Infinity Pool
An infinity pool on a hotel roof has an edge that seems to disappear, so the water appears to run straight into the skyline, the sea or the mountains beyond it. It is made for slow afternoons and photographs.
Rooftop infinity pools are about one thing: the line where the water stops and the view begins. With no visible edge, the pool seems to spill into whatever lies beyond, which is why the best ones face a skyline, a coastline or a mountain range rather than a neighbouring tower. They suit couples, photographers and travellers who plan a slow afternoon rather than a busy night. Dubai pairs them with the Burj Khalifa or the curve of Palm Jumeirah, while Cape Town sets the water against Table Mountain and Lion's Head, with the Atlantic close by. In Marrakech, the pool usually looks toward the Atlas, snow-capped through much of the winter. Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur put the deck high above a dense tropical skyline, the Petronas Twin Towers included, and Chennai turns toward the Bay of Bengal. The catch is crowding: around sunset everyone wants the edge, so morning swims are often calmer.
Infinity Pool
Local tips
- Swim early in the morning if you want the edge to yourself, because the late-afternoon slot fills quickly with guests waiting for their sunset photographs.
- Check whether the rooftop pool is for hotel guests only or sold as a day pass, since some pool decks in Dubai and Bangkok welcome outside visitors.
- Ask which way the pool faces before booking: in Cape Town, a view of Table Mountain and one over the Atlantic make for two very different afternoons.
- Plan around the heat in Dubai and Chennai, where rooftop decks get uncomfortably hot at midday; the cooler months from November to March are the most pleasant.
- Bring a cover-up and flip-flops for the lift ride, as many hotels ask guests not to cross the lobby in swimwear on their way up to the roof.
- Keep phones and cameras on a strap near the edge, and respect the deck rules on photography, which some hotels limit to protect other guests' privacy.