Best Hotels With Rooftop Pools in Lanzarote for Skyline Swims

Chasing the Horizon at the Best Hotels With Rooftop Pools in Lanzarote

I have spent more hours than I would care to admit tanning my shoulders on rooftops across Lanzarote, hunting down the best hotels with rooftop pools in Lanzarote because this island deserves to be experienced from above. The jet black lava fields stretch toward volcanic cones that turn gold at dusk, and the Atlantic shimmers below you with a clarity that feels almost unreal once you are floating twenty metres up. A rooftop pool hotel Lanzarote produces this doubled perspective, water mirroring water, and even on days when trade winds send a cool mist across the parapets there is nowhere else I would rather be. Many visitors assume rooftop pools are a modern import, but the tradition of Lanzarote architecture climbing skyward is older than you think. Local artist and environmentalist Cesar Manrique, who shaped the island's aesthetic codes from the 1960s onward, insisted that human structures should never dominate the volcanic landscape, so he encouraged terraced, low rise designs that create the kind of layered geography where a rooftop by definition already looks across an entire horizon. That philosophy filters into every terrace you will explore below: the architecture is almost always receding into lava rock rather than rising against the sky, which means that even mid range rooftop sites deliver panoramic views far beyond what their price tag suggests.

H10 Rubicon Palace, Playa Blanca

The Starter. I first stayed here in 2018, the August month when most families crowd Playa Blanca's western promenade, and the rooftop pool is immediately why I have returned four times since. Set on the Paseo de la Molina right at the entrance to the marina, the Rubicon Palace positions its flat roof water deck so that you face south and west simultaneously, catching both the silhouette of Fuerteventura's Corralejo dunes and the deep blue of the Bocaina Strait. Daytime in high summer brings a direct sun that is relentless between noon and half past three, but evening the temperature drops about four degrees and the wind dies, and that is when the rooftop reveals itself as a proper sky terrace with nobody jostling for a lounger.

The Bill? Double rooms typically range from €120 to €320 per night depending on season and occupancy, though booking directly through the H10 website during shoulder months (late May, early October) sometimes knocks thirty percent off.

The Standout? Request a west facing room on the upper floors so your balcony shares the same view as the rooftop, then spend the last hour of daylight on the pool deck watching sailing boats bob inside the harbour. The sun hits the mountains behind Arrecife right at nine o'clock in summer, a very specific stripe of light that goes almost orange across the water.

The Catch? The rooftop pool is not infinity edge and the freestanding hot tub is often occupied from around four in the afternoon onwards by the same large family group. If you are looking for a quiet adults only atmosphere the lobby bar downstairs is far calmer.

One detail that flies under the radar. Most people poolside order all inclusive drinks from the rooftop bar menu and ignore the Casa Museum nearby, which is a ten minute walk along the old fishermen's trail toward Playa Flamingo. That small house was the reception point for Lanzarote's maritime trade in the eighteenth century, and tying in a little local memory with your pool visit makes the history of this resort area feel less generic than it otherwise would on paper. Local tip: the rooftop opens at nine in the morning, but the cleaning crew finishes by eight, and if you arrive half an hour before official opening you can almost persuade a lifeguard to let you onto a lounger without the morning crowd.

Hotel Lanzarote Puerto, Old Town Arrecife

This is the rooftop pool hotel I recommend to people who told me they want to avoid resort zones entirely. Sitting in Arrecido's old quarter steps from the San Gines lagoon and the church square, the Hotel Lanzarote Puerto occupies a slim six storey facade that looks narrow and unremarkable from the Calle Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera. I nearly skipped it during my first visit in 2019 because the entrance lobby is more business hotel than holiday brochure, but the rooftop redeems everything. The pool itself is small, roughly eight metres by four, with two built in spa jets and a shallow lounging shelf rather than deep swimming lanes, but the view across San Gines lake and along the seafront esplanade toward the Charco harbour wall is exactly the kind of pool view hotel Lanzarote delivers when you position yourself inside real neighbourhood fabric and not a gated tourist compound.

The Bill? Room rates generally sit between €80 and €180 depending on season, and because this is a business leaning property weekday rates in winter are often half peak summer cost. Booking a standard terrace room on floors four or five nets you a tiny exterior balcony that, in the evening when the church bells ring seven, frames the lagoon between two rows of Canary Island palms.

The Standout? Walk downstairs at any time and you are ninety seconds from a cluster of tapas bars that locals use rather than tourists, particularly the stalls around the Municipal Market in Calle Grande. Grab a plate of papas arrugadas with two mojo sauces, then come back up to the rooftop for a sunset swim. No hotel restaurant in a resort area gives you that kind of morning-to-evening independence from your accommodation.

The Catch? The rooftop closes at seven thirty in the evening during winter months and eight in summer, which feels tight if you want a full after dinner soak. Also the pool is not much above five feet deep, so it is more of a cooling off spot than anything comfortable for lap swimming.

What most tourists miss. Just after you leave the hotel lobby and turn left onto Calle Armas, there is a small whitewashed doorway marked with a hand painted sign for the Island Archives. Open only from nine to two on weekdays, the archive documents four centuries of pirate raids, volcanic eruptions, and trade routes. Seeing Arrecife's real history from a non promotional source sharpens your understanding of why the old town sits exactly where it does, behind the lagoon rather than on the exposed coastline, a pattern you can look down upon from the rooftop later that afternoon and grasp in a way no guidebook quite conveys.

Barcelo Salinas, Costa Teguise

The Barcelo Salinas is the property I bring people when they genuinely want a rooftop infinity pool hotel Lanzarote can be proud of, because its rooftop is unlike anything else on the north eastern coast. Opened in 2010 and renovated in the past couple of years, the hotel occupies a naturally terraced slope on the edge of Costa Teguise's Playa de las Cucharas, the main windsurfing beach. The rooftop level is technically on the sixth floor of the rear wing, but because the volcanic hillside falls away to the north the infinity edge at the western end of the pool appears to pour straight into the Atlantic below. I have watched an Atlantic sunset from that lip of water on at least twenty occasions and it has not once disappointed.

