Hotel. Dallas, the USA.
This twisting swimming pool projects eight feet over the sidewalk, at the edge of the 10th floor of the Joule Hotel in Dallas. The five-star complex, located in the building since 1927, was designed by a famed architect, Adam D. Tihany.
The Joule Hotel in Dallas.
4. The Alila Ubud swimming pool. Bali.
The calm, emerald-green swimming pool is floating above the Ayung River valley in Bali's lush foothills. The pool's home is the Alila Udubu resort, Payangan, a traditional Balinese hill village, near Ubud.
5. Simply a swimming pool. Iceland.
All we know about this swimming pool is that it is located somewhere in Iceland, and to swim in it you have to drive to the farm next door to ask for a key. If you find it, let us know...
6. San Alfonso del Mar. Algarrobo, Chile.
This is the world's largest swimming pool. It is 1,013 m (3,324 ft) long and has an area of 8 ha (19.77 acre), which is equivalent to 6,000 8-meter-long pools. The water is pumped from the Pacific Ocean, then filtered and treated before it is supplied to the pool.
7. The Gellert Swimming Pool. Budapest, Hungary.
Gellert Baths and Swimming Pool complex looks more like a cathedral than a pool. The famed Budapest's bath was constructed between 1912 and 1918 and it features chic Art Nouveau style. The temperature of water exceeds 40°C (110°F), so visiting the baths is a perfect way to kill the time on a rainy day.
8. Harbour Plaza Hotel Swimming Pool. Hong Kong, China.
Harbour Grand Hong Kong, an icon of luxury in Hong Kong, is home to an amazing outdoor swimming pool that sits on the 23rd floor of the hotel. The pool, facing the Victoria Harbour, has some truly stunning views of the city's countless skyscrapers.
9. The Badeschiff. Berlin, Germany.
Badeschiff or "bathing ship" is the most unusual swimming pool in Berlin. It is an old cargo container converted into a pool on Spree River. During the summer it is an outdoor pool with the beach, bar and DJs. In the winter the whole thing is covered, and a few extra saunas are added.
10. The Pimalai Resort swimming pool. Koh Lanta, Thailand.
This amazing swimming pool in Pimalai Resort & Spa on Koh Lanta looks more like some kind of a temple site. In fact, it is a fresh-water, infinity-edge pool, which is set around 50 meters above sea level - so while swimming you can admire the spectacular views of the beach and the sea below.
That's what you call swimming with a capital S. Just looking at them sends shivers down my spine, so diving to their bottoms must be nothing short of thrilling.
Perivolas Hotel Pool in Santorini maybe
superCOOL thx ;b
Splendid photo-feature idea and fine photography too.
Well Done !
ahmadinejad is not my president!
I love to swim. I want to visit every one of these pools. And Justin ur a creep.
OH MY GOD! San Alfonso Del Mar. So one whole length of that would constitute an entire hour's workout? Yikes, that's one scarily big pool, when's the next flight!? And the Iceberg pool looks awesome!
omg!it would b so scary to have a swimming pool stiking out of a buliing like that
Fabulous ones, but where's the Caldea in Andorra? Amazing, amazing place.
super vacance
Adam D. Tihany didn't design that pool in Dallas.
you have very nice picture about swiming pool. i like to swim and i like to visit these place once in my like. thanks for sharing these great picture
regard
http://www.nepalpackagetour.com
crary pools
love the first 2. wow!
Nice pools
Cool wonderfu l
You Missed Kits Pool in Vancouver Canada. 132 Yards right on the ocean..absolutely gorgeous!!
http://www.photoblimp.ca/assets/pool_city.jpg
The joule hotel pool is a rip.
We have one in melbourne that is hanging out over the edge as well but with a glass bottom and I believe its bigger.
LOVE THE HOTEL POOL! BEEN THERE A COUPLE TIMES! NOT SCARY AT ALL! GLAD ITS ON HERE!
"This twisting swimming pool hangs eight feet over the sidewalk"
typo? It definately looks like more than 8 feet above the sidewalk.
The first one isn't really impressive. Lots of beaches in Australia have ocean baths. A more impressive one would be the bogie hole in Newcastle that was carved out of the rock by convicts so the mayor could swim there.
aswome
cool pools !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is very interesting for me to read the post. Thank you for it. I like such themes and anything connected to them. I definitely want to read a bit more on that blog soon.
Great pools! I like it!
not bad
BUDAPEST! COOL!
The pools are so fantastic! Can i say it's a dream swimming pools.
Hi there, Stumbled to this webpage. About the icelandic pool, im quite certain it is the new Seljavallarlaug (Seljavallar swimming pool). Close to this pool is another one older (built 1924) but as you have to walk some 10-15min to get to that pool the locals built a new one that was only open in the summer time. However there was not much traffic to the new pool as everyone went up to the older one. The old one deserves much more to be on this list than the new one.
Links:
http://www.nat.is/travelguideeng/plofin_seljavallalaug.htm
http://www.grapevine.is/Travel/ReadArticle/Travel-Seljavallalaug-Swimming-Pool
pic: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1027/3168033662_49f05c7d62.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1086/905233874_b8a43100d6.jpg
For more info about icelandic hot springs and baths check out http://www.hot-springs.org/ (it has had some downtime recently though)
wish ko lang!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!hahahahahahahha
really amazing
wow luv those awesome pools!
These are simply amazing!
they are not exactly a swimming pool, but the thermal baths at Vals, Switzerland, designed by Peter Zumthor are amazing.
loved the pools, simply superb especially bali!!!!!!!
i wich i was in those kind of pools those pools are so awesome its longer than a sky scraper
Awesome pics .. The Alila Ubud is a very relaxing site amid the forested foothills of Bali and an absolute respite from the main town areas.
