The best hotels with swimming pools in the UK – perfect for a summer staycation

Pair a long weekend away in the UK – whether that’s city, coastal or countryside – with a top-tier hotel swimming pool

Estelle Manor looks like it could be in the Mediterranean (Estelle Manor)

With the recent heatwave seeing the temperatures soar well into the thirties, summer has firmly arrived here in the UK, which, of course, means there’s no better time to book a break to a UK hotel with a top-notch swimming pool, ripe for staycations filled with soaks, swims, dips and laps.

Whether it’s an urban city break, seaside getaway, spoiling spa break or countryside jaunt with the family which appeals –and no matter whether you prefer a refreshing cool dip or relish a toasty-warm soak — there’s a host of brilliant UK hotels with lovely swimming pools to choose from.

As well as enduring classics — including a reed-filtered natural pool at an eco-friendly bolthole on the Cornish coast, city views at the highest swimming pool in western Europe, and a pretty thermal number in Bath — there are plenty of new, talked-about hotels with serious pool appeal.

From a secret subterranean swimming pool in swish Belgravia and a happening beach resort in Bournemouth, to a sky-high pool offering views with unrivalled architectural swoon in south London and revamped Miami-meets-Margate feel pool in a Hertfordshire walled garden, hotel expert Ianthe Butt has rounded up her top picks for 2025.

Whether sparkling on rooftops, infinity-style with a sea view, or tucked beside a historical manor, a glass conservatory or a renowned spa, here’s our list of the best hotels in the UK that offer spectacular swimming pools as part of a stylish getaway.

For more hotel guides, including the best Cornwall hotels, the best spa hotels in the Lake District, plus individual UK hotel reviews and the world’s best hotels with swimming pools list, visit our hotels page.

The best UK hotels with swimming pools for 2025

At a glance

• Best for luxury: The Peninsula London
• Best adult-only hotel: The Scarlet hotel
• Best for a city break: Shangri-La The Shard hotel
• Best for families: Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire
• Best for a spa break: Boringdon Hall Hotel

1. The Peninsula London hotel

Belgravia, London

Take a dip in the Peninsula’s 25m swimming pool (The Peninsula)

Thirty years in the dreaming, built-from-the-ground-up in Belgravia, the Peninsula London raised the capital’s luxury hotel bar when it opened in 2024. Its 25-metre pool is rather special, not only one of London’s longest luxury hotel swimming pools, it’s housed in the property’s atmospheric subterranean spa. Designed by acclaimed architect Peter Marino, the space has a double-height ceiling with clever illuminated panels that phase through differing levels throughout the day, mimicking the sun’s natural path and intensity, as well as walls decorated with mosaic artwork resembling the treelines of neighbouring Hyde Park.

One end has a separate hydropool, with rushing waterfall and underwater jets to pummel tired muscles, and swim underwater and you’ll hear orchestral swells courtesy of below-the-surface speakers. Elegant chaises and loungers, some tucked in alcoves for extra privacy, sit poolside and there’s a snack menu featuring mezze and cold-pressed juices.

Also not-to-be-missed are the quintessential pianist-accompanied Peninsula afternoon tea, which takes place under glittering chandeliers in the grand lobby, and fine dining at rooftop restaurant Brooklands by Claude Bosi, where clever dishes take cues from Concorde and its supersonic flight.

Address: 1 Grosvenor Place, London, SW1X 7HJ

Highlights: beautiful design, spa hotel, fine dining.

Read more: The best spa hotels in Bath for rejuvenating retreats, thermal waters and peaceful countryside escapes

2. The NICI hotel

Bournemouth

Swap seaside dips for a heated pool at the NICI (The NICI)

