69COURTESY RESORTS
CRITICbetween indoors and outdoors and installed Spanishcedar
and teak along the front facade. “Our pool bars are kindofthe
heart of the hotel—that’s where everyone pictures themselves,”
says Maggie Rivera, senior vice president for strategiccom-
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 usedto
keep guests spending money while they were relaxing, Herman
says.In 1952 theSandsHotel& Casinointroducedblackjack
tablesandslotmachinesneartheirswimmingpools.Soon
after,theTropicanaResortofferedfloatinggamblingtables.
“InLasVegas,pooldesignwasthekeydifferentiator
betweenresorts[atthattime],”saysStefanAl,anarchitect
andauthorofTheStrip:LasVegasandtheArchitectureofthe
AmericanDream. “Ifyoucan’taffordtohaveyourownswim-
mingpoolathome,youcouldgotoa resortandexperience
thatsuburbanluxury.”
Itwasn’tuntil1981,whenSandalsChairmanGordon
“Butch”StewartopenedtheMontegoBayresort,thatserv-
ingbeachsidecocktailstoguestsbecamea tradition.During
renovationsthreeyearslater,thebranddecidedtopushthe
ideafurtherafterarchitectEvanWilliamstoldStewartthat
heneverunderstoodwhyyoucouldn’thavebarsinpools.
Sotheydecidedtocreateone.
It wasanimmediatehit,andit wasn’tlongbeforeother
resortswadedintothecategory.Todayyoucanordera cock-
tailfromswim-upbarsattheHotelPuntaIslitainCostaRica,
theHotelMonteMuliniinCroatia,theCrystalCoveresortin
Barbados,andLeMéridienBaliJimbaraninIndonesia.Sandals
hasatleastoneinnearlyallofits 15 all-inclusive resorts.
Swim-up bars are having a resurgence in popularityfor
a simple reason: social media. The one at the Four Seasons
Resort Maui is one of the hotel’s iconic features, saysgen-
eral manager Marc Bromley. Situated in the adults-only
Serenity pool, built in 2009, it serves such signaturedrinksasa mojitowithblueberry compote. “It’s kind of ground
zeroforInstagraminour hotel,” he says.
Theydon’thavetobe outside, either. Room Mate Grace
hotelinNewYorkhasoperated the D.I.P. Aqua Bar & Lounge
since2008.(Theacronym stands for “dance in the pool.”)
HoteldirectorAlvaroDiaz Martos says it’s the only indoor
swim-upbarinManhattan. There’s also an in-water bar at
Iceland’sfamousBlueLagoon, a man-made geothermal spa
steamingupa scenicrockylandscape,andtheLotusSwim-Up
BarattheInterContinentalTahitiResort&Spa,withan
infinity-edgepool.
Somepeoplechoose to bring the vacation vibes to their
everydaylivesbyinstalling a swim-up bar at home. Austin-
basedpooldesignerBrian Cullingworth says the average
build-outcanadd$10,000 or $15,000 to the approximate
$60,000costofbuildinga homepool.Thisfeaturebecame
popularabout 20 yearsago,asa poolcustomizationtrend
tookhold,coincidingwithskittishnessfollowingSept.11.
“Peoplestartednotwantingtotravel,sotheystartedto
createstaycations,”Cullingworthsays.“Theywerespending
moneytheywouldnormally spend traveling on a pool.”
Therenovationsat Sandals’ Montego Bay swim-up bar
includenewstonework and quartz countertops, says Sarah
Hartman,oneofthearchitects who worked on the proj-
ect.The hotel installed fans and chandeliers
withglass imported from Spain. In addition,
coralstone clads the entire building, and the
flooris Spanish porcelain tile. “We wanted to
enjoythe 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
drinkslike the Buffalo Soldier (Casa Noble
Crystal tequila, Appleton Reserve rum, lime
juice,grapefruit juice, soda, and Scotch bon-
netpepper).
Still, some drinks needed no improvement,
saysRickyDuQuesnay,groupmanagerfor
foodandbeverageatSandals.“Whenyou’re
inbusinessfor 38 years and clients expect the
rumpunch to taste a certain way,” he says,
“youdon’t want to be changing it.” <BW>The D.I.P. Aqua Bar &
Lounge is Manhattan’s
only swim-up barThe Four Seasons Maui