The 10 Best Swimming Pools in Dallas

Better for lounging and people-watching than actual swimming, the Adolphus pool is stocked with chairs, umbrellas, and cabanas. If you want to show off, you can rent the latter on weekends, when DJs provide the afternoon soundtrack. Relax with light bites like guacamole and poke bowls, or fill up with a Fried Shrimp Po’boy and a Smoked Turkey Club. Just remember to wait 30 minutes before going back into the water. Or, about the time it takes you to drink two frozen Piña Coladas.

The Virgin’s fourth floor terrace houses the Pool Club, with a bar and a spacious pool lined with cabanas, loungers, and daybeds. The menu includes snacks like oysters and Carbonated Frozen Grapes, plus larger plates like Jamaican Jerk Chicken and a Lobster Roll—all of which pairs nicely with a Spritz or Ranch Water. If you’re not staying at the property, you can still hang out. Reserve a cabana for you and up to 11 friends, and you’ll receive towels and a mini-fridge stocked with mixers. The Pool Club also hosts regular events and DJs, so there’s always something going on.

The Crescent’s second-floor pool is open year-round and maintained at a cozy 85 degrees. Swim a few laps or just sit poolside under an orange umbrella and take in the surrounding greenery in this urban oasis, while you sip a cold drink from the bar. The pool is open to guests and spa members, but you can score entrance via Resort Pass, which comes with a glass of Champagne and access to the spa facilities, including the sauna, steam room, whirlpool, and cold plunge pool.

From the rooms to the restaurants, Thompson Dallas has no shortage of eye candy. But the resort-style ninth-floor pool might be the best of the bunch, with sparkling blue water and downtown sightlines. The comfortable cabanas have TVs and refrigerators, which are ideal for that afternoon break from the sun. Then order snacks and drinks from the cabana bar, and cancel the rest of your plans. For the day, week, month—just cancel them all.

The Omni’s heated infinity pool is a worthwhile stop all year-round—the hot tub and fire pits come in particularly handy during winter. But during the hotter months, hotel guests and savvy interlopers gather at the fourth-floor pool deck to take advantage of the views, restaurant, and full bar. If you’re not staying at the hotel, you can score a $40 day pass via Resort Pass.

When this good-looking boutique hotel opened in 2020, it provided visitors and locals with a new option for Deep Ellum stays—and the area’s only hotel pool. Said pool and its 8,000-square-foot deck are an oasis in the bustling neighborhood, offering a place to lounge or swim. And the attached Deep End bar is serving fun food like Texas Hushpuppies, Deviled Farm Eggs, and a Grilled Cheese Sandwich with prosciutto fig jam, plus local craft beers, cocktails, and boozy snow cones.

With a speakeasy bar and a few bowling lates, there are plenty of things to do at the Statler. But during the summer months, nothing beats taking the elevator to the 19th floor and sunning yourself at the pool and its adjacent Waterproof bar. The comfortable pool is surrounded by loungers, cabanas, and enough palm trees to make you forget you’re still in Dallas. And the bar is serving all the things you want during such escapes, like bubbly rosé, frozen Margaritas, and Daiquiris.

The Canvas Hotel is home to one of the best rooftop bars in Dallas, with an infinity pool, cabanas, and fire pits. The latter don’t come into play much during summer, when your best bet is slipping into the water and waiting out the sun, ideally with a mezcal-spiked Paloma and, once you get out, some Blackened Shrimp Tacos. But when nighttime hits, make sure to stick around, because the Canvas pool is a prime spot for skyline views.

Head to the Fairmont’s terrace, and you’ll find a staycation-worthy Junior Olympic-size pool that’s equally good for swimming laps or lounging with a cocktail. (Most people prefer the latter.) It’s located in the heart of downtown, so you can look onto nearby buildings as you avail yourself of the full bar and menu of sandwiches and salads.

This wildcard option skips the hotel confines and feels like swimming in your friend’s backyard—provided your friend extended the invite to 100 other fun-loving people. The casual Olympic-size pool is surrounded by grass, so lay down a towel and start relaxing, take a dip in the water, or head to the sand volleyball court for a game. When it’s time for refreshments, the on-site bar serves burgers, beer, and wine, which are incentives to stick around for the rest of the afternoon.