InterContinental San Diego

The pool

• 4th-floor rooftop pool
• San Diego Bay views
• Layover bar
• Cabanas

Why it's on the list

The Layover rooftop pool sits four floors up on the Embarcadero with San Diego Bay filling the view — cabanas, a proper bar, and the harbour traffic going by below. Pool access is included in the guest amenity fee.

The stay

The InterContinental is the bayfront choice — a glassy full-service tower from 2018 built on the site of Lane Field, where the Padres played before Petco, with the harbor rather than the Gaslamp filling the windows. You're on the Embarcadero across from the Santa Fe Depot, steps from the USS Midway and the Maritime Museum, with the Gaslamp a walk down the waterfront rather than outside the door. At $$$ it's fair for waterfront polish — the pick if the bay and the harbor light are the trip, less so if you want the nightlife at arm's reach.