For fun in the sun, and a setup that’ll trick you into feeling like you’re in Miami or Ibiza rather than Dorset, hot-foot it to hip seaside resort the NICI. In the garden, a heated pool decorated with emerald tiles stretches for 30 metres, drawing the eye towards distant turquoise waves. Ringed by candy-stripe curtained cabanas and loungers (first come, first served) on a sandy deck, the open-to-all-ages pool has in-water seating at one end — ideal for semi-submerged chatter. During the summer holidays, parents can take advantage of a free kids’ club, Coconuts, which keeps little ones (4+) busy with arts and entertainment close by. Poolside, pull up a stool at the Old Harry Rocks bar for frozen margaritas or make for the Old Harry Rocks restaurant, which is decked out with boho woven lampshades and has bifold doors leading out to a sun-drenched terrace where the likes of mozzarella and peaches with smoked almonds, surf’n’turf, banana splits are served. There’s also an 18 metre indoor pool (kids’ sessions 9am-10am, and 4-5pm) and spa, plus bedrooms in tropical palm green and white palettes with mid-century-style furniture and gilded cocktail trolleys. Other on-site highlights include South Beach restaurant, watersports, an indoor cinema, plus a nearby pathway zig-zags down towards West Cliff beach’s popular sweep of golden sand.

Address: West Hill Road, Bournemouth, BH2 5EJ

Highlights: Near the coast, heated outdoor pool, fun, family-friendly activities

Read more: The best hotels in Newquay for surfing holidays and Cornish beach views

3. The Scarlet hotel

Newquay

The Scarlet has a natural outdoor pool and indoor heated pool (The Scarlet)

Few dips are as refreshing as those at the Scarlet’s terribly pretty natural, outdoor pool — unheated and filtered by a living reed bed – which has views out to golden-hued Cornish beach Mawgan Porth, and catches a gentle breeze from the rolling Atlantic. After cool, skin-tingling dips, there’s a clifftop wooden sauna, steam room and log-fired hot tubs to warm the cockles (and a 13m long, solar-heated indoor pool for those who don’t fancy braving the outdoors). Known for its eco credentials, this smart, adults-only boutique hotel also has 37 rooms with a beachcomber-chic vibe, excellent Ayurvedic spa treatments as well as DIY two-person rhassoul and and hammam experiences. Whether drifting in hanging cocoon pods in a post-massage daze, or enjoying leisurely fine dining at the sea view restaurant, a visit here is a guaranteed soul-soother.

Address: Tredragon Rd, Mawgan Porth, Newquay TR8 4DQ

Highlights: Near the coast, adults-only, boutique, eco-friendly, romantic atmosphere

Read more: The best hotels in London, from grand dames to perfect pubs with rooms

4. Shangri-La The Shard hotel

London

Escape the capital heat in the summer at Western Europe’s highest swimming pool (Shangri-La The Shard)

When it comes to astonishing views of the London skyline, the Sky Pool at Shangri-La The Shard is hard to beat. Western Europe’s highest swimming pool at a dizzying 182 metres above ground level, located on floor 52 of the Renzo Piano-designed Shard, has to be seen to be believed. At 10 metres long, it’s an infinity pool best suited to lounging rather than laps, a place to prop yourself up at the pool's edge to wonder at trains pootling along railway tracks which appear so tiny they resemble toys.

A maximum capacity of just 23 people, and hourly book-ahead-of-time slots keep things from feeling overcrowded. While swimming hours run from 6am to 6pm for adults (with dedicated children’s slots 9am-11am and 3-5pm), comfy poolside seating is the ideal spot for a glass of Champagne from adjoining GŎNG bar after hours, plus there’s a new glass-fronted Sky Sauna adjacent to the pool with views of St Pauls and the London Eye.

As well as all 202 bedrooms having sensational views, and Shangri-La’s signature warm service throughout, the hotel's also close to foodie haven Borough Market.

Address: 31 St Thomas St, London SE1 9QU

Highlights: Central location, infinity pool, views of the city

Read more: The best beach hotels in the UK

5. Estelle Manor hotel

Oxfordshire

Be transported to the French Riviera at Estelle Manor (Estelle Manor)

Lined by scallop-edged parasols in terracotta-and-cream striped shades, on a south-facing terrace, with full-force oak-filled gardens which spill down to 3,000 acres of parkland, adjacent to a handsome Jacobean manor house, the 25-metre pool at Estelle Manor in Oxfordshire nails Riviera finesse and rural glamour in one fell swoop. Given the hotel comes from the team behind exclusive private members’ club Maison Estelle on Mayfair’s Grafton Street, it’s no surprise that the pool experience is just so.

