If you are inclined to choose a hotel on the strength of its pool, why not take things a little further and build an entire holiday around one.
As with everything, the leisure industry has been pushing the envelope on what constitutes a cool pool.
Want to swim on top of a skyscraper? No problem.
Fancy taking a dip in a glass-bottomed pool cantilevered out over a city? No bother.
Your own private lap pool? How quaint.
To really take things up a notch, how about Crocosaurus Cove (crocosauruscove.com) in Darwin, Australia?
There you can work on your breast stroke and become bosom buddies with a deadly reptile at the same time, with crocodiles just inches away from you behind a glass screen.
Enter the Cage of Death if you dare and have the pool attendant instigate a feeding frenzy while you are tucked safely in a glass box.
If sharks are more your thing, it has to be the Tank at the Golden Nugget (goldennugget.com) hotel in, where else, Las Vegas. There guests shoot down a glass tube through a shark aquarium – for kicks.
For thrills of another kind, check out Nemo33 (nemo33.com) in Brussels, the world’s deepest diving pool.
Whether you are into scuba or free – good old-fashioned holding your breath – diving, it is the place to go.
Nemo33 is 34.5m deep and contains millions of litres of un-chlorinated, filtered spring water maintained at 30 degrees.
It even has underwater caves and lots of film crews use it to shoot underwater scenes.
All that’s missing is a wreck.
