Los Angeles

Photo by Dustin Downing

Lifestyle

People move to LA for all sorts of reasons—to make it big as an actor, to make it big as a writer, to make it big as a musician, and the weather—but if you ask a chef, you will almost always hear the same answer: it’s the produce.

Take Advantage of California’s Bounty at the Best Farmers Markets in LA

Chicago

ImagineerInc/Shutterstock.com

If all you know about Chicago’s museum scene is that one clip from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, allow us to educate you.

The Coolest Museums in Chicago

New York

Photo courtesy of Carlton Fine Arts

Black culture is an integral part of what defines New York City’s vibrant, creative, and ever-flourishing identity.

A 2023 Guide to Black History Month Celebrations Across NYC

Nation

Weekend Project

We share a recipe from an expert and allow them to share the best tips and tricks for a home cook or bartender to get it done.

Weekend Project: Home Cooking and Cocktails Made Easy

Photo by 

Find the best spots daily to eat and drink in hipster neighborhoods. Hit the roof, drink a beer and eat delicious at top-tier restaurants. Plan your nightlife adventure with maps and reviews of unknown micro-brews, rooftop parties, and independent drink.

Best Restaurants & Bars - Places to Eat & Drink - Thrillist

Ixta Belfrage seems like she’s from everywhere all at once.

These Cannelloni Enchiladas Are the Comfort Mashup We Need

Denver

Leadville and Twin Lakes, Colorado

Travel

Explore adventure guides and design a custom itinerary for the destination of your choice in and around the city.

Best Travel Guides, Cool Hotels and Interesting Events - Thrillist

Sure, you could spend all your winter days shuttling between downtown and your favorite ski mountain, but there’s so much more to see outside of Denver—even in the cold months.

Perfect Winter Road Trips for When You Need to Escape Denver

Austin

George Washington Carver Museum, Cultural and Genealogy Center


If you moved to Austin from the Northeast, you might be used to holing up for the winter like some kind of hibernating groundhog or box turtle.

8 Totally Free Things to Do in Austin This Winter

Photo courtesy of Museum of Sex

Events

As SZA declared, “it’s cuffing season.”

Fun Date Ideas to Celebrate Valentine's Day 2023 in NYC

Miami

Though sometimes you have to stop and think for a minute to realize what time of year it is in Miami, if you’re in anything even resembling a relationship you’ve probably been reminded it’s almost Valentine’s Day.

Miami’s 15 Most Romantic Restaurants

Philadelphia

African American Museum in Philadelphia

It’s no secret that Philadelphia is a city rife with history, from the Liberty Bell and the area’s Revolutionary War beginnings to its role as home of the country’s first zoo, hospital, and volunteer fire company—but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Where to Learn About Philadelphia’s Black History

Photo by Josh Cho

Southern California winter may not cause locals to flee for warmer weather, but it does remind us that the desert is right nearby.

Now is the Perfect Time to Head to Palm Springs 

Design by Maitane Romagosa for Thrillist

When a Southern fish fry has concluded, and the Black people who’ve gathered in a kitchen or backyard start to disperse, there are tell-tale signs of a crowd well-fed.

How Fish Fries Became a Staple of Black Southern Culture 

Washington DC

Whether you spend the night drinking away at one of DC’s best bars or need some post-shift fuel, the late-night munchies strike us all.

Where to Get Late Night Food in Washington DC

The Goodtime Hotel

United States

Instead of melting away at the park all day, opt for chilled out poolside hangs at Miami hotels with panoramic views, rooftops, and hot tubs.

1 Hotel South Beach

For Miami locals, hotel pools are a little like <a href="https://www.thrillist.com/venue/drink/nation/bar/liv-miami" rel=" noopener" target="_blank">LIV</a> and Ocean Drive, places we only go when people are here from out of town and invite us along. But unlike overpriced <a href="https://www.thrillist.com/drink/miami/best-nightclubs-in-miami" rel=" noopener" target="_blank">nightclubs</a> and crowded tourist streets, Miami’s<a href="https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/miami/best-pool-parties-in-miami" rel=" noopener" target="_blank"> hotel pools</a> are a fantastic escape, and a fun way to feel like a tourist in your own city. Sipping expensive drinks in a warm bath of chlorine, surrounded by palm trees and beautiful people is never a bad way to spend a Sunday. Or any day, really. So read on for the best hotel pools in Miami, and get a little taste of what the tourists are always raving about.

For Miami locals, hotel pools are a little like <a href="https://www.thrillist.com/venue/drink/nation/bar/liv-miami" rel=" noopener" target="_blank">LIV</a> and Ocean Drive, places we only go when people are here from out of town and invite us along. But unlike overpriced <a href="https://www.thrillist.com/drink/miami/best-nightclubs-in-miami" rel=" noopener" target="_blank">nightclubs</a> and crowded tourist streets, Miami’s<a href="https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/miami/best-pool-parties-in-miami" rel=" noopener" target="_blank"> hotel pools</a> are a fantastic escape, and a fun way to feel like a tourist in your own city. Sipping expensive drinks in a warm bath of chlorine, surrounded by palm trees and beautiful people is never a bad way to spend a Sunday. Or any day, really. So read on for the best hotel pools in Miami, and get a little taste of what the tourists are always raving about.

