12 Of The World’s Most Extraordinary Swimming Pools

As swimming pools get built, new standards are being set in luxury, comforts and amenities. With infinity pools having become mainstream, the trend is to have pools in unique locations such as skyscrapers. Here are 12 of the world’s most extraordinary swimming pools.

Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

This pool gives you literally a swim at the top of the world. This is the world’s largest rooftop pool and looks down upon Singapore’s glittering cityscape from 57 stories above. With the pool stretching to the very edge of the building, a swim here can be a heart stopping experience. Luxurious poolside lounge chairs are available for sunbathing after the swim and believe it or now, even palm trees have been planted on the top of the building under whose shade you can relax comfortably. If you have ever wondered how it would be to see a breathtaking sunset while standing languid in a pool at the top of a skyscraper, this would be a good place to experience it. Access to this pool is available only to the guests of the Marina Bay Sands hotel.

Belmond Jimbaran resort, Indonesia

Bali is a hotbed for sunburnt travellers and the pool at the Jimbaran resort in Bali is one more noteworthy destination. The pool is located right off one of the most gorgeous beaches in Bali. The emerald waters of this infinity edged pool are the diamond in the crust of this fine jewel with green coloured tiles giving it a natural look. It is surrounded by palm and coconut trees, and fountains cascade down freshwater from the sides. Garden flowers fringe the edges. Lounge chairs in fine teakwood ring the pool under canvas shades, should you not want the sunburn. A separate children’s pool is also available.

Hanging Gardens Ubud, Indonesia

This pool is at an extraordinary resort set in actual rainforest located in Bali. Its twin tier cascading pool has earlier been ranked the best in the world by both Conde Nast Traveller and Trip Advisor. The pool has also been recognized as of the most 40 unique swimming pools in the world by Architecture and Design magazine in the year 2015. Is all the hoopla justified? You bet, it is. The striking design of the pool has it suspend right over dense Balinese rainforests, giving you the exhilarating sensation of floating above the tops of trees. The pool and the resort have been designed with the explicit purpose of providing a tropically immersive experience. One look at it and you would agree. Crafted with traditional building materials and by tapping indigenous ideas, this is a gem among pools.

Gold Energy Pool, St. Regis resort, Lhasa

Where do you start with this one! Looking like a pool straight out of a Pharaoh’s palace, this one is completed tiled with REAL gold all over its surface. Yes, you got that right. Special salt water is used and the temperature is maintained at a constant 28 to 32 degrees, providing exceptional comfort and relaxation. Stunning artwork of a dragon dominates the background while roof and pillar structures crafted from wood give the pool an earthy, warm feel. This pool is shallow and small, only 4 feet deep and 2,422 square feet in size. Breathtaking views of the Himalayas give you a feel of being in a celestial pool or something. Completely reflecting the serenity and beauty of Tibet, the pool is a crown jewel in the middle of paradise.

Chongwe River House, Zambia

One look at this pool will have you rubbing your eyes in amazement. The Chongwe River House is a private house located right on the Chongwe River. The river itself is a tributary of the Zambezi and borders a national park. The architecture of this private house has been inspired by a termitarium and the river house has its own safari guide and vehicle to view game. The most extraordinary thing about this pool is that right from your pool deck, you can see huge African elephants frolicking, feeding and drinking by the river. Other species such as kudu and impala also come to the river to drink. Seeing is, indeed, believing.

San Alfonso Del Mar, Chile

Extraordinary, Outrageous, Incredible. You will never run short of adjectives to describe this pool. The San Alfonso holds the Guinness record for the world’s largest pool at 1 kilometre in length (you read that right), covering a humongous 20 acres and holding 66 million gallons of clear seawater. Not only that, it also holds the world record for being the deepest at 115 feet and you can even coolly sail in it. It draws water from the ocean, cleans it and warms it using solar technology before pumping it into the pool. It is located halfway up the Chilean coast in Algarrobo city. This is more an actual saltwater lagoon than a pool and unique technology is employed for purifying the collected ocean water to give the pool a true turquoise blue look. With the water maintained at a comfortable 26 degrees C, on average 9 degrees higher than the nearby sea temperature, this is truly one tropical paradise parachuted into Chile.

Golden Nugget, Las Vegas

The Golden Nugget is an amazing swimming pool with a shark tank which allows you’re the opportunity to swim close to various varieties of shark and exotic fish. Not just that, it even has a shark chute which is 3 stories tall that takes you on an enclosed slide down from 30 feet above through the shark tank, finally splashing you on to the main pool. In addition to that, you also have an infinity pool in the third story. There are eight cabanas poolside for even more fun and entertainment. The pool has been brilliantly created in aquamarine in a design that takes it right around the building’s facade.

The Library pool, Thailand

Simple, yet extraordinary, the Library pool in Koh Samui is one heck of a pool. Singularly unique in its signature red; it has been rated one of the most spectacular in the world by CNN and Trip Advisor. Just a stone’s throw away from the pristine beach of Chaweng, this pool creates a brilliant spectacle with scores of glass tiles in yellow, red and orange, all combining to give the pool a mesmerizing red coloured shimmer. This is part piece of art, part pool and part architectural experiment. Some term the pool as eerie for the red colour but many find it a unique and exciting space. The shallowness of the pool means that the red is clearly evident, instead dissipating into blue or purple.

Cambrian Adelboden, Switzerland

Brilliant and mind boggling, the pool at the Cambrian places you on the edge of calendar perfect scenery of the Swiss Alps. This pool has been earlier named one of the world’s most amazing by Trip Advisor in 2011. It was also included by the Times as one of its top 10 pools worldwide with the most amazing views. With mountain views all around, this place gives you one experience that you can get nowhere else. The outdoor pool with the views is a heated one. If you had thought that it would take some form of magic to be able to swim around with the most breathtaking Alpine scenery in front, you are wrong. All it takes is the Cambrian.

Nandana Villas, Bahamas

The exceptional climes of the Bahamas play host to this resort, a piece de resistance. Right across from the turquoise blue waters of the Caribbean, the 120 feet long infinity pool at Nandana is a masterpiece in itself. Fringed by palm trees, other tropical plants and the pristine white sand, this is literally a place where you see heaven and earth meet. Designed in the style of the Asian beach house, the entire property has been constructed with natural materials including Burmese teak and natural stone, giving you an ambience with relaxing, natural vibrations.

Sanctuary Swala Camp, Tanzania

This camp is a part of Tarangire National Park in Tanzania. Looking out over the African savannah, Sanctuary Swala offers a unique safari experience in a landscape filled with baobab, majestic elephants and a number of species of birds. The pool here directly overlooks a watering hole which is often visited by game. Although small in size, this pool gives you the chance to lounge around in water with big game not more than 20 metres away. This place gives you an amazing opportunity to have swim right inside a national park, hardly available anywhere else.

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Oberoi Udai Vilas, Udaipur

The Udai Vilas has quite possibly the most extraordinary location for a pool, the King of Mewar’s hunting grounds spread over an astounding fifty acres, which includes a wildlife sanctuary with wild boar and deer. Not just that, this luxury resort is located right on the banks of the Lake Pichola, making for an unforgettable ambience to swim in. This could well be the most exceptionally located pool in the whole world.