Jaunted - Tag: Worlds-Coolest-Pools

Antibes: Roll Like An Old-School Movie Star In The South Of France

egw — 2009-07-16T13:17:52-05:00

Last one in's a rotten egg! We're finding the best places in the world to stick our toes in this summer (or next winter) for our World's Coolest Pools map. Know of any pools we must check out? Let us know.

Ask the old lady with the full complement of well-traveled Louis Vuitton suitcases: Sometimes the deluxe original is still the best. If you'd rather look to the young and hip, they'd have to agree with the seasoned jetsetter that the Hotel du Cap Eden-Roc and its infinity pool is still one of the greats of the world. Twilight star Robert Pattinson will even vouch for it.

The grande dame hotel popular with the Cannes crowd was originally a mansion rented by loaded Americans during the Jazz Age—in fact, it inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald to write Tender Is The Night after a stay with his friends in the uber-plush environs. So snooty is the hotel that, until 2006, it didn't even accept credit cards. And don't even think of stashing that cash in a non-designer bag.

The seawater-filled pool faces the Mediterranean and, if you remembered to bring it, your yacht. TripAdvisor commenters note that it can get crowded for those without the wherewithal to arrange for its private rental, so stake your claim to a chaise early.

[Photo: crza]

Las Vegas: God Bless Vegas, Where Swim-Up Gambling Is A Right

egw — 2009-07-02T12:37:07-05:00

Some lucky people will endure long drives this weekend for the privilege of seeing their families and setting off fireworks in their faces, and so we're keeping this week's cool pool in the family as well. Our sister site HotelChatter has been gaga over the continuing renovations to the Hard Rock Las Vegas like, forever and now baby VegasChatter is getting into the act. But don't fix it if it isn't broken! And by "it," we mean the Hard Rock Vegas pool, featuring everything to which a body could possibly want to swim up.

Wailea: Drink Away Your Fears Of Nuclear War in Maui

egw — 2009-06-18T14:12:13-05:00

We don't mean to heap on today's bad news, but a Japanese news service reported today that rogue state North Korea may fire a missile towards Hawaii sometime this summer. This bodes very badly not only for the Hawaiian tourism industry but also, y'know, the world. It's small consolation that the Taepodong-2 missile expected to be fired probably won't be able to reach the main islands, but instead will splash down somewhere in the Pacific.

Being brought to the brink of nuclear war by a pint-sized dictator who can't be appeased wasn't exactly in the cards for our summer. But if we have to see it happen, we hope we're parked at the pool bar at the Grand Wailea, and we'll be ordering something stronger than a pi�a colada.

Ravello: To Infinity And Beyond On The Amalfi Coast

egw — 2009-06-11T14:57:32-05:00

Before we started this series, we probably couldn't have picked an infinity pool out of a line-up of cool pools. Now we're a little obsessed, but can you blame us? That element of visual danger accompanying the edge is a world away from the backyard pools of our youth.

The Hotel Caruso Amalfi's infinity pool looks like it might just sweep you off a cliff into the Mediterranean. Of course it's not that close to the coast, but the views of the mountains along the Amalfi Coast could fool you.

San Simeon: Would You Risk Arrest To Swim In Xanadu's Pool?

egw — 2009-06-05T15:17:06-05:00

Sometimes rules are worth breaking. And if we didn't still want to be mayor one day, we would try and figure out how to sneak ourselves into today's featured pool, even though few have the explicit right to swim in this historical marvel.

As a tribute to the old days of conspicuous consumption and profitable media conglomerates, California's gem of Hearst Castle is now a state historic park. As the real-life inspiration behind Xanadu, the acres-long house in "Citizen Kane" where Kane spends his final hours, the Castle offers not one, but five tours of its splendors. Tourist trappy? Maybe, but its bizarre pastiche of historical styles make it an architectural curiosity at least.

Monte Carlo: Hey Big Spender, Spend A Little Time At This Pool With A View

egw — 2009-06-04T15:17:05-05:00

We've always associated Monte Carlo with monokinis and James Bond (not necessarily together), so it doesn't surprise us that the most glamorous tax shelter in the world also boasts a few spectacular pools. A tipster wrote in about the Fairmont Monte Carlo pool and, well, we're cashing in all our chips the next time we happen to be in the neighborhood.

Opened in 1975 as the Loews Hotel Monte-Carlo, with a heating and air-conditioning system that uses the natural temperature of the Mediterranean, the Fairmont has an embarrassment of riches in the arena of ocean views. Which is good, if you believe commenters like a Tripadvisor vet who says the property should "shoot the room decorator" for the still-dated-after-all-these-years renovation.

Grindavik: Get The Vapors At Iceland's Blue Lagoon

egw — 2009-06-03T15:55:42-05:00

It's just what the doctor ordered: A thermal pool known for its health benefits and a 19th-century-style spa that once did double duty as an "Amazing Race" pit stop, but it's perfectly safe for the less adventurous too.

Time was aristocrats would flood the small towns built around natural pools and springs to "take the waters," advertised as good for sickly children or hysterical females (Lohan?). Now the rest of us can rub shoulders at the Blue Lagoon Spa with the rich and famous—like Dave Grohl, who compared it to a scene from "Apocalypse Now"—at a sightly reduced price.