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Hotel Zena’s passes start at $50 to sip, swim, and soak up Thomas Circle views.
Hotel Zena

Sip and Swim at These D.C. Pools With Drinks

Cool off at a pool with a bar this summer

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Hotel Zena’s passes start at $50 to sip, swim, and soak up Thomas Circle views.
| Hotel Zena

Need an escape during the last days of summer in D.C.? Crowded public pools aren’t the only option when the heat becomes too much to bear. Several hotels across the city offer day passes to their swanky pools, complete with trendy bars for patrons to drink the day away.

Better yet, some even have menus with a variety of snacks for pool-goers to enjoy, eliminating the need to lug around self-packed lunches. Some pools are for guests only, but they can provide an excuse for a staycation on weekends that are too hot to battle traffic leaving the city.

Whatever the reason, take a dip and sip a cocktail at one these luxurious D.C. pools.

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Omni Shoreham Hotel

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Staycation alert: the hotel’s heated pool and 11-acre gardens are only accessible to guests and members with seasonal passes (no day passes available). The renovated outdoor destination, lined with lounge chairs and literally shaped like a splash of water, is open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. The Pool Bar, open 11 a.m. daily, themes this summer’s menu around wellness with color-coded dishes and drinks for “energy” and “vitality”; add a shot of guarana and green coffee or vitamin immunity to cocktails for $4 more. Cocktails ($16-$20) include a vodka-spiked strawberry hibiscus shake, gin “Sea Foam Collins,” and mojito. For bites, there’s a turkey wrap, crispy chickpea salad, and veggie summer rolls.

Omni’s heated pool.
Omni/official photo

The Rooftop at The Embassy Row Hotel

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Located in the heart of Dupont, the Rooftop’s heated pool offers food and drink service daily from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. One pass perk this year is weekend rooftop yoga at 8 a.m. This year, the rooftop is open to the public at 4 p.m. for happy hour until close. Weekday pool passes (Monday to Thursday) are $99 a pop and rise to $149 for a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday visit, with a $50 food and beverage credit included. Splash around from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. All-access monthly passes ($699) include weekend yoga classes at 8 a.m.

Hush Rooftop Bar at Viceroy Washington, DC 

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This postage stamp-sized rooftop pool in Logan Circle is only accessible for hotel guests by day. At 5 p.m., the space flips, and Hush rooftop bar opens to the public (until 10 p.m. on Wednesday to Thursday and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday). Soak in the capital skyline over a brand new cocktail menu ($15 each), plus wine, beer, and light bites.

Hush’s new late summer cocktails star tequila, rum, bourbon, and jalapeno-infused Chacho.
M2 Creatives

Washington Plaza Hotel

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Only hotel guests can go to the seasonal pool at the Washington Plaza Hotel on Thomas Circle (open 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. daily until the Sunday after Labor Day). Staycationers can head to the royal blue chaises lining the pool, and treat themselves to frozen cocktails, Champagne, and crab cake sandwiches at the Poolside Bar and Terrace that lights up with candles at night.

Washington Plaza Hotel/Facebook

Hedy’s Rooftop at Hotel Zena 

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While this gorgeous view hasn’t changed, this Thomas Circle hotel is now owned by West Hollywood, California-based Viceroy Hotels & Resorts (not Kimpton). Sip vibrant cocktails (or mocktails) while savoring small bites poolside, or relax and unwind in one of its private cabanas that start at $500 for a party of six. Day passes can be purchased for $50 (and kids are $25). The bar opens daily at 5 p.m. and keeps serving until as late as midnight on Friday and Saturday. Pool hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The female empowerment-themed hotel names its rooftop after inventor and “mother of Wi-Fi” Hedy Lamarr (so there’s naturally fast internet to get work done poolside).

Hotel Zena’s scenic hotel pool sits on the 15th floor.
Hotel Zena

Deck 11 - YOTEL Washington, DC

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Home to one of the largest rooftop pools in D.C., the newly renovated Liaison Hotel (now a Yotel affiliate) offers day passes for non-guests ($50 Monday to Wednesday and $100 on Thursday to Sunday). Swimming hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., with service starting at noon. Non-hotel guests may enjoy free access to the Rooftop Bar after 5 p.m. daily. At the bar, find canned beers, rosé and sparkling wines, sangrias, and frozen and classic cocktails. For $400 on weekends, rent one large cabana and receive all-day rooftop access for four guests. Its take on an espresso martini — dubbed “Rise & Grind” — comes with spiced rum, Kahlua, cold brew, and frothy egg white. A half sandwich, side, and house beer or wine is one of the better poolside deals around town ($18).

