The short answer: the largest pool at any resort is at San Alfonso del Mar in Chile, a Guinness record kilometre of water covering about 8.2 hectares. The largest rooftop infinity pool is Marina Bay Sands in Singapore at 150 metres, and the highest is Address Beach Resort in Dubai, 294 metres up. Each holds a different, narrower record, which is why several hotels honestly claim to have "the largest pool."
By the Hotels for Kings Editorial Team · Last updated: June 10, 2026
We may earn a commission when you book through links on this page, at no extra cost to you. Rankings are editorial and never sold. Pool dimensions, record dates and access rules below were checked against each property's own published information, Guinness World Records and reputable dated sources in June 2026.
"World's largest hotel pool" is a title that splinters the moment you measure it. A kilometre-long seawater lagoon, a rooftop strip 57 storeys up, a wave pool the size of a stadium and a crystalline lake in the desert are not competing for one crown; each holds a separate, narrower record, and most of the bragging happens by quietly attaching a qualifier. This ranking does the opposite. It runs by measured size and the specific record each pool actually holds, prints the figure, names who certified it, and notes who has since been overtaken. We rank pools you can genuinely swim in at a hotel or resort, so private members' lagoons and pure real-estate developments are explained but not crowned.
Quick comparison
| Pool | Place | Measured size | Record held | Access |
|---|
| San Alfonso del Mar | Algarrobo, Chile | 1,013 m long, ~8.2 ha | Guinness largest pool, 2006 | Resort residents |
| Citystars Sharm El Sheikh | Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt | 12.5 ha lagoon | Guinness largest crystalline lagoon, 2015 | Resort amenity |
| Galaxy Macau | Macau, China | 8,000 m² wave pool | World's largest skytop wave pool (own claim) | Hotel guests |
| Marina Bay Sands | Singapore | 150 m long, 191 m up | World's largest rooftop infinity pool | Hotel guests |
| Address Beach Resort | Dubai, UAE | 560 m², 294 m up | Guinness highest outdoor infinity pool, 2021 | Guests and day pass |
| Atlantis Paradise Island | Nassau, Bahamas | 141-acre waterscape | Among largest resort waterscapes | Hotel guests |
How we ranked and verified this
We rank by measured size and the specific record each pool holds, not by looks, since a separate Hotels for Kings guide already covers the prettiest infinity and rooftop pools. The kilometre-scale ground pools lead, then the record rooftop and highest pools, then the largest resort waterscape. Every dimension and record date was checked against the property's own site, Guinness World Records or a reputable dated source in June 2026, and where a hotel's "largest" title is its own marketing claim we say so. Access matters for a pool you actually want to swim in, so we note whether each is open to hotel guests, day-pass visitors or only resort residents.
The ranked list
1
Algarrobo, Valparaiso Region, Chile
San Alfonso del Mar
1,013 m long · ~8.2 hectares · Guinness largest pool, 2006
Why it's number one: no other pool at a resort comes close on raw scale. When it was completed in 2006, the lagoon at the San Alfonso del Mar resort in Algarrobo, about 100 km west of Santiago, entered the Guinness World Records as the largest swimming pool on earth. It runs 1,013 metres along the Pacific coast, covers roughly 8.2 hectares, around 20 acres, and holds some 250 million litres of filtered seawater drawn from the ocean alongside it, deep enough in places to sail small boats. You swim in genuine sea water kept crystal clear, with a real beach edge, against the actual Pacific behind it.
Who it's for: record-chasers and families who want the novelty of swimming in the biggest pool ever built, paired with a Chilean coastal break. How to book: San Alfonso del Mar is primarily a residential resort, so access is tied to staying in its apartments rather than a conventional hotel night; arrange a unit through the resort or a rental.
Honest note: this is an apartment resort, not a grand hotel, so service and rooms are practical rather than luxurious, and the title now carries a footnote: man-made crystalline lagoons such as Citystars in Egypt have since been certified larger in surface area under a different Guinness category.
Source: San Alfonso del Mar; Guinness World Records.
