Tag: travel

Ladies and gentlemen: fasten your swimsuits!

Can you think of a better way to escape the usual hustle and bustle of air travel than with a refreshing dip? The three airports below all have a pool, a guaranteed way to beat the boredom and make layovers, delayed flights and cancellations more (much more) bearable.

The first on the list is located at one of the world’s most luxurious hubs: Hamad International Airport in Doha. Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the Vitality Spa’s heated pool measures 25 meters long and 5 meters wide and is covered by a glass dome. For $35 (roughly €30), anyone with a layover at this Qatari airport can go for a swim, work out in the gym, play squash or kickback in a stunning hydrotherapy pool.

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If you need more adrenaline-pumping activities to relax, check out Munich International Airport. For the past five summers, this German airport has hosted Surf & Style, a spectacular indoor wave pool where travellers can surf for 45 minutes. This 204 m2 pool is located between terminals 1 and 2, and entrance is free (with board and wetsuit included!) but keep in mind that advanced registration is required. And if surfing isn’t your thing, you can always have a drink at the beach bar.

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The pool that closes our list of airport oases is found at Singapore Changi International Airport, ranked the world’s best airport since 2013. Located on the roof of Terminal 1, this pool provides an unbeatable place to relax and get some sun between flights. The Balinese-themed facilities features a spectacular hot tub overlooking the runway. Guests can enjoy this luxurious space for a very affordable S$14 (roughly €9) and includes a towel, access to the showers and one (non-alcoholic) drink at the bar.

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With all these options available, more than one passenger is bound to have gone through security with their bathing suit already on, ready to kick off their holiday a few hours before take-off. What about you? How would you like to spend your next layover: catching a wave or kicking back in a hydrotherapy pool?

A Pool for Taking in the Stars

There’s no paved road to reach this gorgeous place and you also have to cross a river (only possible in summer as the bed overflows on rainy winter days). Once there, you come across a rustic property, green for most of the year, filled with olive trees and rocks, and four simple buildings that have been painstakingly redeveloped.

A couple from Lisbon bought this property which they found in ruins and were keen to recover it, including the buildings the villagers had used for their rural activity for many years. The new owners decided to maintain the original structure and turn the site into a rural accommodation project.

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There are numerous similar buildings in the area, but most have been done up and converted into museums. Along the way in this delightful enterprising project, the developers were aided by architect Luís Pereira Miguel, who was able to harness the most beautiful natural state of the architectural and cultural heritage of the area and turn it into a peaceful place to wind down in.

Following the redevelopment of three separate houses and one support building, “Casas Caiadas” or ‘whitewashed houses’ has become an outstanding natural tourism establishment in the Portuguese region of Arraiolos. After the group of buildings was restored, in a project that had to be taken on in phases, a serene pool that recalls the feeling of venturing into the sea was included.

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The pool was designed in a half-moon shape, without edges and with a profile that starts at ground level and drops down to one-metre-plus at the deepest end. At nightfall, the sky affords the chance to take in the stars with exceptional visibility conditions. This, together with an elegant lighting design, makes a night at “Casa Caiadas” an unforgettable experience.

The extensive heritage recovery work undertaken at “Casas Caiadas” consisted principally of conserving what already existed, starting from cleaning the whole of the property and removing dissonant elements, waste and plant life or worn out objects. In terms of materials, ones identical to the original pieces were used or recycled, as in the case of the stone masonry and the old ceramic tiles.

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