On the north side of Macau's Taipa island, the Crown Macau's Fitness Centre, located on the 16th floor, features a 25-meter infinity-edge heated swimming pool that overlooks the Macau Peninsula. Piped-in underwater music and a juice bar enhance the swimming experience.

For more information: Crown Macau Hotel

We call it Las Vegas' "swimming with the sharks' experience," says Golden Nugget spokesperson Justin McVay. The hotel's three-story pool complex features a 200,000-gallon shark tank with a see-through acrylic waterslide cutting through the middle of the aquarium. In the swimming pool proper, "people will line up against the acrylic glass with their hands next to their face and watch the eight-foot sharks swimming by," explains McVay. "It feels almost like you're in the water with them."

For more information: Golden Nugget

"When we negotiate and look for properties, our first criteria is to create a rooftop pool" says Elon Kenchington, COO of the Gansevoort Hotel Group. The Gansevoort South proclaims its 110-foot long elevated pool "the country's largest rooftop pool and playground." The pool deck also features special events like fashion shows and DJs and, according to Kenchington, is meant to be a "destination place for attracting people who want to be seen."

For more information: Gansevoort South Hotel

The San Alfonso "holiday real estate project" in Algarrobo, Chile, is home to this 3,323-foot long saltwater lagoon, which is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest swimming pool in the world. It covers 20 acres and uses a technology developed by the Crystal Lagoons Corporation that filters the nearby seawater with a "pulse-based disinfection method" to make the water suitable for swimmers and—in this case—boaters and windsurfers. It's also nine degrees warmer than the neighboring ocean.

For more information: San Alfonso

The Sun City hotel says it "takes its architectural and interior themes from a lavish lost African tribe fantasy." At the center of this sprawling resort in the country's North West Province is a multifaceted water world, "The Valley of Waves," which includes the Roaring Lagoon, a wave pool that generates six-foot-plus rollers every 90 seconds. For a more serene aquatic experience, the adjacent Royal Bath offers poolside cocktails under an antique dome.

For more information: Sun International

If the standard, centralized hotel swimming area provokes claustrophobia, try the ensuite "infinity" pools at the ultra-luxury Jade Mountain resort on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. The private pools' sizes increase in proportion to room category. Each is provided with "individually filtered and sterilized water" and surfaced in "one-of-a-kind glass tiles" and are illuminated by fiber optics at night. They also overlook a larger, natural infinity pool—the Caribbean Sea.

For more information: Jade Mountain

The Mandalay's 11-acre pool complex includes a 4,100-square-foot wave pool and sand beach and several smaller pools. At the Moorea Beach Club, 21-and-older guests pay an extra admission fee to enjoy an "elite day-club environment" with European-style (i.e., topless-optional) bathing.

For more information: Mandalay Bay Beach

Signatures in the Hotel Caruso’s Golden Book include the likes of Greta Garbo, Humphrey Bogart and Jackie Kennedy, but today the biggest star in the legendary luxury hostelry’s midst may well be its expansive open-air heated infinity pool. Like the hotel, it’s situated on a cliff top 1,200 feet above sea level overlooking the spectacular Amalfi Coast. You’ve got evocative medieval ruins on one side and infinite shades of blue stretching out before you.

For more information: Hotel Caruso and Orient Express

"I can visualize a waterfall of swimmers cascading down to the pavement below," wrote Dallas Morning News Columnist Steve Brown of the gravity-defying pool at the city's Joule Hotel, which juts out from the rooftop and hangs above downtown's Main Street. "I know—it will never happen," added Brown. "But I'm still not walking on that side of the street."

For more information: Star Wood Hotels

Our sole indoor-pool representative on the list is the opulent, colonnaded oasis inside the Ritz Paris. Inspired by ancient Roman baths, the pool's walls are lined with frescoes and mosaics. A poolside mezzanine bar allows guests to fuel up for—or wind down from—a big swim.

For more information: The Ritz Paris