Hotels with an Outdoor Pool in Hangzhou
Right now, one hotel on this site's Hangzhou list keeps its pool outdoors: the Hangzhou Grand Metropark Hotel, a five-star property whose pool and adjoining hot tub both look directly over West Lake. That is worth saying plainly rather than padding out with alternatives, since every other pool hotel in the city on this list, ten of them, keeps its water indoors. The trade-off is straightforward: an open-air pool with a view no indoor pool in Hangzhou can match, set against a single choice rather than the wider selection available to indoor-pool travelers, and a pool that depends on the weather rather than a spa's climate control.
Hangzhou is built to be looked at from outside rather than through a window, whether that means the causeways ringing West Lake, the wooded approach to Lingyin Temple, or the tea terraces southwest of the water, and the city rewards travelers willing to spend time outdoors across the seasons. An outdoor hotel pool fits that same instinct, offering West Lake as scenery rather than a backdrop glimpsed from indoors, though the city's own climate, hot and humid in summer, cold and damp in winter, means that instinct only pays off for part of the year, which is exactly why most hotels here hedge with an indoor pool instead.
Outdoor pool · Hangzhou in numbers
Where to stay
One hotel, a view no indoor pool here can match
An outdoor pool in Hangzhou earns its place for one specific reason: an open-air swim with West Lake spread out in front of you is not something an indoor pool, however well designed, can reproduce. That said, this is a narrower category than most on this site, since a single hotel currently covers it, so the case for booking here rests on wanting that particular view and being willing to work around the season rather than expecting the same year-round reliability as an indoor pool elsewhere in the city.
The Hangzhou Grand Metropark Hotel is a five-star property that pairs its outdoor pool with a hot tub in the same open-air setting, both facing West Lake directly. That combination, a pool and a jacuzzi together outdoors with a lake view, does not exist anywhere else in this city's current hotel selection, which is why it anchors this entire list on its own. The hotel carries an 8.2 guest rating on this site, and having both pool and jacuzzi in one open-air setting means a single stop covers a swim and a soak without moving between buildings.
Being outdoors ties the pool to Hangzhou's seasons in a way none of the ten indoor-pool hotels on this site have to think about. Spring and autumn, when cherry blossoms and later osmanthus flowers line the lake, are generally the most comfortable stretches for an open-air swim, while the hot, humid peak of July and August or the damp chill of winter make an indoor alternative the more comfortable choice for many travelers even if it means giving up the view. Booking during one of those two windows is the practical way to get the most from this specific pool.
Choosing this hotel means choosing a specific trade-off rather than picking from a wide field. Travelers who want the widest range of hotels, price points and locations around West Lake or Qianjiang New City should look at this site's indoor-pool list instead, which currently spans ten properties across both sides of the city. Anyone set on swimming outdoors with the lake in view, though, currently has exactly one address to check, and that is not a knock on the Grand Metropark itself, which holds its own on rating and setting, but simply a reflection of how the city's current pool inventory is split.
That single-hotel reality is worth stating honestly rather than dressing up as abundance. The Grand Metropark's outdoor pool and hot tub combination is a genuine draw for the right traveler, particularly one visiting in spring or autumn who wants the lake itself as the backdrop to a swim, but anyone who values choice over that specific setting will likely be better served checking the indoor-pool list for a wider set of options. Treat the single-hotel reality as a planning fact rather than a flaw: the right match can still beat a longer list.
A traveler's takeI chose the Hangzhou Grand Metropark Hotel specifically for its outdoor pool, and swimming with West Lake laid out in front of me beat every indoor pool I have used elsewhere in the city for pure atmosphere. The hot tub next to it, also facing the water, made for an easy second stop once the afternoon cooled off. It was early autumn, which turned out to matter: I would think twice about the same pool in August's humidity or a January chill.
Local tips
- 1Book the Hangzhou Grand Metropark Hotel if an outdoor pool with a direct West Lake view matters more to you than having multiple hotels to compare.
- 2Visit in spring or autumn if the outdoor pool is the priority; Hangzhou's humid summer and damp winter make an indoor pool the more comfortable choice most of the year.
- 3Check this site's indoor-pool list instead if you want to compare ten hotels across both West Lake and Qianjiang New City rather than one specific property.
- 4Confirm the pool's seasonal opening dates directly with the hotel before booking, since an outdoor pool in this climate is unlikely to run on a fixed year-round schedule.
- 5Pack for sun as well as water if you plan to spend real time at the pool; there is little indoor shade at an open-air setup like this one.
- 6Combine a stay here with a walk along the nearby causeways so the lake view from the pool and the view from the shoreline reinforce each other rather than competing for one afternoon.