Best Outdoor Pool Hotels in Shanghai
Shanghai's outdoor pools are a warm-weather amenity, usable roughly from May through October before the city's damp winter sets in, and three hotels keep one running through that window. The Grand Mercure Shanghai Century Park Hotel pairs its outdoor pool with a hot tub across from Century Park in Pudong, the Holiday Inn Shanghai Hongqiao offers both an outdoor and an indoor pool near the airport and rail hub, and The Qube Pudong adds an outdoor pool alongside its larger indoor facility. All three suit a summer visit built around sunbathing as much as swimming, rather than a year-round guarantee.
Shanghai in summer is a city that moves indoors by early afternoon, ducking into air-conditioned malls off Nanjing Road or metro carriages to escape the humidity, so an outdoor pool back at the hotel becomes the reward for a day of walking the Bund or the French Concession. The three outdoor-pool hotels here sit in different corners of that experience: the Holiday Inn Shanghai Hongqiao near the transport hub, the Grand Mercure and The Qube Pudong across the river in the business district facing Lujiazui's towers. Each offers a different version of the same relief, open air and water after a day spent dodging the heat.
Outdoor pool · Shanghai in numbers
Where to stay
How Shanghai's outdoor pool hotels compare
An outdoor pool in Shanghai is about open air as much as water, a genuine sun deck rather than a climate-controlled box, and that matters after days spent indoors in shopping malls along Nanjing Road or museums near People's Square. The Grand Mercure Shanghai Century Park Hotel and The Qube Pudong both treat their outdoor pools as a leisure centrepiece rather than an afterthought, with loungers and, in the Grand Mercure's case, an adjoining hot tub. The trade-off is seasonality: none of these pools run through Shanghai's cold winter months the way an indoor option would.
The Grand Mercure Shanghai Century Park Hotel positions its outdoor pool with a hot tub alongside it, directly opposite Century Park, one of Pudong's larger green spaces reachable by metro line 2. Guests get both a swim and a soak in the same spot, plus a park across the street for anyone who wants to walk off the humidity before heading back to the pool deck. It is a five-star setup that treats the outdoor pool as one part of a wider leisure offering rather than the sole draw, and that combination pushes its rating to 8.4 among guests who value three restaurants and two bars alongside the water rather than a bare pool with nothing else nearby.
The Holiday Inn Shanghai Hongqiao is the rare property here with both an indoor and an outdoor pool, which matters if your visit straddles a change in weather. Based near the Hongqiao transport hub, home to the domestic airport and the high-speed rail station, this hotel suits travellers who want the flexibility of an open-air swim on a warm day and a covered one if a cold front rolls through, without having to change hotels. The property also runs 24-hour dining, a bar, a gym and a spa, and keeps a kid-friendly, smoke-free policy throughout, which makes the outdoor pool one part of a fuller family or business stay near the airport.
The Qube Pudong leans toward business travellers, with a complimentary airport shuttle toward Pudong International and a full-service laundry, but it backs that up with both an outdoor and an indoor pool. The outdoor option here works best as a summer add-on to what is primarily an indoor-pool hotel, so anyone choosing it mainly for the open-air swim should confirm it fits their travel dates before assuming year-round access. At five stars and an 8.6 rating, it also runs two restaurants, a spa and a fitness centre, so the outdoor pool sits within a wider service package rather than standing as the hotel's only leisure draw.
All three outdoor pools share the same seasonal limit: they suit a visit roughly between May and October, when Shanghai's temperatures support open-air swimming, and lose their appeal once the city's damp winter sets in around November. Guests planning a winter trip who still want a pool would do better with an indoor-only property than with any of these three outdoor-inclusive hotels, since the outdoor facility itself will likely be closed by then. Fortunately, two of the three, the Holiday Inn Shanghai Hongqiao and The Qube Pudong, also keep an indoor pool running through the colder months, so the seasonal limit only rules out the outdoor half of the stay rather than swimming altogether.
A traveler's takeIf I were visiting Shanghai in July or August, I would book the Grand Mercure Shanghai Century Park Hotel and spend a hot afternoon alternating between the outdoor pool and the hot tub before walking over to Century Park once the sun eased off. I would not choose an outdoor-pool hotel at all for a winter trip, since the whole point of the amenity disappears once the season turns.
Outdoor poolThe Qube Pudong
Dual pools, spa, and shuttle for a comfortable Shanghai stay
Why guests love itOur kids used the outdoor pool most afternoons and switched to the indoor one on the one cooler day of our stay, so we never had a single argument about swimming plans. The full-service laundry made a real difference two-thirds into a longer trip, and the airport shuttle to Pudong International took the stress out of a tight connection on departure day. It's a kid-friendly, business-leaning hotel that still worked well for our family of four.
Outdoor poolGrand Mercure Shanghai Century Park Hotel
Outdoor pool and hot tub in a polished Shanghai setting
Why guests love itOur kids spent two straight afternoons in the outdoor pool while we alternated dips in the hot tub next to it, and the room itself felt bright and spacious enough for the four of us without tripping over suitcases. Century Park across the street gave us a proper walk before dinner at one of the hotel's three restaurants, which made a real difference after a day of sightseeing in Pudong. It's a solid pick if the kids need somewhere to burn energy outdoors.
Outdoor poolHoliday Inn Shanghai Hongqiao
Indoor and outdoor pools with 24-hour dining and a spa
Why guests love itHaving both an indoor and outdoor pool meant our plans never depended on the weather, which mattered on a trip that mixed a rainy day with a couple of genuinely hot ones. The 24-hour dining saved us more than once when our youngest woke up hungry at an odd hour, and the smoke-free policy throughout made a real difference with two small kids in tow. Hongqiao's transit links made day trips easy without dragging suitcases across the city first.
Local tips
- 1Visit between May and October to actually use the outdoor pool, since all three hotels in this group close their outdoor facilities once Shanghai's cold season sets in.
- 2Choose the Holiday Inn Shanghai Hongqiao if you want the flexibility of both an indoor and an outdoor pool during a shoulder-season visit near the airport and rail hub.
- 3Pick the Grand Mercure Shanghai Century Park Hotel if a walk through Century Park is part of your plan, since the hotel sits directly across from the park.
- 4Confirm The Qube Pudong's outdoor pool hours before booking, since the property leans more toward its indoor facility and business travellers than toward poolside leisure time.
- 5Bring sun protection and plan for shade breaks during any outdoor pool session in Shanghai's summer, since the combination of heat and humidity can make midday hours genuinely uncomfortable.
- 6If your trip spans a sudden temperature drop, lean on a hotel with both pool types, like the Holiday Inn Shanghai Hongqiao, rather than one with only an outdoor option.