Sip negronis and Aperol spritzes from the pool bar, or browse a curated edit of beach attire and accoutrements at poolside boutique The Cabana — think Otzio kaftans and light linens from Coconut Residence. Children’s swim hours are between 9-11am, and 4-5pm, and for something even more special, for an additional £145, adults can book into Eynsham Baths, a tucked-in-the-forest Roman-style bathhouse in a 3,000 square metre Neoclassical-style building. Here, thermal journeys through a serene, column-filled tepidarium bathing hall, five pools, a steam room, and a sauna charged with hay from a neighbouring farm take place.

Address: Eynsham Park, Oxfordshire, OX29 6PN

Highlights: Countryside stay, outdoor pool, cosmopolitan atmosphere, adults-only bathhouse

Book now

Read more: The best hotels in Padstow for a chic stay by the sea

6. Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire

Hook, Hampshire

For a countryside escape complete with a pool, check in to the Four Seasons in Hampshire (Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire)

Not only does Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire deliver on grand Georgian manor glamour, it has a pic’n’mix selection of pools, making it a smart choice for multi-generational groups. Winning in terms of wow is the photogenic 20 metre infinity pool, housed inside a Peter Winston-designed conservatory with a vaulted glass ceiling, reminiscent of an 18th-century glasshouse, which forms part of a whopping 27,000-square-foot spa inside the manor’s former stable block.

During the summer, guests can order Pimms summer cups, mango lassi mocktails, flatbreads and ice cream cups straight-to-lounger from the Pool Bar. As well as family sessions in the main pool from 4pm-7pm daily, plus 8am-10am at the weekends, there’s a petite vitality plunge pool with massage features, as well as a courtyard relaxation area.

Also packing appeal for families are the indoor adventure pool Sharkie’s Reef – kitted out with slide, umbrella fountain and bubble jets – a complimentary year-round kids’ club, for fully supervised arts and crafts, and activities that’ll even keep teenagers happy, such as tennis, horse riding and boat trips.

Address: Dogmersfield Park, Chalky Lane, Hook, RG27 8TD

Highlights: Family-friendly, range of activities, stunning pool design

Read more: Best romantic hotels in London: Treat your beau to a night in the Big Smoke

7. The Grove hotel

Hertfordshire

For a luxury dip in a Miami-style pool, book a room at the Grove (The Grove)

Set in a landscaped garden with herb and veg-packed beds, its own sandy deck — Ralph’s Beach — and a 25-metre outdoor heated pool ringed by sunshine-yellow and white striped parasols, the Walled Garden at manor house (and former home of the Earls of Clarendon) turned luxe spa property the Grove delivers a Miami-meets-Margate vibe in abundance. Sporting a fresh look courtesy of Martin Hulbert Design, expect daybeds upholstered in Christopher Farr fabrics and an al-fresco spa area for massages. Sun loungers are free and first-come-first-served, while cabana set-ups are bookable at an additional cost (various packages for half/full days, which might include coconut water, Moth canned cocktails, fruit skewers and ice creams).

During summertime, there’s also an outdoor cinema, top-notch Turkish fare on offer at Skewd restaurant, as well as pool-centred activities such as water polo and soundbaths. Indoors, discover a sultry black mosaic-tiled 22-metre pool in the Sequoia Spa (with family swim time for children aged 12+, from 3pm to 5pm, daily) and an 8-metre indoor kids' splash pool. Elegant bedrooms in muted tones, inside the Grade II-listed country pile are pleasingly calm after a day spent sunbasking.

Address: Chandler’s Cross, Hertfordshire, WD3 4TG

Highlights: Family-friendly, beautiful design

Read more: The best Cotswolds hotels for luxury spa breaks and countryside cuisine

8. art’otel London Battersea Power Station hotel

Battersea Power Station, London

The lively JOIA rooftop pool at Battersea Power Station is now open (Matthew Shaw)

In recent years, Battersea has transformed into a shopping and dining extravaganza, with its formerly abandoned power station — known for its Art Deco brickwork and quartet of towering, white chimneys — at its heart. There’s nowhere better to appreciate the splendour of the fully-restored architectural icon than at the art’otel Battersea Power Station’s sixteenth floor with a 12.5-metre rooftop pool. Only accessible to hotel guests, the pool sits pretty next to, lively, open-to-the-public JOIA rooftop bar (£50 minimum spend pp) where a menu of tapas and petiscos from Henrique Sá Pessoa, of Lisbon’s two Michelin-starred Alba, rubs up against cooling alcoholic slushies and summery Balearic house tunes.

