The Best Hotels With Pools in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

A heated pool with a view is all yours at the Windsor Suites. From the top deck, you’ll have superb views of the city skyline as you swim and an Instagram-perfect background in the shape of the creeper-strewn living wall. The stylish suites and one- and two-bedroom apartments – each with a full kitchen, oversize work desk and walk-in closet – range in size from 220sqft (20sqm) to 1,200sqft (111sqm). Those with balconies have floor-to-ceiling windows framing the city’s skyscrapers and the chi-chi Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

You get the best of both worlds at the Hilton’s pool. It’s indoor for comfort, but you might as well be outside, thanks to the floor-to-ceiling windows and glass roof. Water is a theme here; the hotel sits plum on the Delaware River, gazing across at New Jersey. Go for a waterfront-view room – all sleek gray-on-gray to keep the focus on the outside – and you’ll have a front-row seat (and bed) to the river and Benjamin Franklin Bridge. Its location, named for William Penn’s setting anchor here in 1682, is a great bet for families.

You might want to practise your backstroke before checking in at Philly’s modern grande dame. The rooftop saltwater pool is indoor for warmth but features a glass roof so that you can gaze up at the surrounding skyscrapers as you swim. Beneath the grand spa and health club are sumptuous rooms where everything (right down to the wallpaper) is gold-tinged, and restaurants – including elegant Italian Scarpetta and modern Lacroix – are as fancy as the names suggest. Outside lies the city’s loveliest, leafiest square; book a park-view room to see it from your bed.

Everything looks classier at the Four Seasons, perched on top of the Norman Foster-designed Comcast Center, where even the entry-level rooms offer sweeping city views through its floor-to-ceiling windows. The feel is a soothing luxury, with the neutral color scheme extending to the understated marble-clad bathrooms. Michelin-star chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten works his magic on the 59th floor, while Vernick Fish – from James Beard Award-winner Greg Vernick – is a classy seafood joint. Locals love the cocktails at the 60th-floor JG Skyhigh, but the real place to be is the infinity pool on the 57th floor, where you can get a prime sunset view from the water.

From Memorial Day to Labor Day, you can take in the city skyline as you swim in the Wyndham’s heated pool. Visiting outside those dates? No problem – this is in Philly’s Historic District, steps away from the Liberty Bell Center, Independence Hall and more. The comfy rooms are business-chic, each with a large desk with a workhorse chair, sprawling beds and, in some cases, views towards the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. Philly cheesesteaks are on the menu at Coin’s Restaurant & Pub, and if you’re driving, an enormous garage will take away the pain of finding a parking space.

Get the Tesla house car to transport you in style to these slick furnished apartments in University City, across the Schuylkill River from Logan and Rittenhouse squares. From there, things can only get better; it has an Olympic-size pool, a state-of-the-art Technogym fitness center and even a 3D golf simulator. Prefer to take things easy? Lounge by the firepits on the terrace, see a movie in the screening room or stroll through Cira Green, a pretty rooftop park 90ft (27m) above the city.

Brash and blingy as only a W can be, this will shake up the Philadelphia hotel scene when it opens in March 2021, a block from City Hall. Rooms range from Wonderful to Fabulous, while the suites can be Fantastic or Wow – the vibe is as hyped up as the names. Expect an urban-gray palette, vast windows overlooking the cityscape and the usual W staples: the Away Spa, Fit Gym and Wet Deck with a year-round, heated outdoor pool.

While the Marriott is slightly business-staid when it comes to design, it’s in an excellent location right in the center of the action, near Independence Hall and Reading Terminal Market. It has a retro, T-shaped indoor pool and a sprawling fitness center, while downstairs, you’ll find the dining establishments of Circ and 13 Restaurant. Go for Circ’s prix-fixe menu, which sources seasonal food from local producers – pumpkin waffle, anyone?