The view from the top of the ecocentric 1 Hotel isn’t just one of the best hotel pool views in Miami, it could stand window-to-window with any hotel pool in the world. Gazing in one direction, guests have an elevated view over the turquoise waters of the Atlantic. Look in the other, and it’s the colorful Miami skyline, with Biscayne Bay in between. It’s a perfect place for sunset cocktails at Watr at the 1, one of the<a href="https://www.thrillist.com/drink/miami/best-rooftop-bars-miami" rel=" noopener" target="_blank"> top rooftop bars in Miami</a>, especially when views from the bathrooms are just as spectacular.

The W pool does a spectacular job of making its exclusive guests feel secluded, surrounding the deck in thick, tropical foliage giving it the ambience of a wild, secret swimming hole—with waiter service and a live DJ. Still, the surroundings make an ideal place for poolside movies and cookouts from local chefs, both parts of the frequent public programming you’ll find at the W. It’s not hard to hang out here either, as grabbing a drink at the bar or lunch at Irma’s is open to anyone.

Photo courtesy of W South Beach

W South Beach

No hotel on the mainland does more with its pool deck than Brickell’s Novotel, where every Thursday you can catch a movie under the stars—with full bar and food specials—for $10. The panoramic city view makes an ideal backdrop for Saturday yoga sessions, though the noon start times often mean they’re effectively hot yoga classes. Sunday brings one of Miami’s most relaxing pool parties, where live music complements the pastel South Florida sunset.

Photo courtesy of Novotel Miami Brickell

Novotel Miami Brickell

Novotel Miami Brickell Rooftop Pool

The Goodtime pool deck is a pink-and-pinstripe Miami dream, quickly making it the most sought after pool invite in Miami. Painstaking design detail from Ken Fulk makes the place almost campy, where palm tree fountains and shallow selfie spots create an Instagrammer’s mecca. The <a href="https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/miami/best-pool-parties-in-miami" rel=" noopener" target="_blank">pool parties</a> are among the best in Miami, often headlined by top DJs and frequented by visiting celebs. Nothing is cheap, but good times rarely are.&nbsp;

The Ocean Drive hotel pool scene has been historically lacking, save maybe for the day rager at the Clevelander that doesn’t exactly invite swimming. Enter the Gabriel, whose splashy new rooftop offers stunning front row views of the Atlantic and the street below. The view gets even better, though, when swimmers look down, as the glass bottom allows them to peer down into the atrium that stands over the hotel’s common areas.

Photo courtesy of The Gabriel

The Gabriel South Beach

Often forgotten in the world of glam South Beach pool scenes is the venerable Biltmore. That’s partly because getting in is nearly impossible if you’re not a guest or member. But also because the old-world Mediterranean elegance is kept fairly secluded so it’s not plastered all over social media. Still, the vibe here is pure luxury, where Greek statues and marble columns surround the 600,000-gallon lagoon. The pool also boasts as much history as any Miami swimming spot not called the Fontainebleau, once visited by the likes of FDR and Judy Garland, and former workplace of Johnny “Tarzan” Weissmuller back in his lifeguarding days.

Biltmore Hotel Miami Coral Gables

The Biltmore

Biltmore Pool

Laying on your back in the W Miami’s long 15th floor swimming pool creates a hypnotizing sense of place, where the gargantuan towers of the hotel and Icon condominiums spin above you and serve as a reminder you’re squarely in the Magic City. While this experience is mostly the providence of hotel guests, the WET deck is also sometimes open to the public, offering a pool party with a view and everything from exercise classes to special events.

Photo courtesy of W Miami

W Miami

The retro-glam standard might boast the best ground floor pool view in Miami, where sunbathers hover just above Biscayne Bay and can gaze in all directions at Downtown, Midtown, and all points north. It also scores points for being mostly accessible to the public, as lazy, cocktail-laden lunches here are a local tradition. The hotel also added some new amenities in the past year to sweeten the deal, and stopping in for classic cocktails in the mid century-inspired Monterrey Bar is a perfect way to cool off, if you’re not one to actually get in the water.

The Standard Spa, Miami Beach

The Standard

The Standard Miami Beach

For chilled-out pool days in Miami Beach, it’s hard to top the Confidante, who boasts a pair of massive pools with spacious decks, and an abundance of pool floaties to boot. The pool area is dubbed the “Backyard,” which makes sense when you find yourself spending more time on the oversized chess board and the lawn than you do in the actual water. It’s also a great spot to cool off with their special “love potion” cocktails, served in a corked bottle inside a seashell.