See every hotel world record, verified →
2
Sharm El Sheikh, South Sinai, Egypt
Citystars Sharm El Sheikh
12.5-hectare lagoon · Guinness largest crystalline lagoon, Dec 2015
Why it's here: it took the surface-area crown into a new category. The crystalline lagoon at the Citystars Sharm El Sheikh resort, built with Crystal Lagoons technology in the Sinai desert, was certified by Guinness World Records in December 2015 as the world's largest, at about 12.5 hectares of turquoise water. It uses saltwater drawn from underground tables with no alternative use, sits within a vast master-planned resort of hotels, beaches and golf, and turns a stretch of desert into something closer to a private sea than a pool.
Who it's for: travellers who want a Red Sea resort holiday wrapped around an almost unreal expanse of swimmable water, with beaches and watersports built in. What to book: a room in one of the resort's operating hotels with lagoon access confirmed, since the development spans residences as well as hospitality.
Honest note: this is a phased mega-development, so which hotels and lagoon sections are fully open shifts over time; confirm exactly what is operating and accessible before you book, rather than assuming the full 100-hectare masterplan is finished.
Source: Crystal Lagoons, Citystars Sharm El Sheikh; Guinness World Records (2015).
More stays like no other: the most unusual luxury hotels →
3
Cotai, Macau, China
Galaxy Macau Grand Resort Deck
8,000 m² wave pool · 575 m river ride · world's largest skytop wave pool (own claim)
Why it's here: it is the biggest pool complex stacked on top of an integrated resort rather than spread across the ground. The Grand Resort Deck at Galaxy Macau covers about 75,000 square metres and is built around what the resort bills as the world's largest skytop wave pool, an 8,000-square-metre expanse that generates waves up to 1.5 metres high. It pairs that with what it calls the world's longest skytop aquatic river ride at 575 metres and a 150-metre white-sand beach, all set above the casinos and hotels of the Cotai strip.
Who it's for: families and groups who want a full water resort with the hotels, dining and entertainment of a Macau mega-property attached. What to book: a room in one of the Galaxy Macau hotels, which grants deck access; the wave pool runs scheduled sessions, so check times.
Honest note: the "largest skytop wave pool" and "longest skytop river" titles are the resort's own claims rather than independently certified records, and the deck is a busy, scheduled family attraction rather than a quiet luxury pool.
Source: Galaxy Macau, Grand Resort Deck.
Browse the records hub →
4
Marina Bay, Singapore
Marina Bay Sands
150 m long · 191 m above ground · world's largest rooftop infinity pool
Why it's here: it is the most famous pool record of all, and the one most people picture when they hear "infinity pool." The pool crowning the SkyPark on Level 57 of Marina Bay Sands stretches 150 metres across the tops of the hotel's three towers, 191 metres above Singapore, and is billed as the world's largest rooftop infinity pool. Built with hundreds of tonnes of stainless steel and holding around 1.44 million litres of water, its vanishing edge appears to spill straight into the city skyline, split into adult, family and children's zones.
Who it's for: travellers for whom the pool is the reason to book the hotel, and who want the skyline-edge photograph at dawn before the crowds. What to book: any Marina Bay Sands room, since the SkyPark pool is reserved strictly for in-house guests; go early or late to beat the peak.
Honest note: it is large for a rooftop pool but small next to the ground-level giants on this list, it gets genuinely crowded in daylight, and there is no public or day-pass swimming, only the observation deck is sold separately.
Source: Marina Bay Sands, SkyPark Infinity Pool; Marina Bay Sands.
More vanishing edges: the best hotels with infinity pools →
5
Jumeirah Beach Residence, Dubai, UAE
Address Beach Resort
560 m² · 294 m up, 77th floor · Guinness highest outdoor infinity pool, 2021
Why it's here: it holds the vertical record this list would otherwise miss. The infinity pool on the 77th floor of Address Beach Resort in Dubai was certified by Guinness World Records in 2021 as the highest outdoor infinity pool in a building, sitting 294 metres above the ground with a surface area of about 560 square metres and a swimmable stretch near 95 metres. The vanishing edge looks straight down at Palm Jumeirah, Ain Dubai and the Marina, which is the whole point of swimming at this altitude.
Who it's for: travellers who care about the height and the view as much as the swim, and who want a beach-resort base on JBR. What to book: a stay at Address Beach Resort, or check the paid 77th-floor day pass, which is sold separately to non-guests at times.
Honest note: the record is already on borrowed time, with the 310-metre Tattu Sky Pool announced in Dubai to overtake it; and the altitude that makes the view also means wind and limited capacity high above the beach.
