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The Best Rooftop Bar in Seville Is At The EME Hotel
As we said yesterday, rooftop pools and bars are all the rage in Seville at the moment.
But nice as the others can be, there’s one place that stands head and shoulders (or maybe that should be a couple of floors) above the others – the Santo Terraza Bar at the EME Hotel on Calle Alemanes.
For a start, the position is unbeatable – it’s in the cathedral square, facing the Giralda and the north side of the cathedral, with all its balustrades and flying buttresses and other architectural delights.
And they’ve really made the most of it, singling the hotel out from the touristy bars and shops dotted around it, by laying out a red carpet to its entrance.
Tags: Hotel Pool Scenes / Hotel Pools / Seville Hotels / Hotel Bars / → All Tags
Which Rooftop Pool Should You Go For in Seville?
The pool at the Hotel Doña Maria
As we told you yesterday, we noticed last weekend that the hotel pool scene is really taking off in Seville.
The poor old Alfonso XIII may not have a particularly sexy offering, but some of the rooftop ones are good enough for you to book a room on the basis of the pool.
Perhaps the best known is the pool at the Hotel Doña Maria, just off the cathedral square, which makes for stonking views of the Giralda. The terrace is split into two levels, with the bar and some tables down below, and the pool and a few more tables up some stairs.
Obviously, the views are pretty gorge. But the place seemed a bit tired. The chairs were tatty plastic faux-rattan affairs, the tables were a bit smeary, and the pool, with its lion-head fountain, was a bit too 80s. The staff were nice, though. Rooms start at €83 - the corridors looked dowdy to us, and the lobby was a bit overspun, but a friend has stayed here and says her room was whitewashed and nice.
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The Hotel Pool Scene in Seville is Taking Off
Yesterday we lamented about the lack of decent WiFi at the Hotel Alfonso XIII in Seville. Today we’re going to tell you about its pool. Why? Because we noticed this weekend that the pool scene in Seville is really taking off. But as with most hotel trends, the newer and hipper places do it best.
When the Alfonso XIII was built, back in the 19th century, they preferred to stick turrets and stuff on hotel roofs, rather than pools so because of the gorgeous façade of the place, there’s not exactly room to stick a tub up there.
Thus the pool is in the traditional, round-the-back-of-the-hotel position. It's a nice size with a bar nearby and lots of birdies tweeting among the orange groves that surround it. (Tweeting as in the sounds that birds make, not people on Twitter.) As far as a city pool goes, it's a relaxing little haven.
But let’s be honest, pool scenes aren’t about swimming. They’re about swanning around, looking good, and drinking more. And it always looks better on the roof.
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'Dive Bar' Wednesdays at The Bardessono Pool
Can’t afford even the low-season $300 a night rate at Yountville’s new eco-resort, Bardessono Hotel? Fear not. The exclusive resort opens up its guests-only rooftop pool to non-guests on Wednesday evenings from 6:00-9:00pm for its punny Dive Bar, so even Napa townies can enjoy the stunning mountain and vineyard views while enjoying a dip and a drink while DJ's spin tunes near the bar.
The secluded pool is usually open only to resort guests, who come to lie in piece and quiet in one of the screened off day-bed cabanas. Come Wednesday evening, though, anyone can stop by the rooftop cement pond, and they're encouraged to come in their bathing suits to take a dip between bar rounds, with drinks going for just $8 each. The resort even throws in complimentary valet parking. That way, everyone can enjoy the privileges of being a hotel guest without having to spend a night.
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Guess the Hotel Revealed: Jade Mountain In St. Lucia
Yesterday we tempted you with a stack of infinity pools so delicious yet so mysterious, since it starred as a "Guess the Hotel." Well, the tropical paradise resort is none other than Travel + Leisure's Best Caribbean Resort 2009, Jade Mountain on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. We stopped by for a tour of the famous property, where The Girls Next Door's Kendra Wilkinson spent her honeymoon and where many rich and famous hide away when they need an exotic break.
Run by the same couple who own the beloved Anse Chastanet Resort further down the hill, Jade Mountain is one of those rare properties where it is damn near impossible to take a bad picture; the rooms all claim unparalleled views of St. Lucia's Piton mountains, they all have infinity pools, and the entire compound is focused on the indigenous, organic and natural charm of the island.
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El San Juan Puerto Rico is Bringing Back The Mancation
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, the mancation has returned!
Summer’s officially over this weekend. But you know who’s not all torn up about it? NFL fans. Fall means football—and all the eating, drinking, and male bonding that comes with it.
The folks at the El San Juan Hotel & Casino in Puerto Rico know this. That’s why, with the season kicking off next Thursday, they’re promoting their cabanas to football fans.
They claim spending a game day inside one of their poolside cabanas is the “ultimate mancation,” which, frankly, hurts our feelings. We too are football fans, even if we’re female. (Maybe they could have gone with “fancation”? Or, better yet, just done away with this tiresome -cation trend altogether.)
