After checking into the hotel, dipping into the pool is high on the vacation agenda. Whether you're in the sub-zero temperatures of Iceland or soaking up rays on the island Santorini, views seem to be better from a pool. Indoors or outdoors, tiny plunge pools to epic infinity ones...hotel pools come in all shapes and sizes to tempt you into a swim. So for some more temptation, here are eight beautiful pools we found during our travels in Europe.
-- Toby Orton, Oyster.com
Read the original story here.
Related Stories:
Drawing inspiration from the skyscrapers of the Chicago skyline, The Grand Hotel Central in Barcelona is as grand as its name suggests. Matching the hotel for class, the infinity pool set on a terrace -- with views overlooking the historic grounds -- is arguably one of Barcelona's finest.
Located up on the hillside town of Gioiosa Marea on the island of Sicily, the Hotel Avalon Sikani is a well-kept resort with large modern rooms. Stealing the thunder from the bedrooms, the infinity pool with panoramic views out over the Tyrrhenian Sea is where all the magic happens.
The high-end Jumeirah Carlton Tower is a lavish hotel located in the heart of Knightsbridge. Its light-filled atrium pool is on the ninth floor, where palm trees and plants lend it an almost tropical quality.
The pool at the opulent Grecotel Amirandes on the Greek island of Crete is both luxurious and tranquil. Spreading across a large portion of the resort, the extensive seawater pool is as appealing for lazing in as it is for swimming in and out of its impressive white pillars.
Like sitting at a window and listening to the rain pitter-patter on the roof, nothing beats relaxing in a hot hotel pool while freezing air and snow steams around you. The pool at the Blue Lagoon Clinic in Iceland is a stunning, sprawling feature set into the dramatic Icelandic rock.
Glamorous, ostentatious, and just a touch gaudy, the Mardan Palace is far out. With turrets, towers, waterfalls, and even its own zoo, the huge statement pool at the Mardan Palace in Southern Turkey could almost go unnoticed, except that its too big, and too blue, to miss. You'll have to be a strong swimmer to make it all the way around this one!
A city as beautiful as Porto deserves to be stared at, and what better place to stare from than the infinity pool at the refined Yeatman Hotel? While you soak in the pool, you can soak in the panoramic views that extend across the old terracotta rooftops, over the river, and to the Dom Luis I Bridge. Along with the outdoor infinity pool, The Yeatman also features an indoor pool with similar views.
Historically a public swimming pool, the MGallery Molitor Hotel then became an art gallery, before becoming an abandoned warehouse -- and then finally evolving into the modern, luxury hotel it is today. Surrounded by the stunning Art Deco architecture of the building's old changing rooms, the spectacular pool is one of the distinctive hotel's finest features.
Follow Oyster on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Oysterhotels
Also on HuffPost: