Whether you’re here short term or long term, a good pool matters, especially in a country as hot, dusty, polluted and humid as Thailand. What you like of course depends on what you value: making serious laps, hanging out with a drink, or letting your kids play.
Even though this is a shortlist of probably the best pools in Chiang Mai, you always have to keep in mind that there are plenty of broken or half-working things in each of them, that is simply the nature of Thailand. So in general, you got to watch the tiles as they are typically broken and you or your kids may get skin cuts from sharp ends. At many places, the wrong tiles were put in that become extremely slippery and can let older people break their hips. Nevertheless, despite all the imperfections, chilling out in a good pool is one of the best thing to do in Thailand.
Here are our favourites:
Located at walking distance from Maya shopping mall, the Green Hills serviced apartment complex houses two salt water pools of a decent size in a pleasant open environment. The first pool is somewhat smaller and a bit square, the second pool is a proper 25m pool suitale for swimming laps. There is a little restaurant and above that, a gym. Open at comfortable times from early morning till about 8pm (but closing 1 or 2 hours earlier in the cold season).
The main reason why this is overall probably the best pool in the city is because of the pleasant water quality. You can swim here for an hour and don't feel any issues with your skin. Take a shower, rinse off, even without soap, and you're good. Such a far cry from the many chlorine pools all over town.
The pools and the gym are relatively quiet and not too far from most locations in town. The price for a swim is 80 baht and you can buy a membercard for 10 times at 750 baht.
Of course you will encounter the usual Thai imperfections because after all, it's Thailand, so there is no clock in the bigger pool area, some of the tiles are put in wrong or have broken so you can cut your skin, and there are no benches in the changing room to put your bag or clothes on... TIT never completely disappears, but overall this is still a pleasant pool.
The biggest disadvantage of the Green Hill swimming pools is the temperature: because there is absolutely no cover and the pools are very shallow, allowing for any adult's head and shoulders to be above the water when standing, the water warms up very quickly during sunny days and then if you're a serious lap swimmer you just can't release your body heat. You'll feel tired after 20min not because of your exercise but because the water is too hot.
That, however, is the ideal water temperature for local Thai 'swimmers' who spend their entire time taking selfies.
This is one of the best pools in Chiang Mai for if you want to combine a pleasant natural atmosphere with a proper pool. A full 25m long, salt water, nice green environment and a big enough terrace to hang out, well managed. A disadvantage depending on where you are based is that it is located a little out of town, off Canal Road. The first time it may be difficult to find, but after that you keep coming back. Run by a retired Brit, Philip, it’s in essence his own private pool because he swims there twice a day. We are just helping him to contribute in the costs of running it :) (salt water is quite expensive, a machine is working all the time to keep it salt).
This place has the highest number of regulations that we saw in Chiang Mai: how to swim, how to behave, what not to do etc. But it’s a great pool and a nice play to hang out, have a drink or even eat something. Philip has a few houses at the back too that are for rent. And you can take swimming lessons from a qualified teacher. It's never really that busy, so you can always make laps. And during the busy hour (5-7pm) there are special lap lanes. There is a small pool in the back for babies, but the main pool is not deep so neither children nor adults should drown here.
Perhaps just not the best pool in the world and not the centre of the universe (depending on how you see it, Stephen Hawkins), but probably the best pool in Chiang Mai. Normal entrance ticket 200 baht but you can buy packages. Also, only 80 baht after 5pm. Pool closes at 7pm (enter well before that).
50m Olympic size mainly salt water pool (!), no hang out places
This is one of Chiang Mai's best kept secrets: a gigantic 50m mainly salt water pool with a cover! If you've been in Thailand for a while, you've learned that it's better to avoid too much sun, this entire pool is covered so it's never too hot or too sunny. Best of all, it's mainly salt water and it's gigantic, not only long but also wide with many lanes.
Almost no foreigners come here, this is the perfect place to do serious laps.
Officially part of Montford College but open to outsiders between 16:00 and about 20:00 hr. Just recenty built with college fee money, the electric maintenance cost must be gigantic too. There is no equivalent in Chiang Mai. At certain times, of course the school kids will swim here in groups, but the pool is so large and wide that you can make serious laps almost all the time.
Of course the pool lacks finishing, like almost everything in Thailand: there are no steps inside the walls of the pool (probably the builder forgot them), the shower tabs are sometimes reversed (hot versus cold), the lockers are too small and already broken and no one ever thought about putting a few proper benches in the changing rooms, but the main thing is the great pool and after all it's Thailand.
Clean and tidy facilities.
Main downside for some people will be that there are no terraces and it’s definitely not a place to hang out. But it’s ideal for the serious swimmer who wants to make long laps and wants to stay out of the sun.
OPEN: to outsiders: Mon-Fri 16:00 - 20:00 and Sat 17:00 - 20:00
FEES: 50 bahtYYY
27m chlorine pool, narrow, great terrace
This hotel features a very popular fitness center and swimming pool. It offers good value packages even for short stay, that include use of the fitness center, pool and sauna. Located conveniently in Loi Kroh Road, just off the Night Bazar. Great terrace to chill out and enjoy views around the city and Doi Suthep. The pool is longer than 25m, probably around 27m, but it’s narrow and there is a extra leg at the beginning, making the entire pool an L-shape. If it’s not busy, you can make real decent laps, if busy it’s hard to go around other people and you may hit some in the dark because the lights are not bright enough.
The chlorine here is of a milder type or they just put less of it in the water, so it feels less aggressive for your skin than the average chlorine pool elsewhere.
A BIG PLUS is that during some parts of the year, the pool doesn't catch much sun, because the main building is blocking the sun for most of the day. Only the corner of the L-shape gets later afternoon sun (and the nice terrace). In Dec/Jan, the Centara Duang Tawan swimming pool is probably the coldest pool in town, then it can be so freezing cold that you won't last for more than half an hour and you will need to use the sauna afterwards to heat up (which is a great combination for your pores, by the way).
The things you have to work around are the changing rooms, which are normally too congested and there are not enough benches to put your bags and clothes on for changing, so this often leads to irrations between the farang customers that frequent this place. The showers are connected to a boiler system which is not stable so beware not to burn your skin when someone else next to you changes the warm water supply. Besides that, be careful not to cut your hand open when turning the tabs as the marble around it has been cut out poorly.
A lot of members here buy memberships and keep using it for a while even after it has expired, because the hotel doesn't really have a system to check, but that's not recommendable of course and if you're staying long term, it's completely unnecessary because a year membership comes down to about 1000-1500 baht per month.
Overall it’s not so well managed, but considering the location and the packages it’s still a good deal to work out.
Huay Kaew Road - 47m chlorine, terrace so so
A huge pool hidden on the 7/F of the Lotus hotel on Huay Kaew road, just adjacent and connected to the shopping mall Central Kad Suan Kaew. With some 47m it’s almost an Olympic size. Some shallow parts are good for children. Not a great terrace to hang out and no drinks served. The chlorine they use here is rather aggressive so you can feel it on your teeth after a while. There is a sauna on the 5/F which is not bad and is included in the price (100 baht for walk in). But the changing room on the 6/F is lousy. Good thing is, the pool closes at 9pm. It's a nice pool at a good location and great if you like a long stretch instead of turning around all the time. A lot of Thai stay in this hotel too, so you can mix.
50m Olympic pool, chlorine, no terrace
This is Chiang Mai’s official sports complex that was built in 1995 for the Southeast Asian Games and at the same time to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the establishment of Chiang Mai as a city. The complex features plenty of tennis courts and also an Olympic size pool. It’s a normal chlorine pool, not too busy but sometimes you’ll see some local and national athlete teams training here. Pity there isn’t a nice terrace and also the changing rooms are dirty and smelly. It’s up north on Canal road so if you’re in the city it can be a bit far. Not really a place to bring small kids. There are plenty more swimming pools, in hotels, housing estates (muu baan) etc. but for some of them you have to pay relatively high entrance fees, become a member first or they don't reach 25m length, which is a minimum for proper laps. If you're not so picky about these things, you can also consider the following pools:
This is a quiet and large 50m pool located in a resort. There is a gym and sauna too. Not sure if this is salt or chlorine.
Fees: 80 baht
beautiful pool with gorgeous terrace, about 18m
This is truly a 5-star hotel, with great service and a lovely pool and terrace to hang out. Fantastic view on the river, almost as if you're floating into the river. Minus point is that it's not 25m long, shorter than 20m probably. Great place to hang out though drinks here are not cheap, of course. You can walk in and pay for a swim (several hundred baht) or put your name on a waiting queu to become a member (limited number).
beautiful pool and hang out, music, 18m chlorine
Like the Chedi, a 5-star hotel so expect a great terrace, great service and nice hang out. At certain times, there is music so you can swim at the tune of a piano! Minus point is again that the pool doesn't reach 25m long.
TIP: Always bring some slippers with rough soles to avoid slipping and breaking your hip on the often very slippery tiles. And bring a sports watch to keep track of time, since there is often no clock on the wall or it's broken.
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