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Overheard at the W South Beach Pool
During our recent stay at the W South Beach, we did some morning pool reconnaissance around 11am on a Saturday. We were at first annoyed and then amused and then annoyed again by the loud-talking group of revelers taking up 10 or more lounge chairs nearby. The group, mostly women, seemed to be visiting for their male ringleader’s birthday, and were discussing how everyone had fared after the previous night’s partying. (“Who woke up naked?” was asked without sarcasm.)
Tags: Snapshot / Hotel Pools / Maui Hotels / Four Seasons Hotels / Waldorf-Astoria Collection / → All Tags
Start Your Vacation By Waiting in a Line at the Grand Wailea Resort
Last month, we told you that the Grand Wailea Resort and Spa in Wailea, Maui might have the coolest pool amenities (little grottos, a kiddie pool with a beach, waterslides galore) but that the place was too crowded with children for anyone to truly enjoy.
Well, we thought you might like some photographic evidence of just how crowded the pool scene is: here's a snapshot of the line for beach cabanas that we snapped last Friday.
Guests (only hotel guests are allowed access to the resort) must wait in this line before obtaining one of the beach cabanas. As usual with pool chairs and the like, the early bird gets the coveted seat on the beach and by early bird we mean folks who rise before 7:30am.
Also, a quick word about those cabanas--they look ratty and old. We stayed at this resort back in 1996 and we're pretty sure those are the same cabanas in use then. Not surprisingly, the GWR is a part of the Waldorf-Astoria Collection, whose resort properties continue to disappoint with their old, run-down facilities.
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After Drowning Death, The Ace Hotel Will No Longer Keep Pool Open All Night
The Ace Hotel Palm Springs, which just opened in February, was hoping to have an all-summer long party with their regular weekend pool festivities but sadly, tragedy struck the hotel last weekend.
A 22-year-old man was found dead in the hotel's pool early Sunday morning.
Redlands resident Kenneth Crawford was a friend of two guests staying at the popular Palm Springs hotel, according to management.
Police investigating Crawford's drowning learned he was among a group of friends that had gone out drinking earlier in the hours prior to the incident, according to Palm Springs Police Sergeant Mitch Spike.
The group had not been drinking at the hotel, Ace owner and manager Alex Calderwood said Monday.
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What It's Like Swimming in the Longest Infinity-Edge Pool in Florida
As we’ve noted before, the Viceroy Miami is pretty damn good looking. So we were psyched about our recent visit, and were especially looking forward to swimming in the hotel’s (and Icon Brickell’s) much-hyped pools. True, they are spectacular. But also? Deserted. As in, cue the spooky music quiet.
We arrived around 6.30 p.m. on a Friday evening, so perhaps all the hotel guests were taking disco naps before a night on the town, because they were nowhere to be seen. There were two or three Icon residents lounging in the thermal hot tub (which is actually the size of many South Beach hotel pools) but otherwise, the 15th-floor pool terrace was all ours.
Swimming the length of the Olympic-sized lap pool with the Viceroy and Icon towers hovering above us was refreshing but incredibly disconcerting. It was like a Miami-pool version of that scene in Vanilla Sky where Tom Cruise is running through an empty Times Square. Where were all the people?
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Donovan House's Pool Looks Like More Fun Than Thompson LES's
Thompson's track record has been not so good with their outdoor pool scene. Well, back up: that's kind of a vast generalization based on the issues the NYC Lower East Side neighbors have (quite vocally) had with the pool crowd at the Thompson LES — namely, it's loud and obnoxious.
But mmm, doesn't this shot of DC's Donovan House's pool get you going a little bit? This space, which was (unfortunately or fortunately, depending on who you are) "modeled after the exclusive A60 at 60 Thompson in New York and ABH at Thompson Beverly Hills," is officially called Above D.C. (ADC). We're not quite sure what the scene is like up there during its first seasonal go-round (but feel free to tell us), but it sure does look posh, doesn't it?
It's rockin' a full service bar and lots of food from chef Susur Lee's Zentan, Brazilian Ipe decking and, yes, Cherry Blossom Trees — and you can sip on that infamous signature cocktail from A60, “The Thom”, while you're up there.
Meanwhile, we'd like to add this: Zentan needs to get its website together.
[Photo: InspirationDC]
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The Five Must-See Hotel Pools of Summer 2009
The time has come for itsy-bitsy-teeny-weenie bikinis (and teeny weenies, if the Speedo thing is your jam) and sunning a-plenty. Countless hotels boast flatscreen TV's (yawn), Michelin-starred restaurants (stuffy) and iHomes (so what?), but what really impresses your pals are the photos and stories about that kickass pool by which your got your bitchin' bronze glow.
Inspired by our brother site Jaunted's World's Coolest Pools list, we bring you our picks for the Five Must-See Hotel Pools of Summer 2009.
Hotels In: Africa | Asia | Australia | Caribbean | Europe | North America | South America
Our Publications:
Jaunted | HotelChatter | VegasChatter
