The Best Hotel Pools in Hawaii, Island by Island

Here's the strange thing about a pool in Hawaii: it has the hardest act in the world to follow. The Pacific is right there, warm all year, clear enough to watch turtles from the shore. So the islands' great hotel pools don't try to compete with the ocean. They frame it, borrow its rock and its fish, or fill themselves with it outright.

That makes Hawaii one of the most interesting pool destinations we rank. This fall we added six Hawaiian pools to the Pool Atlas rankings, spread across five islands, and built a full Hawaii destination guide around them. Here's the short tour.

Oahu: An Orchid in Waikiki

Waikiki is a city beach. It's lively and lovely and about as calm as a stadium concourse, which is exactly why the pool at [Halekulani](/pools/halekulani-126) matters so much. Look down before you get in. The floor of the oval pool carries a giant cattleya orchid made from roughly 1.2 million pieces of glass tile, and on a bright morning it seems to float a few inches below the surface.

The pool is heated, about 82 feet long and set just back from the sand, with Diamond Head off to one side and a slow parade of surfers beyond the reef. It's the classic Honolulu hotel pool, and it has aged better than almost any of its neighbors. We rank it #31 in the world.

Maui: The Whale Channel and the Water Park

South Maui's Wailea coast is dry, sunny and pointed straight at the channel where humpback whales spend the winter. It's also home to the two most different pools on our list.

[Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea](/pools/four-seasons-resort-maui-at-wailea-129) keeps its adults-only Serenity Pool raised above the rest of the resort, so the infinity edge lines up with open Pacific, Lanai and the West Maui Mountains. It's for guests 21 and over, six cabanas line the terrace, and from December to April you can watch whales breach without leaving the water.

A short walk down the coast, [Grand Wailea](/pools/grand-wailea-a-waldorf-astoria-resort-133) went the other direction entirely. Its Wailea Canyon Activity Pool runs 2,000 feet through nine pools on six levels, with seven waterslides, six waterfalls, caves, a rope swing, a sand-bottomed baby beach and a water elevator that lifts swimmers back to the top. The Lava Tube Slide drops three stories in about fourteen seconds. If you're traveling with kids, this is the pool they'll describe to their friends for years. (Parents get the adults-only Hibiscus Serenity Pool, which has its own giant flower in glass mosaic.)

A note on Maui: West Maui is still rebuilding after the August 2023 fire in Lahaina. Visitors are part of the island's recovery, and it's worth traveling thoughtfully, following local guidance and spending with local businesses.

Lanai: The Quiet Island

Lanai sits nine miles off Maui and feels much farther. There are no traffic lights and very few distractions, which makes [Four Seasons Resort Lanai](/pools/four-seasons-resort-lanai-134) one of the most restful pool stays in the islands. The palm-shaded Oasis Pool is a lagoon of lava rock and waterfalls, kept at 84 degrees and open around the clock, a few steps from Hulopoe Beach, where spinner dolphins are regular visitors. Up a path, the adults-only pool tucks into lava rock grottoes draped in bougainvillea.

Hawaii Island: Swimming With Eagle Rays

The Big Island's Kona-Kohala coast is black lava running down to turquoise water, and [Four Seasons Resort Hualalai](/pools/four-seasons-resort-hualalai-127) has built the most memorable pool in the state into it. King's Pond is a 1.8-million-gallon swimmable aquarium carved from lava rock and filled with saltwater, home to more than a thousand tropical fish and spotted eagle rays you can snorkel beside.

The resort's marine naturalists run feedings and touch-tank sessions from the Kumu Kai Marine Center, and there's an infinity pool on the deck above for anyone who prefers to watch from dry(ish) land. It's one of eight pools at Hualalai. It's also the one your kids will refuse to leave, and frankly, so will you!

Kauai: The Cliff Above Hanalei

Kauai's North Shore is the dramatic Hawaii of postcards: sheer green ridges, waterfalls and big winter surf. The former St. Regis Princeville reopened in 2023 as [1 Hotel Hanalei Bay](/pools/1-hotel-hanalei-bay-131), and its adults-only infinity pool is the reason to book. It floats on a terrace above the bay, with shaded wooden cabanas along one side and a jacuzzi alongside. When the winter swell makes the beaches rough, there's no better place to watch it.

When to Go

How to Choose

If you want one great pool and a city around it, go to Halekulani. If you want whales from an infinity edge, go to Wailea. If you're bringing kids, Grand Wailea or Hualalai will make you a hero. And if you want to do absolutely nothing in beautiful water, Lanai is waiting.

Every pool, mapped island by island → The Pool Atlas Hawaii guide