Source: Guinness World Records; Address Beach Resort.
See the highest hotels on earth by altitude →
6
Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas
Atlantis Paradise Island
141-acre Aquaventure waterscape · 7-acre lagoon · among largest resort waterscapes
Why it's here: because the largest pool is sometimes not a pool at all but a whole water world. Atlantis Paradise Island is built around Aquaventure, a 141-acre waterscape that ranks among the largest water attractions at any resort, including a seven-acre lagoon, river rides, near-vertical slides and marine habitats woven through the grounds. It is less a single record-length pool than an entire swimmable landscape, and its sister resort Atlantis The Palm in Dubai runs a comparably enormous Aquaventure on one site.
Who it's for: families who want days of water rather than a single signature pool, with marine exhibits and beaches built in. What to book: a room at Atlantis, which includes Aquaventure access, choosing the tower that suits your budget and proximity to the water.
Honest note: this is a large, busy family resort, so it trades intimacy and quiet for scale; and "waterscape" acreage is not the same record as a single pool's length, which is why it sits at the foot of a list built on measured pools.
Source: Atlantis Paradise Island.
More record-setting stays: the most remote luxury hotels →
Why do so many hotels claim the "world's largest pool"?
Because "largest" hides a category every time it is used. San Alfonso del Mar holds the Guinness record for the largest swimming pool by length and overall scale, set in 2006. Citystars in Egypt holds a separate Guinness title for the largest crystalline lagoon, certified in 2015, which is a different measurement of a different kind of water feature. Marina Bay Sands wins on a third axis, the largest rooftop infinity pool, while Address Beach Resort takes a fourth, the highest. None of these claims contradicts the others, because each attaches a quiet qualifier: by length, by lagoon area, by rooftop, by height. The honest way to read any "world's largest pool" headline is to find the qualifier, check the date it was certified, and ask whether it has since been beaten. On the raw question of how much water you can swim across at a resort, the answer is still San Alfonso del Mar's record kilometre on the Chilean coast.
Source: San Alfonso del Mar; Crystal Lagoons.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the largest hotel pool in the world?
- By sheer measured area, the largest pool at any resort is at San Alfonso del Mar in Algarrobo, Chile. It holds the Guinness World Record set in 2006 for the world's largest swimming pool, stretching 1,013 metres and covering about 8.2 hectares with 250 million litres of filtered seawater. For a man-made crystalline lagoon at a resort, Citystars Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt took a separate Guinness title in 2015 at 12.5 hectares.
- What is the largest rooftop infinity pool in the world?
- The 150-metre infinity pool on Level 57 of Marina Bay Sands in Singapore is billed as the world's largest rooftop infinity pool. It sits 191 metres above the city on top of the hotel's three towers, holds around 1.44 million litres of water, and is open only to guests staying at the hotel.
- What is the highest hotel infinity pool in the world?
- Address Beach Resort in Dubai holds the Guinness World Record, certified in 2021, for the highest outdoor infinity pool in a building. It sits 294 metres up on the 77th floor, with a surface area of about 560 square metres and a swimmable stretch near 95 metres. A taller pool, Tattu Sky Pool at 310 metres, has been announced in Dubai to overtake it.
- Can you actually swim in the world's largest pools?
- Yes, but access varies. Marina Bay Sands and Address Beach Resort reserve their record pools for hotel guests or paid day passes. San Alfonso del Mar is primarily a residential resort, so pool use is tied to staying in its apartments, and the giant crystalline lagoons at Citystars and similar developments are shared resort amenities rather than a single hotel's private pool. Always confirm access with the property before booking for the pool alone.
- Is the Marina Bay Sands pool the biggest in the world?
- No. Marina Bay Sands has the largest rooftop infinity pool, a specific record about elevated vanishing-edge pools, but at 150 metres it is far smaller than ground-level giants like San Alfonso del Mar's 1,013-metre pool or the multi-hectare crystalline lagoons. Each holds a different, narrower record, which is why several hotels can all honestly claim to have the largest pool of some kind.
- What is the largest hotel waterpark?
- Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas centres on Aquaventure, a 141-acre waterscape that is among the largest water attractions at any resort, including a seven-acre lagoon, river rides, slides and marine exhibits. Its sister property Atlantis The Palm in Dubai runs a comparably vast Aquaventure waterpark on a single resort site.