10 MOST TERRIFYING SWIMMING POOLS SUSPENDED ON THE EDGE OF SKYSCRAPERS

10 Most Terrifying Swimming Pools Suspended On the Edge of Skyscrapers
By Suzi Marsh, Scribol, 7 April 2015.

Found in hotels and resorts around the world, these unusual - but undoubtedly exciting - water fun-filled features give guests the chance to feel as though they’re swimming through the clouds above their particular destination. The following ten gravity-defying pools are distinctly different in size, shape and location, but they all have one element in common: they’re definitely not for the faint-hearted.

10. Holiday Inn Shanghai Pudong Kangqiao - Shanghai, China

Image: InterContinental Hotels Group

For those who have always wanted to feel what it’s like to float weightlessly amid a landscape brimming with skyscrapers, China’s Holiday Inn Shanghai Pudong Kangqiao is the place to be. The hotel opened in spring 2011, and today its 24th-floor cantilevered swimming pool accommodates guests doing laps at a jaw-dropping 328 feet above the affluent district of Pudong in Shanghai.

Image: InterContinental Hotels Group

Yet it’s when swimmers arrive at the deep end that this predominantly indoor pool becomes suddenly much less tame. The feature juts out of the main body of the building, leaving anyone who dares to brave this area with nothing but water and a piece of glass between them and the ground far below.

9. Avalon Hotel - Gothenburg, Sweden

Image: Avalon Hotel

Open since 2007, Gothenburg’s Avalon Hotel undoubtedly offers its guests a little something extra with its awe-inspiring rooftop swimming pool. Situated seven stories up, the feature and its accompanying terrace area provide the perfect place in which to relax after a long day’s sightseeing around the Swedish city. And then of course there’s that all-important added thrill.

Image: Avalon Hotel

Part of the hotel’s seemingly precariously positioned pool sticks out horizontally over the side of the building, offering a watery glimpse of Kungsportsplatsen - a pretty 19th-century square - for those brave enough to look down. Furthermore, patrons in the Penthouse suite get sole use of the pool at certain periods of the day.

8. The Joule Hotel - Dallas, Texas, USA

Image: Eric Laignel

Plenty of hotels in Dallas offer tourists the opportunity to escape the heat with a refreshing dip, but none rival the pure excitement of The Joule Hotel’s rooftop pool. From ten stories up, guests can enjoy the unique thrill of swimming out over a street in the Texan city, thanks to a structure that extends a whole eight feet from the main body of the building.

Image: Eric Laignel

Devised by Adam D. Tihany, one of the country’s most respected interior designers, the pool opened along with the hotel in summer 2008. Since then, swimmers have had the chance to look out at Dallas from the transparent Plexiglas window located at the edge of the stomach-churning drop.

7. Marina Bay Sands - Singapore

Image: Marina Bay Sands

The infinity pool at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands SkyPark opened with a glamorous ceremony in 2010 and has since been regularly name-checked as among the planet’s most breathtaking swimming pools. The SkyPark itself spans the tops of the trio of towers that comprise this luxury hotel complex, and the 492-foot-long pool is pitched right in its middle - at a vertigo-inducing 650 feet above street level.

Image: Marina Bay Sands

The pool also offers an added buzz for those in search of a little excitement, as its clever system of water circulation creates the illusion of the wet stuff dropping straight into the looming abyss below. And while there’s naturally no real danger to swimmers, many may no doubt find it difficult to peer over the edge.

6. Adelphi Hotel - Melbourne, Australia

Image: Barbara Fischer

Melbourne’s Adelphi Hotel was unveiled in 1993 and has since become a local institution, not least because of its amazing 82-foot-long pool. Countless swimmers have been spotted here suspended 6.5 feet over the side of the hotel’s structure and nine levels up from the central business district’s Flinders Lane.

Image: Adelphi Hotel

The generous overhang and the pool’s glass floor certainly make the most of the view from the “dessert hotel” and have undoubtedly contributed to the establishment’s renown throughout the Australian city. In fact, many more locals had the opportunity to sample the astonishing feature from December 2014 to March 2015, when the normally guests-only pool was opened to the public every Sunday.

5. The Okura Prestige - Bangkok, Thailand

Image: The Okura Prestige

Opened in May 2012, The Okura Prestige boasts an 82-foot-long pool that presents swimmers with some of the finest views in Bangkok. And in fact, while many of the swimming pools on this list are notable for either their cantilevered structures or infinity edges, this stunning pool uniquely offers both.

Image: The Okura Prestige

Those without a fear of heights can get their kicks from swimming right out to the edge of the edifice on the 25th floor of the hotel, where the tumbling water creates the illusion that it’s possible to just keep on paddling. Plus, fine food and drinks are available poolside for people who still have the stomach for them.

4. Two Story Sky Villa, Palms Casino Resort - Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Image: Marshall Wayne

With thrills and spills seemingly around every corner, it takes a lot to raise the heart rate in Las Vegas. But for those with a spare US$20,000 kicking around, a dip in the pool at Palms Casino Resort’s Two Story Sky Villa will definitely provide a different kind of buzz. The resort opened to great fanfare in 2001 and aimed to recreate the glamor of the Playboy Mansion with this luxurious private suite.

Image: Etiketa Magazin

Moreover, for those whose stomachs haven’t yet dropped at the price tag, it’s worth noting that the pool juts from the hotel’s main structure, providing guests with a unique perspective of the world-famous Las Vegas Strip below.

3. InterContinental Dubai - Festival City - Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Image: Luis

The InterContinental Dubai - Festival City hotel - which opened toward the end of 2007 - goes one step further than simply offering a pool with a glass bottom. The incredible 82-foot feature has an overhanging balcony with transparent sides, too, giving swimmers the slightly unnerving sensation that they’re floating in thin air.

Image: saspojaspo

Furthermore, swimming out over the edge of the hotel’s fourth story, adventurous guests are rewarded with an incredible optical illusion: looking out across the horizon, the waters of the pool merge with those of Dubai Creek to create one of the emirate’s most unusual and memorable views.

2. Thompson Toronto - Toronto, Canada

Image: Danielle Mills

What better way to experience Toronto than by swimming serenely past its iconic skyline? At Thompson Toronto, guests can test out their head for heights by doing a few laps in the 40-foot infinity pool situated on the hotel’s 16th floor. The establishment itself has been welcoming patrons - including, no doubt, some thrill-seekers - since 2010.

Image: Thompson Toronto

Plus, there’s more here than just the opportunity to gaze out over the city from a dizzying height. In summer, the hotel’s accompanying rooftop bar also offers patrons a chance to relax and stay up until the early hours sampling its extensive cocktail menu.

1. W Hong Kong - Hong Kong, China

Image: W Hong Kong

W Hong Kong opened officially in January 2009, and its rooftop infinity pool is the city’s loftiest by far. In fact, at an incredible 692 feet above street level, it’s among the most elevated on the planet. Furthermore, while the pool’s surroundings encourage a feeling of deep relaxation with their pretty butterfly decoration and cosy loungers, adrenaline junkies can experience the rush of venturing out to the water’s edge.

Image: W Hong Kong

Set above the bustling Victoria Harbour, the pool - and the accompanying al fresco hot tub - treats swimmers to arguably the best vistas in the city. From here, it’s possible to enjoy all-encompassing views of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon - that is, of course, assuming guests can bring themselves to open their eyes.

Top images: Top: The Okura Prestige pool. Credit: The Okura Prestige Facebook. Bottom: The Marina Bay Sands’ infinity pool. Credit: Nsaa/Wikimedia Commons.

[Source: Scribol. Edited. Top images and some links added.]