How to Find the Best Hotel Pool in Austin

Austin's climate is pretty hot most of the year. If you're in town and find the heat overwhelming, you might want to spend some time at a hotel pool. Here are some of the better hotel pools in town.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

1. If you're old enough to remember when MTV actually showed music videos, then you'll certainly remember the video to "Rock the Casbah" by The Clash, which was shot in Austin. One of the scenes in that video features the members of The Clash lounging beside the pool of what is now the Radisson Hotel. Even if obscure music memories aren't recommendation enough, you should check out the pool for its view of Lake Lady Bird if nothing else.

2. Want to check out the clubs and shopping along South Congress? The Austin Motel and Hotel San Jose are the top spots to flop down there. The Austin Motel has a kidney-shaped pool built in the 1950s, while the Hotel San Jose has one that is small, but does the trick if you want to cool off. So take a dip, towel off, grab a bite at Guero's, then rock your plastic up one side of So Co and down the other.

3. If your idea of fun is shouting "Top of the world, Ma!" while seventeen stories up and clad only in a Speedo, then the rooftop pool at the Omni is the place to go. This hotel is in the heart of downtown and is bisected by a 16-story atrium. The roof level also includes a whirlpool, exercise room and sauna.

4. If you can't make up your mind whether you're in the mood for an indoor swim or an outdoor swim The Renaissance Austin Hotel lets you pick either--or both. The hotel is set on wooded grounds in the middle of the Arboretum shopping center with many shopping, dining, recreational and entertainment options within walking or a short driving distance away. There's even a trail through the woods that leads to a large duck pond.

5. The Four Seasons Hotel also gives you the indoor and outdoor options, though that luxurious hotel is located downtown on a bluff overlooking Lake Lady Bird. The bar at the Four Seasons is pretty much ground zero for the movers and shakers during South By Southwest.