The Best Outdoor Pools at Portland Hotels
You’re a Portlander. Chances are, you don’t have a pool. You probably don’t have a friend with a pool. You don’t live close to one of Portland Parks & Rec’s public pools, or if you do, you don’t have the time to wait in line before open swim starts so you can get in before the pool’s at capacity. And while you love the Willamette and the Columbia, sometimes you just don’t feel like jumping in a river.
You’re a Portlander, but maybe it’s time to pretend you’re not from here—and treat yourself to a hotel with an outdoor pool. It’s not necessarily a splurge: a discounted weekday hotel rate is often cheaper than family guest passes to one of the local private pools. Bonus: AC, cable TV that might befuddle modern youth used to streaming services, and a chance to explore a part of town that isn’t your regular stomping ground. While we’re suckers for a backyard hot tub and love the open-all-year, warm, mellow, drink-in-hand soaking pools at McMenamins Edgefield and the Kennedy School, that’s not what we’re in the mood for when it’s hot out. Here are a few places—mostly transit accessible, and near other attractions—where we wouldn’t mind taking a summer splash staycation.
University Place
Downtown
Most downtown hotels that have pools hide them indoors—a wise move in our climate, perhaps, and much appreciated in the offseason. But in summer we want at least the option of letting ourselves get hot in the sun before leaping in to refresh. At nine feet in the deep end, this is the pool for that. Expect your neighboring lounge chairs to be filled by international travelers, PSU students’ families, people with business at nearby OHSU or Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, or someone attending a Rubik’s Cube function in the hotel’s event space. Flesh out a staycation with streetcar rides and dinner at Duck House. Lap swimming would be tough at University Place, but hotel guests can pay $15 for an exclusive nonstudent day pass to Portland State University’s nearby recreation center, fully decked out with a lap pool, running track, and bouldering wall.
Monarch
Clackamas
This Clackamas hotel just off I-205 gives airport hotel vibes, like it’s a place to have an affair or set the play you wrote your junior year of college. (Freshman year, you set your play at the Unicorn on 82nd, and sophomore year it’s at the Benson.) Lo and behold, Monarch is actually home to a glorious irregular-hexagon pool. Reserve your room, then pack your swimsuit and prepare to eavesdrop on business travelers and, if you’re lucky, visiting judges for the Canby dog show. When you’re all swimmed out, the many entertainments of the Clackamas Town Center are a short walk away.
Holiday Inn Portland Columbia Riverfront
Hayden Island
Not to be confused with the Holiday Inn Express at Jantzen Beach—which also sits on Hayden Island overlooking the Columbia River, but on the west side of I-5 next to the empty lot where the old Thunderbird Hotel (which was once a Red Lion) burned down in 2012—this Holiday Inn sits just east of I-5 and, confusingly, also used to be a Red Lion. It’s a launch point for American Cruise Lines’ Columbia River tours, so you might be swimming with older couples fresh from the airport who are excited to cruise to Astoria or through the Gorge the next morning. A ring of towering evergreens and view of the river make the pool here one of the most picturesque in town. Of course, it’s not quite as impressive as the old 100-by-165-foot bathing pool seen near the lobby in one of the hotel’s huge black-and-white photos of the old Jantzen Beach Amusement Park. Need a cover-up? You can mosey over to the shopping center where the amusement park used to be, or buy a souvenir T-shirt (“Hayden Island, Oregon, est. 1851”) at the hotel’s front desk.
Lakeshore Inn
Lake Oswego
Just south of downtown Lake O and north of the ’40s-era Lake Theater cinema, this roadside inn is a simple, cozy spot for business travelers and folks visiting local family. If you don’t land a room with a deck and a view of Lakewood Bay, you can spend most of your stay enjoying that view anyway, from a poolside chaise in between dips in the 84-degree little kidney-bean-shaped pool. Fancy a dip in the lake? There’s no swimming allowed off the hotel dock, but, after a judge ruled in favor of public access in March 2025, swimmers and paddlers can now access the city’s once-private lake from Lower Millennium Plaza Park right next door.
Best Western Plus Rivershore Hotel
Oregon City
Next to Clackamette Park just off I-205, this Oregon City Best Western has a mom-and-pop feel despite its several stories in height. Popular with families, older couples, and wedding guests headed to toast their pals at the nearby Abernethy Center, it boasts river views from most of its rooms, but from the rooftop pool the view is just of the shopping center across 99E. No matter, since we’re just here for the splashing, and for the proximity to Oregon City’s many charms, including the Highland Stillhouse, the municipal elevator, the smartly renovated Carnegie library, and the lovely walks and hikes.
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Portland
Lloyd District
This massive convention hotel, with 15 floors and multiple glass elevators, has a good-size pool with a nine-foot deep end. Surrounded by the building on all but the east side, though, it’s not the sunniest pool in town—which might be a relief if reapplying sunblock is not your jam. Spend the rest of your staycation touring the indie attractions of the not-dead-yet Lloyd Mall, chowing down at Frank’s Noodle House, and catching a game at the Sports Bra.
Towneplace’s pool is a nice place to cool off after spicy Korean food in Beaverton.
TownePlace Suites by Marriott
Beaverton
Settled between Highway 217 and a shopping center, this spacious hotel has a decent five-foot-deep outdoor pool for splashing around and beating the heat. But its selling point is its convenient access to downtown Portland as well as Beaverton’s growing dining scene. TownePlace Suites sits near Beaverton Transit Center, where you can hop on the MAX to the Oregon Zoo and ride into the city. Or, if you’d rather stay in the area, take a short stroll into Beaverton’s downtown, where you can bite into an airy breakfast sandwich at Dos Hermanos Bakery, find unique items at Forager Vintage, or sit down for Iraqi tea in the charming Family Café.
Other Pool Options
You’ll find more hotels with outdoor pools near the airport (Aloft, Residence Inn Portland North, and the Best Western Pony Soldier, for example) and in the western suburbs (Homewood Suites in Beaverton or Quality Inn in Tigard), and across the state line in Vancouver (Comfort Inn & Suites and Homewood Suites). Hours and seasonality can vary, but we’re pretty sure the “no horseplay” rule is always in effect. At least one of these pools even has a “no jam boxes” sign, in case any guests are toting one of those and a stack of tapes. You’ve been warned.
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