10 NYC Hotel Pools Worth Checking In For

The art- and design-fueled party atmospheres of New York’s Chelsea and Meatpacking districts come to a head at the Dream Downtown—fitting, given the hotel straddles the two neighborhoods. Behind its 1960s façade, you’ll find futuristic guest rooms (chrome detailing, recessed bathroom speakers, circular windows), eye-popping contemporary art and furniture, and a lobby pumping DJ mixes. During the summer, the only place you’ll want to be is the French Riviera-inspired pool, whose circular floor cutouts echo the rooms above and see through to the lobby below.

“Discreet luxury” is the mantra of this five-star flagship one block from Central Park. Hidden inside the first 25 floors of the One57 tower, you’ll find a sleek, serene oasis decked out in gray stone, marble, and stainless steel, where guest rooms feature leather-trunk mini bars and freestanding tubs and there’s a 13,000-square-foot spa for all your mid-day pampering needs. The pièce de résistance, however, is the 25th-floor indoor lap pool, which is lined with deck chairs on one side and three-story windows overlooking Carnegie Hall on the other.

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When summer hits SoHo, the place to be is the 18th floor of The James, whose admittedly small plunge pool draws the city’s movers and shakers thanks to rotating DJs, signature cocktails, and oversize loungers—the perfect perch for balancing your Brigitte Bardot (vodka, Prosecco, Grand Marnier, and fresh orange juice) and taking in 360-degree views of the skyline.

When the Baccarat Hotel and Residences opened its doors across from the MoMA in 2015, it came with a lot of firsts. Not only was it the debut property of the iconic French jewelry brand, it also premiered America’s first La Mer spa, where paying guests are treated to inspired services like diamond-powder exfoliations as well as exclusive access to a drop-dead-gorgeous marble swimming pool bordered by private cabanas. After taking a deserved dip, freshen up for some light bites and tea in the salon—a light-filled room covered with Jouffre silk-covered walls and giant crystal chandeliers.

This all-balcony skyscraper made a splash when it opened in the heart of Williamsburg in 2016—and yes, we’re talking about the pool. At 60 feet, it’s Brooklyn’s longest, overlooking a park and Manhattan’s distant skyline (you’re not the only one with views now, Wythe Hotel!). Day passes are available for non-guests, who are also welcome to hit up Vale Park—the hotel’s elevated promenade home to lots of green space, a bar serving bites by Andrew Carmellini, and a vintage airstream handing out burgers and ice cream.

The only way you can access the heated, year-round pool at Soho House, one of the most exclusive clubs in the city, is if you’re a member (that’ll be $2,100 excluding the $500 application fee, please), a lucky friend of a member (though even Kim Kardashian couldn’t sweet-talk her way in), or—drumroll please—if you’re a guest of the hotel. The rules must succeed in keeping out all the riffraff, because this 15-by-32-foot rooftop oasis is one of the city’s most tranquil escapes.  

You could say ever-evolving Dumbo’s crown jewel, the 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, knows how to draw a crowd. Guest rooms, with their floor-to-ceiling window views of the Brooklyn Bridge, have even native New Yorkers booking a night’s stay. The ground-floor Neighbors café became an instant neighborhood meet-up point in the blink of an eye. And the sky-high Rooftop Garden and Bar, complete with an angular plunge pool and wraparound terrace overlooking lower Manhattan’s waterfront and the Statue of Liberty, is the Instagram photo your feed needs.

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The chic Andy Warhol print on the floor of Sixty Lower East Side’s guests-only third-floor pool is every bit an indication of what this hotel is like—namely, slick, stylish, and oh-so-on-trend. Drinks and small bites will satiate you throughout the day, but if you need something a little more tangible, you'll find a public beer garden and Blue Ribbon Sushi outpost on the second floor.

Are you a sucker for skyline views? At the Gansevoort Meatpacking, guests get one of the best at the hotel’s 15th-story heated pool, where you can see both the skyline and the Hudson River no matter which direction you face. Unlike other pools in Manhattan, this one is open year-round and—heads up, families—manned by a lifeguard. Feeling pecking? The indoor lounge serves up Mediterranean small plates with those same skyscraper views.

When you have an address like this hotel—right across from Williamsburg’s McCarren Park and just off Bedford Avenue—you know you’re going to have to live up to the foot traffic that will inevitably come swinging through your doors. Brooklynites and beyond come to McCarren for just that—to sleep, yes, but also to be seen. The place to do it is at the hotel’s buzzy rooftop pool and bar, where cool kids order up creative cocktails before claiming their day bed to sunbathe and hear spinning DJs. It’s worth it to claim your spot early, but sunset happy hour is just as magical.