Photo courtesy of The Confidante

The Confidante

Poolside @ The Confidante

Freehand’s pool might be the only one in Miami better known for its <a href="https://www.thrillist.com/drink/miami/best-cocktails-in-miami">adjacent cocktail bar</a> and restaurant than the pool itself, as Broken Shaker and 27, respectively, are top tier destinations in their own right. But the garden-fresh cocktails taste extra refreshing when enjoyed from the banks of Miami’s top hostel pool, a gathering place for those who want to take a dip away from the South Beach scene. The best part of sharing a pool deck with a popular bar and restaurant is that the water is rarely crowded, so you can backstroke to your heart’s content while patrons lounging under the jungle scape look on.

Freehand Miami

Skyline views at hotel pools are hard to come by in Miami, with the bulk of the city’s most sought after pools sitting on the ocean side of South Beach. The grand exception is the Mondrian, whose weekly pool parties end with spectacular sunsets over Biscayne Bay and the steel and glass towers of downtown. Even before the sun goes down, the Baia Beach Club is an ideal spot for a<a href="https://www.thrillist.com/drink/miami/best-brunch-in-miami-a-hood-by-hood-guide-thrillist-miami"> lazy Sunday brunch</a>. Just make sure to wear a swimsuit, as the endless rose can sometimes lead to impromptu cannonballs into the pool.

Mondrian South Beach

No discussion of Miami’s best pools is complete without a nod to the venerable Fontainebleau, perhaps the most famous and photographed hotel swimming pool in America. Everyone from Frank Sinatra to the guys from Scarface have made it a South Florida icon, and even today its frequent concerts and poolside DJ sets make it one of the beach’s top destinations. Typically, you’ll need to get a room here to score a lounge chair, towel, and rights to order $20 drinks. But grab weekend lunch at La Cote, stroll around with your cocktail, and you’ll probably fit right in. &nbsp;

Fontainebleau Miami Beach

The Fontainebleau

If your idea of a great hotel pool involves getting sprayed with champagne while you float in a giant purple unicorn, look no further than the SLS. The home of Hyde Beach and Miami’s <a href="https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/miami/best-pool-parties-in-miami" rel=" noopener" target="_blank">best pool party </a>is a weekend dayclub, where you’ll find A-list EDM artists performing almost every week. It’s not quite the scale you’ll find in <a href="https://www.thrillist.com/lifestyle/las-vegas/best-pool-parties-las-vegas" rel=" noopener" target="_blank">Vegas</a>, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in intensity. The action also goes well after sundown, so you can stay in the pool until dinner if you’re not up for leaving.

Photo courtesy of SLS South Beach

SLS South Beach

Summer

Miami’s 13 Best Hotel Swimming Pools

Best Pools in Miami You Have to Check Out This Summer

Chill Out at Miami’s Best Hotel Pools This Summer

For Miami locals, hotel pools are a little like LIV and Ocean Drive, places we only go when people are here from out of town and invite us along.

The Goodtime Hotel

Featured In

Miami’s 13 Best Hotel Swimming Pools

More From Thrillist

Take Advantage of California’s Bounty at the Best Farmers Markets in LA

California is famous for fruits and vegetables, and these markets will show you why.

The Coolest Museums in Chicago

To learn more about science, history, art, or anything really, look no further than these local museums.

A 2023 Guide to Black History Month Celebrations Across NYC

From stellar meals prepared by James Beard nominated talent to festivals, small-owned businesses, and more.

These Cannelloni Enchiladas Are the Comfort Mashup We Need

For chef and cookbook author Ixta Belfrage, “fusion food” isn’t a bad thing.

Perfect Winter Road Trips for When You Need to Escape Denver

From cozy towns to stunning vistas, there are plenty of good reasons to take a quick break from Denver.

8 Totally Free Things to Do in Austin This Winter

Whether you want to take advantage of hiking weather or experience world-class art, here's how to have fun without breaking the bank.

Fun Date Ideas to Celebrate Valentine's Day 2023 in NYC

Name a cockroach after your lovebug (or pest of an ex), naughty dessert shops, ‘Titanic’ in 3D, and more.

Miami’s 15 Most Romantic Restaurants

Impress that special someone this Valentine’s Day and beyond.

Where to Learn About Philadelphia’s Black History

A museum tour guide shares the best exhibits, street art murals, and other places to visit during Black History Month.

Now is the Perfect Time to Head to Palm Springs

Winter is the sweet spot, when the weather is just right for brunch, hiking, architecture tours, and poolside drinks.

How Fish Fries Became a Staple of Black Southern Culture

Rooted in history, dredged in cornmeal—this humble dish is far from ordinary.

Where to Get Late Night Food in Washington DC

Greasy pizza, Chinese food, and hefty halfsmokes for all your midnight snacking needs.