11 Best Hotel Pools in Florida With Vintage Diving Boards, Underwater Windows, and Thrilling Waterslides

Beach or pool? It’s the great vacation debate. While many people visit Florida for its beaches, the state’s collection of picture-perfect pools isn’t too shabby, either. Read on for our picks of the best hotel pools in Florida.

The Colony Hotel

Pools just don’t get more picture-perfect than what you’ll find at The Colony Hotel, with its pink and green accents, scalloped umbrellas, striped loungers, and poolside sips. Look closely and you’ll notice that the pool is ever-so-slightly Florida-shaped, a kitschy-cute feature untouched since its 1947 debut. In fact, The Colony’s pool is so chic, socialites have been photographed dipping their toes in for decades, and lauded modern-day photographer Gray Malin even shot a series here. 

The Breakers

The Breakers is, inarguably, home to the best hotel pools in Palm Beach — and yes, we do mean pools plural because there are multiple. Each of the four oceanfront pools has a different view and vibe, but whether you opt for the infinity adults-only one or the zero-entry option, you’re sure to enjoy the ideal resort day. Take it all in with an ultra-hydrating fresh coconut in hand, or go all out with a poolside bungalow rental for the day.

Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort

This family-friendly resort has a gorgeous oceanfront location in Hollywood Beach, but its two unique pools rival what nature offers just over the sand. Landscaped to look and feel like an island paradise, Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort is a picture-perfect vacation destination, but the pools are what will keep you coming back again and again. At the LandShark Pool and Lone Palm Pool, there are full-service tiki-style cabanas and chaise lounges with umbrellas. Those who quickly tire of lounging can enjoy the resort’s signature FlowRider wave simulator, a super-fun waterslide, a jacuzzi, and a rock waterfall.

JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa

Not only does the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa have one of the best hotel pools in Florida, it’s also one of a small selection of Florida resorts that have a water park. The on-property Tidal Cove Water Park has waterslides, a FlowRider, a kid-friendly splash zone, and a winding lazy river.

Loews Sapphire Falls Resort at Universal Orlando

The Loews Sapphire Falls Resort at Universal Orlando is another Florida hotel with a mini on-site water park. And really, who wants to leave when your hotel has a 16,000-square-foot pool with two sandy beaches, cascading waterfalls, a waterslide, a play area with pop-up jets for kids, a gigantic hot tub, cabanas, and more?

The Gabriel South Beach

There are hotel pools, and then there are hotels with pools that warrant a check-in on their own merits. The glass-bottom rooftop pool at The Gabriel South Beach is one such spot. As if the sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean weren’t enough, this pool is gorgeous from above and below. Enjoy a cocktail from the rooftop poolside bar as you linger and lounge.

The Gabriel Miami

Clearly, The Gabriel brand’s hotel pool game is on point. Just a few miles from the showstopping glass-bottom rooftop pool at The Gabriel South Beach, you’ll find a 14th-floor infinity lap pool at The Gabriel Miami overlooking Biscayne Bay. Whether you ascend to swim laps, catch the sunrise, or do a bit of lusty yacht spotting, The Gabriel Miami offers guests a scenic place to do it.

Hotel Effie

If you’re visiting Florida’s Emerald Coast and hoping to take in the views from a rooftop pool, you’re going to want to stay at Hotel Effie — it’s home to the only one. The luxury pool up top doubles as a chic rooftop lounge with private cabanas, life-size chess, cornhole, and on select days and times, yoga, movies, wine tastings, and a live DJ. And when hunger hits, you’re in good hands with celebrity chef Hugh Acheson.

Shelborne South Beach

Start perfecting your splashless dive because you’re going to want to show it off at the Shelborne South Beach, home to an original 1950s diving board. The Shelborne, originally built in 1940, is an art deco dream — it was designed by famed South Beach architects Igor Polevitzky and Thomas Triplett Russell and still maintains much of their glamorous original vision. Residential-style poolside cabanas are available for rent and have couch seating, air conditioning, a private shower, and gorgeous indoor-outdoor spaces.

Isla Bella Beach Resort

When on vacation at Isla Bella Beach Resort in Marathon, the question is not whether you should hit the pool (despite the fact that there are a plethora of resort activities on offer); it’s which of the resort’s five oceanfront pools you should hit first. Will it be the 4,500-square-foot resort pool, or perhaps the adult pool at the far end of the property’s mile-long stretch of sandy waterfront. The choice is yours.

The Balfour Hotel

You don’t have to worry whether or not you’ll get the perfect Instagram snap at The Balfour Hotel in Miami Beach: There’s an elevated plunge pool with an underwater window that makes for some stunning submerged shots. Another art deco landmark, The Balfour Hotel offers a stunning setting, especially at the poolside haven complete with terra-cotta mosaic tiles, chaise lounges, rattan seats, and refreshing seasonal snacks like frozen grapes and fruit smoothies. Still have some energy to burn? Book a poolside LeBounce rebounding session (an exercise class involving a mini trampoline, or rebounder) on Sunday mornings.