Marriott Marquis Houston

The pool

• 6th-floor rooftop
• 77-ft infinity pool + Texas lazy river
• Skyline views
• Year-round

Why it's on the list

Yes, there's a Texas-shaped lazy river — but the real draw is the 77-foot infinity pool on the 6th-floor Altitude deck, heated year-round and aimed straight at the downtown skyline over Discovery Green. A bucket-list rooftop, gimmick and all.

The stay

The Marquis is the big-fun, do-it-all downtown hotel — a massive convention-and-family property on Discovery Green whose Texas-shaped lazy river and skyline infinity pool make it the most crowd- and kid-friendly rooftop in the city. You're in the thick of downtown, walkable to the convention center, Toyota Center, and Minute Maid Park, which makes it a natural for a game weekend or a work trip with the family along. At $$$ it's fair for the scale you get — the pick if you want the fun and the location, not if you're after quiet or intimate.