When you’re a kid, the real test of any road-stop or family vacation hotel was whether or not it had a pool. Rarely did the quality, design or accessories (slides, etc.) of the pool matter (barring sanitary concerns), the idea of playing in the water and reeking of chlorine was good enough.
In my mind, many of the hotel pools visited on various past trips blur together into a mash-up of tiles, slides, underwater bars, occasional palm trees or adjoining fitness rooms. However, with the newly opened Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore (the world’s most expensive), the buck for cool hotel pools has officially stopped.
Dubbed an infinity pool, this artificial paradise rests on the ocean-liner shaped roof of the hotel, is three times longer than a typical Olympic length pool (longer than the Eiffel tower laid down), and is not for the acrophobic, as it appears to spill over the edge, 55 storeys above ground. Designed, by architect Moshe Safdie, the pool is made to look as though it vanishes into the horizon, colliding with Singapore’s skyline. The water that does spill over the edge is caught in a catchment and re-filtered back into the pool.
Though not the first pool of its kind, given its size and perspective, it is certainly one of the most exceptional, and with its placement, also one of the most exciting.
Yet, infinity pools do exist in nature, and despite the grandeur of the Singapore pool, for sheer breathtaking thrills it is hard to top the Devils Pool. Maybe the most dangerous, naturally occurring infinity pool, located at the lip of Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls, this small, peaceful basin, guarded by a slippery rock wall, is a stark contrast to the violent plunge that it precedes.
For travel options, neither are for the financially faint of heart, but for those who may not enjoy the sense of impending doom, the inspired design of the Singapore hotel pool provides an incredibly unique experience.
In my mind, many of the hotel pools visited on various past trips blur together into a mash-up of tiles, slides, underwater bars, occasional palm trees or adjoining fitness rooms. However, with the newly opened Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore (the world’s most expensive), the buck for cool hotel pools has officially stopped.
Dubbed an infinity pool, this artificial paradise rests on the ocean-liner shaped roof of the hotel, is three times longer than a typical Olympic length pool (longer than the Eiffel tower laid down), and is not for the acrophobic, as it appears to spill over the edge, 55 storeys above ground. Designed, by architect Moshe Safdie, the pool is made to look as though it vanishes into the horizon, colliding with Singapore’s skyline. The water that does spill over the edge is caught in a catchment and re-filtered back into the pool.
Though not the first pool of its kind, given its size and perspective, it is certainly one of the most exceptional, and with its placement, also one of the most exciting.
Yet, infinity pools do exist in nature, and despite the grandeur of the Singapore pool, for sheer breathtaking thrills it is hard to top the Devils Pool. Maybe the most dangerous, naturally occurring infinity pool, located at the lip of Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls, this small, peaceful basin, guarded by a slippery rock wall, is a stark contrast to the violent plunge that it precedes.
For travel options, neither are for the financially faint of heart, but for those who may not enjoy the sense of impending doom, the inspired design of the Singapore hotel pool provides an incredibly unique experience.
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