UK & Ireland

Lap of luxury: 7 cottages and hotels with private pools in UK

Check out beautiful self-catering cottages, apartments, and lodges across the UK with exclusive swimming pools for the ultimate relaxing escape

Swimming laps in a pool above a sandy cove. Floating on your back surrounded by lush, verdant gardens. Seeking refuge from a rainy morning in your own, personal, tucked-away indoor swimming pool, with no need to share it with anybody else.

There are few more luxurious additions to a relaxing holiday or short break than a swimming pool of one’s own. And, while they often come as standard with villas and cottages in sunnier climes, there are some incredible stays with private pools in the UK, too.

From gorgeous self-catering cottages that come with a pool room attached to swimming spots shared with just a few other apartments, these are some of the loveliest places to stay with private pools across the UK.

Get the best of all worlds on the Pembrokeshire coast, Wales

Holidays often involve some level of compromise, particularly when you’re booking a trip for a slightly bigger group. But, as this Luxury House With Amazing Views demonstrates, it isn’t always necessary. Every inch of the property, in the village of Saundersfoot, is impeccably designed with luxury in mind. There’s a bathroom for each of the five bedrooms, for example, with four of those en suite, so there’s no need to draw straws.

Tall windows let the light and sea views flood in throughout the house. This includes the best room of all: the one harbouring the lovely, heated indoor pool. It’s so cleverly surrounded by floor-to-ceiling glass that it feels part of the verdant, bloom-filled gardens — except, this way, you can enjoy a secluded swim no matter what the weather.

Luxury House With Amazing Sea Views, 4 En-Suite Bedrooms, Private Swimming Pool

Saundersfoot
9.3 Excellent (42 reviews)

Stay (and swim) by the seaside in St Ives, Cornwall

It’s hard to imagine a more perfect seaside town than St. Ives, where colourful houses and gorgeous gardens line steep hillsides with views across the beach-laced bay. And it’s hard to imagine a better-located, or cuter, cottage than Atlanta Breeze. The stone-built property, with two bedrooms, has nailed the art of subtle, understated luxury. Bright, breezy decor complements the surroundings rather than competing for attention; picture windows, framing views of turquoise water, and pale beaches with sand the colour of shortbread, provide the focal point in most rooms.

The sea can also be glimpsed from the fabulous lawned garden, which has Adirondack chairs facing the coastline. Gaze at it from the private indoor heated pool, too. It’s part of the owners’ home, adjacent to the cottage, though you can enjoy it completely undisturbed, pausing between laps to stare out of the huge, ocean-facing windows — and perhaps to fantasise that you live here.

Holiday Cottage With Private Indoor Swimming Pool & Off-road Car Parking

St Ives
9.7 Excellent (80 reviews)

Wake up to luxury by the shores of Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands

The Highlands Club offers something of a masterclass in intelligent and sensitive development. Its self-catering apartments are within a former Benedictine monastery on the shores of the bold, blue and (possibly) monster-harbouring Loch Ness. Each incorporates unique original features, from intricate stained-glass windows to grand columns.

St. Andrew’s Chapel is one if the loveliest, with gothic features like stone mullioned windows and vaulted ceiling that work miraculously well with the elegant decor. Best of all, this two-bedroom apartment, which sleeps up to four, is right by the delightful indoor pool and spa, housed in the former church building — so, although the facilities are shared with the other properties, it’s easy to stroll over for a solitary swim.

Luxury Self Catering Apartment With Swimming Pool In The Grounds Of A Monastery On Loch Ness

Fort Augustus
9.3 Excellent (145 reviews)

Swim all year round at this seaside cottage in North Devon

The sea is just a mile away from the cute and cosy five-bedroom Lovely Devon Cottage, tucked in the glorious hamlet of Stoke. You can breathe in the salty, fragrant air from the private gardens, hemmed in by shrubs and surrounded by hills. You could walk for half an hour and arrive right on the coast, laced with sandy coves and rocky outcrops, marine birds swirling overhead. You could stroll on the sand, paddle in the ocean, or follow clifftop paths for sweeping views of the Hartland Peninsula, part of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

So, in many ways, a swimming pool isn’t strictly necessary. Which makes it all the more luxurious. This chocolate-box cottage is the perfect place to gather with friends or family — and its private pool gives it that extra sprinkling of magic. Reserved exclusively for those renting the cottage and connected to the main living space via a few steps, the pool room is flooded with light thanks to huge windows, so it’s the next best thing to al fresco swimming. Best of all, it’s heated, so you can lap up this little slice of luxury all year round.

Lovely Devon Cottage With Private Heated Indoor Swimming Pool

Hartland
9.9 Excellent (141 reviews)

Swim above a sandy cove in Salcombe, Devon

On a sunny day, the view from this gorgeous apartment in Salcombe, Devon, resembles what you might expect to see from an exclusive villa in Ibiza, Spain, or perhaps an island in the Caribbean. Under overcast skies, it’s still glorious — and, because the outdoor pool is heated, you can always pretend it’s a fine day, after all.

With three bedrooms, Wellingtons occupies the third floor of a Victorian villa and shares the lovely pool with just three other properties, so it feels wonderfully private. Even more so because the pool area is the star of its own, lushly planted, walled garden, with blooms and bench seating striking just the right balance between cottage cuteness and coastal chic.

Luxury Apartment With Private Pool!

Salcombe
9.7 Excellent (153 reviews)

Dive into a green dream in Hastings, Sussex

Greenery surrounds the private pool attached to this charming two- bedroom Countryside Holiday Cottage near the historic town of Hastings, Sussex. It spills from the pots dotted around the room and fills the picture windows and glass doors that separate it from the glorious gardens. Because of this, slicing through the water — or leisurely taking a few laps — is always a pleasure, no matter what the skies are up to.

On a sunny day, you can slide open those doors and let the rays flood in, interspersing pool time with relaxing on one of the garden’s sun beds or sinking into the outdoor hot tub. The pool area, which also has a steam room, is shared with two other rental properties, though you’ll rarely have to share it. And, as the cottage has a pretty, private garden of its own, plus a sandy beach just a 20-minute walk away, there’s plenty to do if you do need to wait.

Heated indoor pool & hot tub, countryside holiday cottage near the beach & park

Hastings
9.9 Excellent (197 reviews)

Discover a secret swimming pool in the North Norfolk countryside

There’s something magical about a “secret” garden, perhaps reached by an unassuming wooden door and surrounded by walls adorned with ivy and rambling roses. So what about staying in a cottage that has its own secret garden — with a pool to boot?

From the outside, this four-bedroom Dog-Friendly Flint Cottage, in the Georgian town of Holt and close to the North Norfolk coast, looks like the dream of cosy, cottage living. The inside — with room for up to eight guests, a huge sitting room with a working fireplace and lots of nooks and crannies throughout — lives up to expectations.

The outside, too, is rural perfection, with beautifully planted borders and secluded spots for dining or just soaking up the glorious surroundings. Less expected, though, is the treat accessed via the cottage’s annexe: another private garden with its own heated swimming pool, just big enough for a few laps or perhaps floating on your back, revelling in the fact you’ve found something very special indeed.