Sonesta Philadelphia Rittenhouse Square

The pool

• 8th-floor heated rooftop pool
• 3–8ft depth
• Memorial Day–Labor Day
• Poolside bar Fri–Sun
• Day passes

Why it's on the list

Eighth-floor, heated, and deep enough at the far end to actually swim rather than stand around — which separates it from most seasonal hotel rooftops. The poolside bar runs Friday through Sunday and the crowd stays reasonable.

The stay

The Sonesta is the sensible middle — no particular scene, a pool deep enough to actually swim in, and a location that does a lot of the work. Rittenhouse Square is arguably the best neighborhood in Philadelphia to stay in: the city's densest run of good restaurants, walkable and pleasant in every direction. At $$$ it's fairly priced for the address — the pick if you want the neighborhood and a real swim, though the deck is Memorial Day to Labor Day only, so it's a summer-trip hotel.