3 of a kind

Hotel pools with a view

LEFAY RESORT AND SPA, LAGO DI GARDA, ITALY

Via Feltrinelli 25084, Gargnano, Brescia, Italy, tel: 0039-0365 241800, lefayresorts.com

The infinity pool at the Lefay resort, 6km above the pretty fishing village of Gargnano (where DH Lawrence once lived), visually merges with Lake Garda below. The perspective and angles bring the distant large lake up close – a view that is enjoyed from many parts of the hotel, whose rooms all face lakeward.

As if the lake view alone were not enough, there are rolling hills, pierced with cypress trees, offering verdant views of the countryside in this part of northern Italy known as “Little Tuscany”. Nature has also imported a dramatic, stone-topped, perfectly formed mountain into the picture.

The resort’s design takes from the lemon-grove buildings that this area used to be famous for and local materials were used in its creation, from olive wood to marble, and the resort has amazing eco-credentials including photovoltaic panels, rainwater recycling, biomass energy. The most striking thing about it is that you would never know, it’s all naturally smart.

There’s a wellness programme, beginning with a visit to the doctor who prescribes “treatments” such as massages, heat treatments, reflexology, and classes, from yoga and pilates, to stretching along meridian lines.

Rooms: each room faces the lake and all have balconies. There are walk-in rain showers, deep baths and huge beds dressed in natural fibres. Doubles from €200.

ANANTARA GOLDEN TRIANGLE RESORT AND SPA, THAILAND

Golden Triangle, Thailand, tel: 0066-5378 4084, goldentriangle.anantara.com

Close-up views from the infinity pool here are of a bamboo forest, landscaped gardens and a sumptuous jungle, but not far beyond those the vista encompasses two rivers (Mekong and Ruak) and three countries. For this hotel is 3km north of what is known as the Golden Triangle, where the Mekong laps against Burma, Laos and Thailand.

Should you wish to explore the 160 acres of grassland, riverbank and forest that lies beyond the gardens, pools and terraces at this hotel, you can even do it by elephant.

One of this resort’s offerings is training as a mahout, or elephant driver. While many tourists will have ridden the beasts, few will have had the chance to give one a bath, climb up its trunk to its back or sit on it while it ducks beneath a pond. The resort’s role in elephant conservation sees the pachyderms padding through the grounds, offering another exceptional poolside view.

Rooms: each of the 77 rooms has a balcony with a canopied daybed. Rooms have teak floors, terrazzo baths and are decorated with Thai artworks and textiles. Doubles from 38,300 THB (€988) full board.

CSKY HOTEL, GREECE

Imerovigli, Santorini Island, Cyclades, Greece, tel: 0030-22860 21107, csky.gr

You can contemplate the highs and lows of volcanic activity from the hotel pool atop a 300m-high cliff on this sheer-faced island. From here, you have panoramic views of the intense-blue sea with its caldera (a large submerged crater) and smattering of Aegean islands, visited by renowned sunsets.

The hotel is in a secluded spot in the island’s thin northern neck, between the cliff-top capital of Fira, and Oia village (both about 5km away). This really is out on its own: there is no restaurant on-site although you can book a chef to serve you in your villa, on a terrace, or beside the pool. Or you can head for the nearby villages (a hire car is advisable).

Rooms: these are in various-sized suites within villas, some with two bedrooms and bathrooms, and open-plan living and dining areas. Extras include a gym, open fires and outdoor and indoor jacuzzis, while private verandahs and roof terraces afford those explosive panoramic volcanic views. Doubles start at €400.