By: Shayne Benowitz
From hotel swimming pools to unique public pools, these are the best places to cool down when the temperatures rise.
There’s no shortage of amazing swimming pools across Miami and when the temperature heats up, there’s no better place to cool down. Here’s our guide to the most impressive, historic and downright fun swimming pools in Miami, including offerings at lavish area hotels and incredible public pools. Take a dip… you’ll thank us later!
Test your skills on the Flowrider at Tidal Cove
Tidal Cove at JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa
When it comes to cool pools to beat the heat for the whole family, make a splash at JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa’s new Tidal Cove waterpark. The sprawling luxury resort in Aventura is home to seven twisty-turny waterslides, a lazy river and FlowRider surf simulator. There’s even a Kid’s Cove with a splash park designed by local Miami art collective Friends With You. A day pass to Tidal Cove grants you access to the resort’s waterslides, lagoon-style swimming pool, cabanas and multiple dining outlets. There’s also the Cascata Pool, designed for peace and tranquility inside a Mediterranean-style courtyard with cabanas shaded by lush palm trees. It’s perfect for an afternoon of relaxation.
The iconic poolscape at Fontainebleau Miami Beach
Fontainebleau Miami Beach
The Fontainebleau is a classic Miami Modern hotel built in 1954 by Morris Lapidus. Once a playground to the Rat Pack and a filming location for James Bond’s Goldfinger, the Fontainebleau’s poolscape is iconic. With 11 distinct pool experiences spanning the spacious oceanfront area, the choice is yours between the free-form, bowtie-inspired pool (a hallmark of the hotel’s original lobby flooring still intact today), the oasis pool or the children’s waterscape, complete with a winding waterslide, and many more. You can also choose from multiple daybed, cabana and lounge chair options.
The café table inside the infinity pool at The Delano
The Delano
The Delano opened in 1995, ushering in South Beach’s renaissance as a playground for celebrities, models and the international jet set. Designed by Philippe Starck in collaboration with hotelier Ian Schrager, the hotel’s infinity pool is surrounded by an Alice in Wonderland-like poolscape with trees trimmed in the shape of gumdrops and an oversized chess set. At the far end, you’ll find a café table in ankle-deep water. The rest of the pool is four feet deep, so you can traverse one side to the other and socialize without compromising a cocktail in hand.
The Biltmore's pool was once the largest in the world
The Biltmore Hotel
At 23,000-square-feet and 600,000 gallons, the swimming pool at The Biltmore Hotel Miami – Coral Gables was once the largest in the world. Set amid a stunning Mediterranean Revival resort that was dreamed up by George Merrick in the 1920s, it’s one of the most legendary hotels in Miami. The pool is a true oasis surrounded by palm trees, lounge chairs, cabanas and Roman-style sculptures.
Swim with a view at W Miami's rooftop pool
W Miami
With three wet-edge infinity pools spanning a two-acre pool deck leading toward stadium-style seating overlooking Biscayne Bay, W Miami claims the longest pool in Miami. This high-style hotel is a feast for the senses, with breathtaking views and plenty of areas to lounge along the oversized pool deck. Expect a DJ spinning ambient house music on weekends for a festive atmosphere.
Faena's pool is as lavish as its interiors
Faena Hotel Miami Beach
The brainchild of visionary hotelier Alan Faena, his eponymous hotel is an exquisite escape on Miami Beach in a luxuriant color palette of red, gold and animal print. Faena Hotel Miami Beach’s pool scene is as lavish as the hotel’s interiors, featuring cabanas and lounge chairs with red umbrellas for a striking contrast against the aquamarine pools. Here, attendants will clean your sunglasses, provide sunscreen and even wash the sand off your feet. You’re also in good company with contemporary master Damien Hirst’s sculpture “Gone But Not Forgotten,” a gold-dipped woolly mammoth skeleton resting inside a glass case on the pool deck.
Swim under the grotto in the Venetian pool
Venetian Pool
The Venetian Pool might just be the most unique watering hole you’ll ever dip your toes into. Built out of a coral rock quarry in the heart of Coral Gables, the 820,000-gallon pool is fed by natural spring water from an underground aquifer and is filled and drained daily. Bathers can enjoy grottoes, a waterfall and a sandy beach. There’s even a signature Venetian-style bridge that will truly transport you to another world.
The Romero Britto entrance to Grapeland Waterpark
Grapeland Water Park
Located near Miami International Airport, Grapeland Water Park is a fun-filled splash park with features designed by Romero Britto, Miami’s own pop art impresario. It’s a family-friendly destination for kids of all ages. Come play on shipwreck-themed waterslides, a shallow water play area, water cannons and Buccaneer Falls, where a wave of water is unleashed at regularly scheduled intervals. There’s also a lagoon-style swimming pool and lazy river.
The Surfside Community Center pool and slide are perfect for families
Surfside Community Center
If you’re staying at a hotel in the Town of Surfside, you’re granted complimentary access to the beloved oceanfront Surfside Community Center, which is home to swimming pools, a waterslide, locker rooms, wellness classes and a walk-up café counter. It’s one of the town’s points of pride that they’re happy to share with visitors.
Flamingo Park
With both a lap swimming pool for adults and a kids’ pool with a shallow water splash area, South Beach’s Flamingo Park Pool is a wonderful amenity for both the local community and visitors. It’s set inside lovely Flamingo Park, where there’s also a community tennis center onsite.