For those not staying, occasional ticketed aqua aerobics events are the only chance to experience the pool. Whether doing leisurely lengths, soaking in the hot tub that sits at one end of the pool, or settling down on a lounger, the large-scale terracotta brick scenery is astonishing.

Further appeal comes in the hotel’s quirky interiors, with bedrooms and lounges styled by artist Jaime Hayon, which are rich in surreal photography, colour pops and curio.

Address: 1 Electric Boulevard, Nine Elms, London, SW11 8BJ

Highlights: Views of the city, arty decor and design, laid-back dining, fun atmosphere

Read more: The best hotels in Edinburgh for a city break

9. Boringdon Hall Hotel

Plymouth, Devon

Head to Boringdon Hall Hotel’s heated indoor swimming pool (Boringdon Hall Hotel)

For those who like their swims with a side of R&R, Boringdon Hall Hotel is just the ticket. Its 11-metre indoor swimming pool, kept at 30C year-round, sits inside a £5m, flagship, award-winning GAIA spa. Head through an outdoor swim-through to a small hydrotherapy pool for Devonshire countryside views and the wildness of Dartmoor beyond, relax in a clutch of outdoor hot tubs and teardrop-shaped daybeds on the sunny, bamboo-filled terrace, or try gold-tiled experience showers, and the full thermal suite, including Finnish-style sauna (80C - 95C), crystal salt steam room with quartz centrepiece, and lemongrass and eucalyptus-infused herbal sauna.

Make things even more spoiling with a GAIA Everglowing face and body treatment (from £135/60 mins). Offering a fast-track glow-up, it combines foot ritual, exfoliation, massage, a facial and Gua Sha.

Foodies are also well-catered for, as the property’s also home to Michelin-starred Àclèaf restaurant, renowned for its inventive British dishes. As for slumbering, the four-poster rooms, with curtained beds in rich purple hues, fireplaces and bathtubs, are particularly special.

Address: Plymouth, Devon PL7 4DP

Highlights: Spa treatments and facilities, countryside location, Michelin-starred dining

Read more: The best spa hotels in the Lake District for outdoor saunas and forest views

10. Galgorm Spa & Golf Resort hotel

Ballymena, Northern Ireland

Seek out the different types of pools at Galgorm (Galgorm Spa & Golf Resort)

Surrounded by 132 acres of Ballymena parkland, Galgorm Spa & Golf Resort has three brilliant pools. Rotate between the garden pool with hydrotherapy jets, a 20-metre indoor affair ideal for laps, which has a polished pebble border designed to give feet a mini-massage, and an al fresco vitality pool at the edge of the River Maine (sometimes you can spot a resident heron pootling along the riverbank).

As well as its award-winning thermal spa, which includes hot tubs with dramatic waterfall views, a Celtic sauna, salt room and snow cabin, Galgorm has 125 rooms painted in woodland hues, 17 Scandi-style cottages, log cabins and Shepherd’s huts to bed down in.

As for drinking and dining, there’s a 550-strong gin library housed in an art deco-inspired conservatory and traditional pizza on offer at Italian joint Fratelli’s.

Address: 136 Fenaghy Rd, Ballymena BT42 1EA

Highlights: Countryside stay, variety of pools, outdoor pool, spa

Read more: The best hotels in Cornwall

11. Lodore Falls Hotel & Spa

Borrowdale, Lake District

Lodore Fall’s pool backs onto the Lake District’s rolling countryside hills (Lodore Falls Hotel & Spa)

Capitalising on its picturesque Lake District setting, the 16-metre outdoor pool at Lodore Falls Hotel’s spa serves up astonishing views of Derwentwater Lake and the Catbells Mountains. Cleverly blending into an interconnecting infinity edge hot tub, the hydrotherapy pool is also layered with underwater bubble loungers and hydromassage neck jets – ideal after days spent fell rambling. While it will set you back an extra £35 (Mon-Thu), or £40 (Fri-Sun) per person to take a dip here — unless you’ve splashed out on a suite level room category or above, when entrance is included — it’s well worth it.

A glass-fronted Finnish-style sauna and indoor thermal suites have panoramic views out to Derwentwater’s dazzling blues, and craggy fells, and there are tranquil spa gardens to explore. Bedrooms are comfy and practical (many are dog-friendly), and the hotel is ideally placed for sightseeing, as popular Keswick is around a 10-minute drive away.

