69COURTESY RESORTS
CRITICbetween indoors and outdoors and installed Spanish cedar
and teak along the front facade. “Our pool bars are kind of the
heart of the hotel—that’s where everyone pictures themselves,”
says Maggie Rivera, senior vice president for strategic com-
munications at Sandals. “This one is the iconic cornerstone.”
The swim-up bar has its roots in the Las Vegas gambling
scene of the ’50s, when poolside amenities began to be used to
keep guests spending money while they were relaxing, Herman
says. In 1952 the Sands Hotel & Casino introduced blackjack
tables and slot machines near their swimming pools. Soon
after, the Tropicana Resort offered floating gambling tables.
“In Las Vegas, pool design was the key differentiator
between resorts [at that time],” says Stefan Al, an architect
and author ofThe Strip: Las Vegas and the Architecture of the
American Dream. “If you can’t afford to have your own swim-
ming pool at home, you could go to a resort and experience
that suburban luxury.”
It wasn’t until 1981, when Sandals Chairman Gordon
“Butch” Stewart opened the Montego Bay resort, that serv-
ing beachside cocktails to guests became a tradition. During
renovations three years later, the brand decided to push the
idea further after architect Evan Williams told Stewart that
he never understood why you couldn’t have bars in pools.
So they decided to create one.
It was an immediate hit, and it wasn’t long before other
resorts waded into the category. Today you can order a cock-
tail from swim-up bars at the Hotel Punta Islita in Costa Rica,
the Hotel Monte Mulini in Croatia, the Crystal Cove resort in
Barbados, and Le Méridien Bali Jimbaran in Indonesia. Sandals
has at least one in nearly all of its 15 all-inclusive resorts.
Swim-up bars are having a resurgence in popularity for
a simple reason: social media. The one at the Four Seasons
Resort Maui is one of the hotel’s iconic features, says gen-
eral manager Marc Bromley. Situated in the adults-only
Serenity pool, built in 2009, it serves such signature drinksas a mojito with blueberry compote. “It’s kind of ground
zero for Instagram in our hotel,” he says.
They don’t have to be outside, either. Room Mate Grace
hotel in New York has operated the D.I.P. Aqua Bar & Lounge
since 2008. (The acronym stands for “dance in the pool.”)
Hotel director Alvaro Diaz Martos says it’s the only indoor
swim-up bar in Manhattan. There’s also an in-water bar at
Iceland’s famous Blue Lagoon, a man-made geothermal spa
steaming up a scenic rocky landscape, and the Lotus Swim-Up
Bar at the InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa, with an
infinity-edge pool.
Some people choose to bring the vacation vibes to their
everyday lives by installing a swim-up bar at home. Austin-
based pool designer Brian Cullingworth says the average
build-out can add $10,000 or $15,000 to the approximate
$60,000 cost of building a home pool. This feature became
popular about 20 years ago, as a pool customization trend
took hold, coinciding with skittishness following Sept. 11.
“People started not wanting to travel, so they started to
create staycations,” Cullingworth says. “They were spending
money they would normally spend traveling on a pool.”
The renovations at Sandals’ Montego Bay swim-up bar
include new stonework and quartz countertops, says Sarah
Hartman, one of the architects who worked on the proj-
ect. The hotel installed fans and chandeliers
with glass imported from Spain. In addition,
coral stone clads the entire building, and the
floor is Spanish porcelain tile. “We wanted to
enjoy the outside inside and keep the atmo-
sphere casual yet elegant,” Hartman says.
Sandals also modernized some of its
classic cocktails, such as the Dirty Banana
(Appleton Reserve rum, Kahlúa, Baileys Irish
Cream, banana, and milk) and added new
drinks like the Buffalo Soldier (Casa Noble
Crystal tequila, Appleton Reserve rum, lime
juice, grapefruit juice, soda, and Scotch bon-
net pepper).
Still, some drinks needed no improvement,
says Ricky DuQuesnay, group manager for
food and beverage at Sandals. “When you’re
in business for 38 years and clients expect the
rum punch to taste a certain way,” he says,
“you don’t want to be changing it.” <BW>The D.I.P. Aqua Bar &
Lounge is Manhattan’s
only swim-up barThe Four Seasons Maui