The top pick for vacationers craving a day at the beach, the Caribbean is also where you’ll find the most spectacular pools on the planet. Go beyond the beach and opt instead for a dip in a saltwater stunner or a lap around a powerhouse pool.
A world away from those backyard blow-up pools at home, take the plunge and cool off in the top 10 coolest pools under the tropical sun. You can always go back to the beach tomorrow.
Pool party in The Bahamas
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The closest Caribbean island to the U.S. coast, Bimini is 50 nautical miles from Miami. It’s also where author Ernest Hemingway lived in the 1930s, and where Martin Luther King, Jr. penned his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in 1964.
Today, the island is a vacation playground and is home to Resorts World Bimini with 305 rooms, 10 restaurants and bars and the winding Lagoon Pool with a DJ booth at one end and a bar with porch swings at the other. A win-win, the freshwater pool comes with pool perks like daybeds, cabanas, hammocks, in-water loungers and panoramas of the Caribbean Sea.
Nightly room rates start at $207.
Natural high in Jamaica
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In Port Antonio on the non-touristy northeast coast, Geejam Hotel, in the foothills of the Blue Mountains, is home to an infinity pool nearly 200 feet above the Caribbean Sea. Five feet at its deepest, the pool with commanding views of the rainforest is next to the Bush Bar, where you’ll find the best spicy island fare.
Nightly rates, double occupancy, in a Rumba Room start at $300 and includes breakfast.
Make a splash in Sint Maarten
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Five minutes from the Princess Juliana International Airport on the Dutch side of the dual-nation island (the other side is French), Sonesta Ocean Point Resort hosts a trio of pools including the Edge Pool designed by aquatic designer Joan Roca, who also created the notable pools at the Beach Club Reserva Conchal and the Westin Golf Resort & Spa in Costa Rica.
Next to the Azul restaurant – especially dramatic at sunset – the pool with comfy loungers and poolside service is just five feet deep and a delightful respite on a sunny afternoon.
Nightly all-inclusive rates for a dip in the pool (and a Junior Suite King) start at $244 per person.
Grand pool in Antigua
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Fronting Dickenson Bay on the northwest coast, Sandals Grande Antigua is, indeed, grand with 373 rooms and suites, 7 bars, 6 pools and 11 restaurants dishing up a myriad of menus, from sushi and sake to British pub grub. Adults-only and all-inclusive, the resort lays claim to the largest freshwater pool on the island measuring 15,000 square feet. Catnip for sun worshippers, poolside plusses include cabana butlers delighted to deliver cold towels and cocktails.
Nightly rates, per person, start at $269.
Pool pedigree in Puerto Rico
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On the northeast coast, Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve Puerto Rico hits it out of the park with the largest lagoon-style pool on the island. Bigger than ginormous at 25,037 square feet, the freshwater pool is manna from heaven for pool aficionados. Sun loungers are gratis, cabanas can be rented and bartenders shake and stir fruity daiquiris at the Wet Bar.
Nightly room rates start at $324.
A leisurely lap in the Turks and Caicos Islands
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On Grace Bay Beach in Providenciales, Wymara Resort & Villas is a relaxation reboot in swank rooms, suites, villas and a 7,000-square-foot infinity pool. Artsy with mosaic tiles, the saltwater pool is outfitted with a hot tub and island pods ideal for digging into a gourmet dinner at sunset. Sun loungers are gratis, while cabanas and island pods go for $150 daily.
Nightly room rates start at $550.
The big dipper in Grenada
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On Grand Anse Beach, Silversands Grenada impresses with upscale digs, rum lounge and the longest infinity pool in the Caribbean. Clocking in at 330 feet long, swimming just one lap is a mighty workout in the monster pool that you can’t miss from anywhere at the resort.
Nightly rates including breakfast start at $990 through the end of August.
Pool perfect in the British Virgin Islands
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On Virgin Gorda, the third-largest of the British Virgins after Tortola and Anegada, Rosewood Little Dix Bay is a must-stay for pool aficionados. Designed as an eco-retreat by conservationist Laurance Rockefeller, the luxe resort opened in 1964 and joined Rosewood Hotels & Resorts in 1993.
With a chic collection of beds for heads, the centerpiece is the Main Pool that holds 60,000 gallons of saltwater. Cocktails poolside aim to please, such as a blueberry mojito and a frosty Carib beer.
Nightly rates start at $1520.
Postcard pretty in Saint Lucia
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So close to the Hewanorra International Airport, you’ll get from the baggage carousel to the pool in 5 minutes. On the south coast, the main attraction at the upscale adults-only all-inclusive Serenity at Coconut Bay is the Serenity Pool that measures 3,000 square feet with a lap pool at its center.
Sweetening the pot, butlers deliver rummy cocktails to the deck, daybeds and cabanas. For couples who covet pool privacy, all 36 suites have plunge pools.
Nightly all-inclusive rates, per couple, through Aug. 31, start at $1118.
Raise the red flag in Aruba
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On tranquil Eagle Beach (Palm Beach is the more crowded beach) in Aruba, adults-only Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort is home to a saltwater pool with a sundeck and spa tub. For an impromptu refresher, the pool is open around the clock and lit for night swims. For light bites and thirst-quenchers, raise the red flag on your sun lounger.
Nightly rates, per couple, start at $403 and includes breakfast.
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