Four Seasons Hotel Seattle

The pool

• 4th-floor terrace infinity pool
• Elliott Bay + Olympics
• Heated 84° year-round
• Guests only

Why it's on the list

The Pacific Northwest barely does rooftop pools, which makes this one a standout: a 4th-floor terrace infinity pool heated to 84° year-round, open to Elliott Bay, Puget Sound, and the Olympics. Four Seasons calls it Seattle's only infinity-edge hotel pool. Swim it in the rain — that's the whole point.

The stay

The Four Seasons is Seattle's quiet luxury standard — a full-service property on the lower floors of a downtown tower, with Goldfinch Tavern, an Ethan Stowell restaurant, handling the food. The location is the argument: the Seattle Art Museum is next door, Pike Place Market is a five-minute walk, and the waterfront sits right below, so the city's best morning — the market, coffee, the piers — starts at the front door. At $$$$ it's the city's benchmark stay — worth it for the pool, the bay, and the market at your doorstep; the trade is downtown polish over neighborhood character.