Cool Waters

From a converted brewery to an underwater concert hall, we round up eight of the world’s hippest swimming pools

1. Ocean Beach, Ibiza (above)

Sitting on the hottest piece of real estate on the island’s west coast, the scenester vibe at this two-year-old beach club is palpable. Especially during its regular sixties style champagne spray parties, complete with cabaret dancers, aerial performances and fountains of pink and white bubbly. The Ecstasy-dosed, champagne-soaked masses here won’t stop partying until they’re rolled out in wheelchairs.

The Clincher: You can book the floating bed at the pool and get appropriately christened Ibiza Angel to give you the coolest massage of your life.

2. Liquidrom, Berlin

It’s the most fun you’ll have in a spa: There are Finnish saunas, temperature-controlled salt water pools and massages done with fruit. But the highlight is undoubtedly the louche and eerie indoor swimming pool that doubles up as an underwater concert hall, with live DJs and bands playing everything from classical music to EDM on weekends in candle-lit interiors. The whole thing is a thoroughly German affair – both the sauna and changing rooms are mixed, with a no-clothing policy in the former. But take a towel if you, like us, prefer lightly girded loins.

The Clincher: The music is projected inside the water so you don’t miss a beat.

3. Amangiri, Utah

At the end of a five-mile descent down a dirt road and into a shallow rock bowl, a pool, the colour of Amanda Seyfried’s eyes awaits. Inside the pool, you’ll see the bulwarks and outcroppings of what seems like a Martian landscape surrounding the 600-acre hotel. Here, the desert escarpment that juts into the pool, cutting your lap short, is the only kind of intrusion to be had. There is no boundary, no gate – just a single footfall between hotel and desert, between everything and nothing.

The Clincher: You can climb out of the pool and right into a hot air balloon that launches directly out of the Amangiri, for floating around of a different kind.

4. The Cambrian, Hotel Adelboden, Swiss Alps

As the heated outdoor pool bubbles and snowflakes dance around you, it takes a moment to get used to the giant Alps that loom dizzily close, like ludicrously large Black Forest cakes. A dip here could well alter your weltanschauung for life.

The Clincher: Equipped with a massage bed and numerous jets, the pool offers countless ways to squirt pressurized water on yourself to soothe muscles after a hard day out on the slopes.

5. B2 Boutique and Spa, Zurich

Once Switzerland’s oldest and biggest brewery, the Hürlimann is now a chichi boutique hotel with a rooftop pool that’s got dramatic views of the city’s skyline. The knobbly factory bits jutting out from the roof give it a distinctive industrial feel – in fact, when you turn the taps in the showers, you almost expect beer to come gushing out.

The Clincher: The Hürlimann was the original brewer of Samichlaus, one of the world’s strongest beers (14 per cent alcohol by volume). Today, the waters can still get you high.

6. Taj Madikeri, Coorg

Skip the hotel’s larger outdoor pool and head to the climate-controlled indoor infinity pool – undoubtedly one of the sexiest in the country. Where else can you look out over spectacular valleys of strawberries, coffee and spices, all while submerged in heated water?

The Clincher: It’s situated in the midst of a 180-acre live rainforest.

7. Bab Al Shams, Dubai

This enormous infinity pool meanders past pillars and wind towers (which catch the breeze to provide natural air conditioning) and through courtyards adorned with Moroccan lamps and Persian carpets. The desert on one side and a shimmering waterfall on the other add to the overall effect of feeling like the whole thing is a mirage fashioned by a genie of good times.

The Clincher: On some nights, belly dancers are seen around while you lounge in this impressive piece of design.

8. Huvafen Fushi, Maldives

It may be decked out with Philippe Starck design pieces but, compared to most private island resorts, this one’s small, simple and stripped down. There’s no dress code, no rules and pretty much no life around. Save this pool which, due to the constantly changing fibre optic lights at night, looks like it might be alive.

The Clincher: A table for two can be set in the shallow end.