Cool Post. I love Swimming pools to. Every day, I go into my favorite pool supplies store to look for some new products for my pool.
Love it
Want to swim in it
Which one - all of them
I've seen to the ones at Hearst Castle, they were both beautiful.
Swam in the Hotel Alila Ubud pool in Bali. Nice hotel.
I like to swim
Really amazing collection...
BTW, I am myself a Swimming Pools architect in New Jersey and won international award last year...
Absolutely ammasing
The The Joule Hotel pool looks amazing.
Uhh..what's so extraordinary about the pool in iceland? It's just a plain old pool....
Barton Springs Pool in Austin, TX should be added. Just an extraordinary pool fed by natural springs in the center of a city. A true oasis.
The pools at Porto Moniz on Madeira deserve a mention!
Budapest amazin........ one......
I love that Dallas Hotel Pool...but the other one´s are awesome, too!
stunning photos. you must add the Singapore's Marina Bay Sands to your list! it's also quite amazing!
these are so stunning. i wonder if i can make a pool like that...
Wooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwww
Really awesomeeeeeee !!!
wow~~
These kick ass!
yay for stumbleupon.com!
The The Pimalai Resort sounds amazing!
There are several pools like the one at Bondi beach down the Sydney coast. But be aware of sharks: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/cronulla-shark-found-in-pool/2008/07/11/1215...
The Resort at Isla Palenque is developing infinity pools for their Villa Estates and hotels. One of their bloggers just wrote about the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore.
,,I want to go there too..........................
They look like amazing pools, but are they all for swimming?
you should add the world's largest outdoor swimming pool at 55 storey in singapore!
I've visited Hearst Castle in California and it was really amazing. The Neptune Pool isn't as hard to get into as the author says though. (No offense.) My friends uncle tended the Hearst gardens and was aloud to go swimming in it for free. I could have jumped in too but i would have ended my $35 tour of the castle and the water was 42 degrees that day.
It is on my bucket list to swim there one day though.
It's also very suprising to me that the Joule Hotel pool is in Dallas TX. I live near Dallas and have never see that pool. :/
#3 looks cool, but the first kid who takes a painball gun to it is gonna make those people regret owning it.
All these Pools are amazing.
I wish i would swim in one of the pools......
These pools are great! And they don't kill your grass!
what do you call a guy will no arms and no legs in a pool?
Skypark Singapore, WoW
these pools are worlds most amazing n awesom,,,, but 1 in SIN 55th floor is missed,
...and a lot of people with no water to drink...
Awesome pictures.
Mallory
wow so beutiful
I did a fashion show on top of the Joule Hotel (dallas, tx) swimming pool =)
really cool pool in the Joule Hotel in Dallas!
wow what a good collection wonderful
its osama. guess where i am.
The Icelandic pool is special because of the incredible natural scenery. All the pools in Iceland are very different from conventional pools in Europe because they are warm and feel great in the cooler months. It is also VERY cheap to go swimming here.
no they are not cheap, not by any standards
The Icelandic pool in that picture has meen boarded up and closed, I think because of no funding to keep it open.
read Stein's comments and links. This is the new seljavallalaug you have the picture of. The attraction was the old Seljavallalaug. You have to walk 15 minutes into the valley to see it.
As mentioned by Steini and zsigger this is the Seljavallalaug, the second one (see also: http://is.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mynd:Isl_Seljavallalaug_nyrri.JPG).
Pictures of the first one can be seen here: http://is.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seljavallalaug and http://www.nat.is/travelguide/ahugav_st_seljavallalaug.htm
What might be of someone interest is that those pools are located so very very close to the recently famous Eyjafjallajökull.
http://www.mbl.is/mm/frettir/innlent/2010/07/23/seljavallalaug_hefur_breyst_i_sa...
..... and yes as D. said both have been closed for few years. So they were closed before the eruption.
It cost´s around 2 dollars to swim in most Icelandic swimming pool´s.
No i´m sorry 3 dollars.
the one in Iceland, nr. 5 ...is called Seljavallalaug ...under a group of mountains called Eyjafjöll in southern Iceland
Halli is right.
The picture above are probably wrong. I think they ment this one:
Seljavallalaug 2010
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1086/905233874_b8a43100d6.jpg
Seljavallalaug 1950's
http://files.myopera.com/Gugga/albums/363656/Seljavallalaug.jpg
number 5 is best
# 7 is aewsome
that was facinating
#3 is best
amazing.......no other words
# 8 is Best
Good job, I like the content.
The Icelandic pool is special because of the incredible natural scenery. All the pools in Iceland are very different from conventional pools in Europe because they are warm and feel great in the cooler months. It is also VERY cheap to go swimming here
Wow! Those pools are amazing! I really wish I could experience swimming there. They are really wonderful. Thank you very much for sharing these with us. This is why I love travel blogs! It’s great to discover about places like this. I would love to come back to this site and see more interesting posts. I hope you continue updating this blog. I’ll share this with my friends. I know they’ll love it too. Thanks again! Keep up the great job!
like like luv
I am impressed! Blog information posted here is surely my friend. I just want to guess board up with comments and calibre work. IE browser bookmarks to your blog just again, I l be involved a arise back to regard my friends more in the subsequent! The color of the layout is not rotten, it is effortless on the eyes.
Great web site! I am realy happy stumbling upon it!
cool
i find the pools really interesting i wish i had them ! coolest thing ever
Comments 1 to 100 of 172