There are various reasons why we enjoy traveling the world, be it fancy hotels, beautiful beaches, exciting accommodation, or nearby attractions. However, a lot of the time the enticing factor is the allure of hotel swimming pools and natural rock pools. So whether you enjoy a peaceful dip or an exhilarating swim, have a look at the following uniquely-designed swimming pools around the world for an interesting and adventurous splash:

1.  Heart-Shaped Pool, Memphis, Tennessee, USA

The Elvis Presley Heartbreak Hotel is a stylish boutique hotel situated across the street from his Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee. It boasts a suitably designed heart-shaped swimming pool that has a jagged mosaicking pattern on the bottom to epitomize the remains of a broken heart. Elvis Presley sings about the hotel in his 1955 song, Heartbreak Hotel: “Since my baby left me, I’ve found a new place to dwell. It’s down at the end of Lonely Street: the Heartbreak Hotel.” Although the name of the hotel seems rather despondent, the bright yellow and purple colours of the hotel make it an exciting place to visit.

2.  Nemo 33, Brussels, Belgium

Nemo 33 is a recreational diving centre in Brussels, Belgium. The vast depth of 34,5m makes it the deepest swimming pool in the world! The pool is filled with 2 500 000 litres of hot spring water and has exciting underwater caves with stalactites and submarine portholes for divers to explore. There are numerous windows located at different levels for visitors to see inside the pool at the different depths.

3.  The Seagaia Ocean Dome, Miyazaki, Japan

The Seagaia Ocean Dome in Miyazaki, Japan, holds the Guinness World Record for being the largest indoor swimming pool in the world. The beach theme, with fake sand, palm trees, an artificial volcano, wave-maker, and a blue roof with puffy white clouds, provides a realistic and exotic feel. With a length of 300m and a width of 100m, the indoor dome has a capacity to hold up to 10 000 people. Located just 500m from the sea with an indoor temperature of 30˚C, this pool is something special. Unfortunately this man-made masterpiece closed down in 2007 for renovations.

4.  San Alfonso Del Mar resort pool, Algarrobo, Chile

The lengthy sea-pool in the San Alfonso del Mar resort in Algarrobo, Chile, appears in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s largest outdoor swimming pool. Covering an area of 80 937m² and having a storage capacity of 30 million m³, it is larger than 20 Olympic size swimming pools! The gigantic man-made, salt water lagoon is over 1000m in length and allows visitors to canoe, boat or sail down it. A computer-operated filtration system keeps fresh seawater in constant circulation, providing a safe and spectacular swimming area alongside the Pacific Ocean.

5. Devil’s Pool, Victoria Falls, Zambia

After manoeuvring some difficult ledges you will find the ‘Devil’s Pool’ located on the brink of the magnificent Victoria Falls. The naturally-formed pool near the edge of the waterfall offers swimmers an adrenaline-filled bathing experience. Between September and December, the water is fairly calm and swimmers are able to enjoy a (relatively) safe dip in the cool waters.  It is one of the world’s most precarious and dangerous places to swim.

6. Guitar-shaped pool, Nashville, Tennessee

This guitar-shaped swimming pool is a replica of country music singer Webb Pierce’s original swimming pool at his home in Oak Hill. He allowed tourists to enter his backyard to photograph his unique swimming pool until his neighbours complained about the amount of tourist buses infiltrating the area and obtained a court order to prevent him from doing so. The imitation pool was built on Music Row in May 1978, opposite the former site of the Country Music Hall of Fame. The swimming pool then became part of the Spence Manor Motor Hotel, famous for having Elvis Presley as a guest. In 1986, the hotel was converted into condos. Today, visitors can spot the swimming pool through a fence.

7. Blood red pool, Samui Island, Thailand

The unique deep-red pool in at the Library Resort in Samui Island, Thailand, is a popular attraction. The pool is a rosy paradise, with a surrounding of trees, a sea-view, and an open-air library. You can relax in knowing that the reddishness of the water is not from an artificial dye (threatening to turn you red) but rather the red, yellow and orange tiles on the bottom of the pool.

8. Glass-bottomed pool, Shanghai Pudong Kangqiao, Beijing

The Holiday Inn in Shanghai Pudong Kangqiao, Beijing, takes a “pool with a view” to a new level. The 24-story high, partly-suspended swimming pool has a glass bottom with a startling view of the pavement below, giving swimmers the illusion they are swimming in mid-air. If you like to skinny-dip, this pool definitely isn’t for you. The spokesperson for the InterContinental Hotels Group says that they wanted to provide their guests with a unique swimming experience that lets them feel as though they’re vacationing, even in a bustling city.

9.  The Badeschiff, Berlin, Germany

The Badeschiff, meaning “bathing ship”, is a unique public swimming pool that has been converted from the hull of an old river barge. The pool is situated in the east harbour section of the River Spree, which is too polluted to allow safe swimming. The pool is open from 8am until midnight, so when the sun sets, the Badeschiff turns into a night club, fully equipped with DJs, bars, table tennis, table football, and saunas in winter.

10.  The Infinity Pool , Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

The Infinity Pool, located on the Sky Park above Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, has a superb elevated setting. At least three times the length of an Olympic swimming pool, it is one of the largest outdoor pools in the world. It offers an amazing experience for swimmers because it gives the illusion that the water extends all the way to the horizon (or to infinity).  Swimmers are afforded an adrenaline rush as they swim towards the edge and a 200m drop.

What makes a holiday complete more than swimming in a strangely-shaped, Guinness-Book-of-Records-featured swimming pool? Let us know which funky swimming pools you have encountered across the globe!

Main Image by Quorum Communications (Wikipedia)