Penthouse Pool and Lounge

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Luxury gym VIDA Fitness opens its rooftop pool to members, who can buy guest passes for their friends. Those willing to commit to a pricey food and beverage minimum can rent a private cabana with HDTV on the weekends. As it is a fitness club, this summer menu includes items like a Greek and steak salads or an Impossible burger, along with fried crab balls and wings and jalapeno margaritas by the pitcher. Both pools are open beginning at 10 a.m. every day. The U Street NW pool party keeps going until as late as midnight on weekends, while Navy Yard’s location closes by 8 p.m.

A poolside salad at Vida’s U Street NW location.
Travis Vaughn Photography/TravisVaughn.com

Omni Shoreham Hotel

Staycation alert: the hotel’s heated pool and 11-acre gardens are only accessible to guests and members with seasonal passes (no day passes available). The renovated outdoor destination, lined with lounge chairs and literally shaped like a splash of water, is open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. The Pool Bar, open 11 a.m. daily, themes this summer’s menu around wellness with color-coded dishes and drinks for “energy” and “vitality”; add a shot of guarana and green coffee or vitamin immunity to cocktails for $4 more. Cocktails ($16-$20) include a vodka-spiked strawberry hibiscus shake, gin “Sea Foam Collins,” and mojito. For bites, there’s a turkey wrap, crispy chickpea salad, and veggie summer rolls.

Omni’s heated pool.
Omni/official photo

The Rooftop at The Embassy Row Hotel

Located in the heart of Dupont, the Rooftop’s heated pool offers food and drink service daily from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. One pass perk this year is weekend rooftop yoga at 8 a.m. This year, the rooftop is open to the public at 4 p.m. for happy hour until close. Weekday pool passes (Monday to Thursday) are $99 a pop and rise to $149 for a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday visit, with a $50 food and beverage credit included. Splash around from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. All-access monthly passes ($699) include weekend yoga classes at 8 a.m.

Hush Rooftop Bar at Viceroy Washington, DC 

This postage stamp-sized rooftop pool in Logan Circle is only accessible for hotel guests by day. At 5 p.m., the space flips, and Hush rooftop bar opens to the public (until 10 p.m. on Wednesday to Thursday and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday). Soak in the capital skyline over a brand new cocktail menu ($15 each), plus wine, beer, and light bites.

Hush’s new late summer cocktails star tequila, rum, bourbon, and jalapeno-infused Chacho.
M2 Creatives

Washington Plaza Hotel

Only hotel guests can go to the seasonal pool at the Washington Plaza Hotel on Thomas Circle (open 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. daily until the Sunday after Labor Day). Staycationers can head to the royal blue chaises lining the pool, and treat themselves to frozen cocktails, Champagne, and crab cake sandwiches at the Poolside Bar and Terrace that lights up with candles at night.

Washington Plaza Hotel/Facebook

Hedy’s Rooftop at Hotel Zena 

While this gorgeous view hasn’t changed, this Thomas Circle hotel is now owned by West Hollywood, California-based Viceroy Hotels & Resorts (not Kimpton). Sip vibrant cocktails (or mocktails) while savoring small bites poolside, or relax and unwind in one of its private cabanas that start at $500 for a party of six. Day passes can be purchased for $50 (and kids are $25). The bar opens daily at 5 p.m. and keeps serving until as late as midnight on Friday and Saturday. Pool hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The female empowerment-themed hotel names its rooftop after inventor and “mother of Wi-Fi” Hedy Lamarr (so there’s naturally fast internet to get work done poolside).

Hotel Zena’s scenic hotel pool sits on the 15th floor.
Hotel Zena

Deck 11 - YOTEL Washington, DC

Home to one of the largest rooftop pools in D.C., the newly renovated Liaison Hotel (now a Yotel affiliate) offers day passes for non-guests ($50 Monday to Wednesday and $100 on Thursday to Sunday). Swimming hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., with service starting at noon. Non-hotel guests may enjoy free access to the Rooftop Bar after 5 p.m. daily. At the bar, find canned beers, rosé and sparkling wines, sangrias, and frozen and classic cocktails. For $400 on weekends, rent one large cabana and receive all-day rooftop access for four guests. Its take on an espresso martini — dubbed “Rise & Grind” — comes with spiced rum, Kahlua, cold brew, and frothy egg white. A half sandwich, side, and house beer or wine is one of the better poolside deals around town ($18).

Penthouse Pool and Lounge

Luxury gym VIDA Fitness opens its rooftop pool to members, who can buy guest passes for their friends. Those willing to commit to a pricey food and beverage minimum can rent a private cabana with HDTV on the weekends. As it is a fitness club, this summer menu includes items like a Greek and steak salads or an Impossible burger, along with fried crab balls and wings and jalapeno margaritas by the pitcher. Both pools are open beginning at 10 a.m. every day. The U Street NW pool party keeps going until as late as midnight on weekends, while Navy Yard’s location closes by 8 p.m.

A poolside salad at Vida’s U Street NW location.
Travis Vaughn Photography/TravisVaughn.com

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