Address: Derwentwater, Keswick, CA12 5UX

Highlights: Countryside stay, spa, wild landscapes

Read more: The best spa hotels in the Lake District

12. Carbis Bay Hotel

St Ives, Cornwall

Paddle in Carbis Bay’s al-fresco infinity pool on the coast (Carbis Bay Hotel)

A combination of palm-filled subtropical gardens and vistas featuring the fine white sands of Carbis Bay, regularly voted one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, will have you thinking you’re in the Med rather than West Cornwall while paddling in the al-fresco infinity pool here. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the seals and dolphins who sometimes make an appearance in the bay.

As well as decked areas to maximise sun basking, a hydrotherapy pool and barrel sauna, there’s a peaceful private 10-hectare Blue Flag Beach and direct access onto the South West Coast Path, with arty St Ives a 25-minute walk away. There’s a sports club for active types, VOYA seaweed wraps and organic facials in the spa, and accommodation options include 36 rooms in the grand, chandelier-filled main house and self-catering lodges for contemporary coastal cool. Head to the Beach Club for family-friendly fish’n’chips, pizza and pasta, or Walters on the Beach for laid-back seafood dining.

Address: Carbis Bay, Saint Ives TR26 2NP

Highlights: Near the coast, outdoor infinity pool, variety of pools, nearby walks, spa

Read more: The best boutique hotels in Cornwall for a chic stay by the sea

13. The Gainsborough Bath Spa hotel

Bath

Pair your pool days with spa treatments at The Gainsborough Bath Spa (The Gainsborough Bath Spa)

For a truly transformative soak, make for the Gainsborough Bath Spa’s cobalt blue, mosaic-tiled pool. Directly fed by the city’s mineral-rich thermal waters, known for their healing properties since ancient times, the 35C pool is lined by Romanesque columns and sits under a striking glass atrium inside the hotel’s small but lovely Spa Village. Combined with two smaller soaking pools, an ice alcove, saunas, a steam room and a relaxation terrace, it forms part of an hour-long self-guided bathing circuit.

There are 99 bedrooms – contemporary, with riffs on the property’s Georgian heritage – to relax in, and special spa bedrooms pipe thermal waters straight into roll top tubs. The spa offers a variety of Omorovicza therapies, as well as Freedom, a specially-designed watsu treatment, which involves dynamic movement therapy, sound healing and stretching in the pool’s naturally warm waters.

Address: Beau St, Bath BA1 1QY

Highlights: Thermal waters, variety of pools, spa, waste treatment, city centre

Read more: The best family hotels in Cornwall for coastal kids’ clubs, beach access and spas for youngsters

14. The Tawny hotel

Staffordshire

For an intimate pool setting, book into The Tawny (Andrew Billington Photography)

Fringed by stone archways on one side and with sweeping views of the Consall Valley on the other, the Tawny’s outdoor pool might be small, but it’s hugely atmospheric. Heated year-round, it’s tucked on a terrace which spills down from the tropical-maximal Plumicorn restaurant, yet manages to feel hidden and intimate. On sunny days, watch flocks of birds swoop overhead from poolside loungers, while on chillier days, warm up in steamy waters before calling a buggy to whisk you back to your room.

A real countryside romp, there’s a 70-acre estate with follies and lakes to discover, and quirky accommodation includes luxury treehouses, Shepherd’s huts and boathouses. It’s worth trading the swim gear for glad rags for cocktails in the bar under gilded plumage-look lampshades and suppers in the Plumicorn, and donning your walking boots to birdwatch at neighbouring RSPB Consall Woods.

Address: Consall Lane, Stoke-on-Trent, ST9 0AG

Highlights: heated outdoor pool, countryside stay, nearby walks

Book now

Read more: The best family hotels in New York 2025, reviewed by parents and children

Why trust us

The hotels featured in this list have been carefully selected by The Independent's expert travel writers, each with a deep knowledge of the destinations they cover. Our contributors either live in these locations or visit frequently, ensuring a personal and informed perspective. When picking which hotels to include, they consider their own experience staying in the hotels and evaluate location, facilities, service and all the other details that make for an exceptional stay for all types of traveller.