The Best Poolside Bars | Wine Enthusiast

A good pool bar has a lot going for it. Views, vibes, a sense of place—and, of course, a great drinks list—are the recipe for a good time at one of them. 

At Bali’s Potato Head Beach Club, it’s a swim-up counter with a concrete canopy framed by palms, tropical Brutalism in full effect. At Passalacqua, the villa resort on Lake Como, it’s a canvas-curtained poolside gazebo with plenty of sprezzatura. (Pool-goers can also walk a few paces to the winter garden bar, set in a former greenhouse with new interiors by design powerhouse J.J. Martin.) Poolside Provisions, at San Antonio’s Hotel Emma, is a bar in the form of a refurbished beer-delivery truck; it was raised to the rooftop using a massive pulley system and now turns out piña coladas and frozen whiskey sours to sunbathing guests. 

To find some of the most spectacular spots for a swim and a drink, we turned to a few people whose taste we trust: food and beverage experts, design-minded creatives, professional travelers and more. Their recommendations span the globe, from a sloping Italian hillside, to a palm-lined Moroccan courtyard, to a rooftop overlooking one of Brazil’s busiest beaches. Keep reading for the full list. 

Pool Bar at Hotel Fasano Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

When in Rio, Tiffany Layne—a travel advisor and founder of LaVon Private Luxury—recommends heading to the rooftop of the Fasano, the glassy Philippe Starck–designed hotel in Ipanema. The space offers a covered lounge area with nods to mid-century Brazilian architecture, plus unobstructed views of the famous beach and other landmarks, like the Dois Irmãos (“two brothers”) mountains. “Perfect for sipping a caipirinha while taking in the sunset,” says Layne; you’ll find eight variations and counting of the quintessential Brazilian drink, including one made with cashew fruit. 

Le Bar de la Piscine at La Mamounia

Marrakesh, Morocco

During a recent vacation, Celine Yousefzadeh, a culinary curator and founder of CY Kitchen, could often be found on a leafy terrace at La Mamounia, the iconic century-old hotel in Marrakesh. It has “one of the most beautiful pools I’ve visited recently,” Yousefzadeh says. The Bar de la Piscine and all of the culinary spaces at the establishment were renovated in 2020 under the direction of Paris-based design firm ​​Jouin Manku. “It feels like a total oasis,” Yousefzadeh adds. “Go for a swim and order a glass of Sangria Mamounia,” a white sangria with fresh fruits and a splash of Cointreau. Follow it up with one of the many Moroccan wines on offer, or a taste of La Mamounia’s Champagne collab with Taittinger.

Pool Bar at Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea

Wailea, Maui 

“A mai tai in a pineapple while sitting in an infinity-edge pool looking out at the Pacific Ocean? Tell me a better place,” says Carlos Quirarte. “I’ll wait.” The swim-up bar at the Four Seasons Maui’s adults-only pool is number one “hands down” for Quirarte, partner at Authentic Hospitality (the group behind such NYC haunts as Ray’s and Pebble Bar). Highlights include views of neighboring islands, a drinks menu heavy on rum and local beers on tap, and spacious cabanas for rent, including two designed by the Italian fashion house Missoni. Oh, and you might recognize the pool from season one of The White Lotus—though needless to say, it’s much more relaxing in real life.

L’Oasis du Martinez at Hôtel Martinez

Cannes, France 

Mélie Dunod, CEO of August Collection, a co-ownership platform for chic holiday homes in Europe, is highly discerning when it comes to where she goes on vacation. And she has a preferred destination for lounging poolside. “Nothing is more iconic than the south of France for a beautiful pool bar,” Dunod says. Her favorite one is in the Côte d’Azur: the striking new rooftop pool at the recently renovated Hôtel Martinez, a bright-white Art Deco grande dame on Cannes’s famed waterfront boulevard, the Croisette. Open to hotel guests in July and August, the pool and bar are part of the larger L’Oasis du Martinez spa complex, meaning you’ll find teas and fresh-squeezed juices listed alongside the spritzes and selection of Provençal wines.

Lapas Bar at Nayara Tented Camp

Arenal National Park, Costa Rica 

Pools are easy to come by at the Nayara Tented Camp, in Costa Rica: Every guest has a private plunge pool just outside their villa. But for travel writer and content creator Travis Levius, “Las Lapas is a secret favorite.” The chic swim-up bar—yes, there is such a thing!—is sheltered by a canvas roof and stocked with tropical fruits and local ingredients like coconut water, pico de pájaro chiles and the Costa Rican spirit Cacique. For Levius, the location seals the deal; Lapas looks out over the rainforest with “a show-stopping view of the iconic Arenal Volcano in the near distance.”

Splendido Grill at Splendido, A Belmond Hotel

Portofino, Italy

You’ll find the pool at the iconic Portofino hotel Splendido set on a steep cliffside overlooking the Gulf of Tigullio. And next to it, you’ll find Splendido Grill—a favorite of Matt Ortile, an editor at Condé Nast Traveler and author of The Groom Will Keep His Name. The entire pool area got a new look last year after an extensive renovation by Martin Brudnizki Design Studio, which color-matched the 1970s pool with the ocean and installed mosaics on the terrace. The comprehensive cocktail list is also a thing of beauty, especially the “zero kilometer” section: drinks made with local spirits and Ligurian ingredients like elderflower, lemon and fig and pine nut liqueurs.

In-Water Bar at The Blue Lagoon

Grindavík, Iceland 

The draw here isn’t so much the drinks: The Blue Lagoon, a geothermal hot spring complex in southeastern Iceland, is part of the Reykjanes UNESCO Global Geopark, a protected area of striking lava-field terrain and active volcanic fissures. The saline water of the lagoon itself is rich in algae—thought to be beneficial to the skin—and silica, which gives it its characteristic milky-blue color. Most people who drive the hour or so from Reykjavík will want to make a day of it; Brian Axelrod, co-founder of Eric LeGrand Bourbon, recommends swimming up to the bar to take in the extraterrestrial landscapes with a glass of wine or beer in hand. 

Dew Bar at Wildflower Farms

Gardiner, New York

This writer is partial to the pool bar at Wildflower Farms, the quiet collection of luxury cabins in New York’s Hudson Valley, where the Shawangunks—the imposing mountain ridge overlooking the property—are in full view from the chic loungers and communal couches. Dew Bar is open for the summer season and draws heavily on ingredients from the on-property farm. This year, the space is hosting a pop-up from Etéreo, a fellow Auberge Resorts Collection property on Mexico’s Riviera Maya. Look for watermelon and jicama dusted with Tajín, plenty of mezcal and tequila, and the Abeja Reina, a signature Etéreo cocktail with a base of lemon-honey sherbert. 

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Published: July 23, 2024