The bill?
Adults only rates push a room here to between €170 and €380 in peak summers (July through September), with late winter dipping closer to €110 to €220. Spend a little more on a guaranteed pool view room because the alternative hillside facade looks at a construction site that has been half finished for years.

The Standout?
In terms of the specific infinity edge vista, the hour before sunset is magic because the pool lights switch from their daytime white to an amber tone that matches the volcanic light. Order a spritz from the rooftop bar (from about €10 to €15 with tip) and hold off on dinner entirely until afterwards because most nearby restaurants start filling from nine o'clock onwards after hotel guests make their way down.

The Catch?
Costa Teguide's wind is real, and while the hotel positioned its rooftop behind a curved windscreen wall, on certain north westerly days the gusts at six storeys up are enough to send spray off the infinity edge and raise goosebumps even in thirty degree heat. Layer up on evenings with a forecast above fifteen knots of wind.

A detail most visitors never clock.
Stand at the pool's western wall and look along the shore to the right. Where the beach rises into a low black cliff you are looking at a volcanic dike, a seam of magma that cooled underground millennia ago and protruded when the softer rock around it eroded. Geologists from the University of Las Palmas run summer field workshops on it, and simply knowing that feature is there changes how you read the whole coastline. Local tip: if you visit during the Playa de las Cucharas windsurfing championship in June the rooftop gives you a birds eye view of racing flags you would never see from the sand.

Timanfaya Parador, Mancha Blanca

The Parador de Lanzarote, officially Timanfaya Parador, is less of a conventional rooftop pool hotel Lanzarote tourist guides emphasise and more of a poet's hilltop terrace with a long rectangular pool laid in a deep hue that almost matches the surrounding lava. Located on the Carretera del Timanfaya road as it rolls through the volcanic national park, the building sits six hundred metres above sea level at the foot of the Montanas del Fuego. Architect Fernando Higueras designed it in the mid 1970s acting on Cesar Manrique's insistence that any structure in the park had to respect the raw volcanic landscape, and the result is a long white building that appears to be an extension of the ash fields themselves. The rooftop pool is uncovered, and the panorama is not ocean or resort but caldera after caldera of solidified magma extending to the western coast, an alien stretch of nothing that moves most people I have taken there into instant silence.

The Bill? Rooms run from about €180 to €400 depending on season and demand, and the hotel is often booked months in advance for December and January because of Canary Island holiday traffic from the Spanish mainland. The rooftop pool is accessible to all guests, but the hotel also allows non residents to buy day passes for the bar and terrace area, typically around €25 per person including a welcome drink, a workaround I appreciate when a friend only needs the view and no overnight rate.

The Standout? The Volcan de la Corona trail pass is sold at the front desk in the lobby, and hiking the volcano rim in the early morning, then returning to the rooftop pool by noon for a swim with the heat shimmers coming off the lava still in your peripheral vision, is an almost surreal combination. Also expect the bar staff to know the story of every named cone visible from the terrace, including which erupted in 1730 versus 1824.

The Catch? On windy days the pool can accumulate a fine grey grit from the surrounding volcanic soil, which gives the water a murky tint and discolours lighter swimwear. The hotel provides a freshwater outdoor shower near the pool deck, but a post swim rinse in your room might be cleaner.

What most people skip.
Walk past the parador entrance and continue another minute up the narrow lane to the left, and you reach the Monumento al Campesino, Manrique's 1968 rural art piece that looks like a giant white cactus and a farmer's house fused together. It is a five minute detour that contextualises the entire aesthetic of the parador itself, because the white walls, the volcanic stone, and the deliberate absence of ornamentation all trace back to the same philosophy. Local tip: the parador's restaurant serves local goat cheese with palm honey and roasted cactus fruit, a combination that sounds unusual but is one of the most memorable things I have eaten on the island.

Secrets Lanzarote Resort and Spa, Puerto del Carmen

Secrets Lanzarote Resort and Spa is the adults only property I recommend when someone tells me they want a rooftop pool hotel Lanzarote can deliver without the family noise. Located on the southern end of Puerto del Carmen's Avenida de las Playas, the hotel sits on a gentle rise above the main beach strip, and its rooftop deck is a proper sky level retreat with a long rectangular pool, a secondary hot tub, and a bar that serves cocktails until eleven at night. I first visited in 2021 and was surprised by how quiet the rooftop felt even at midday, partly because the hotel limits deck access to upper tier suite guests and partly because the deck is set back from the building's edge behind a low wall that blocks the street noise from the avenue below.

The Bill? As an all inclusive adults only property, nightly rates range from about €200 to €450 per person depending on season and room category. The rooftop pool is included in the all inclusive package, but premium spirits and certain cocktails carry a surcharge of around €3 to €5 above the standard menu.

The Standout? The hot tub on the rooftop is heated to a steady thirty eight degrees, and on cooler winter evenings (January and February evenings can drop to fifteen degrees at altitude) soaking in it while the lights of Puerto del Carmen flicker along the coast below is one of the most relaxing things I have done on the island. The bar also serves a local honey rum punch that the bartender told me is made with miel de palma from the nearby La Geria valley, and it is worth ordering at least once.

The Catch? The rooftop pool is not infinity edge, and the view is more of the hotel's own garden and the surrounding apartment blocks than a sweeping ocean panorama. If you are chasing a dramatic horizon shot this is not the spot, but if you want a quiet, well serviced sky level pool with no children and strong cocktails it delivers.

What most tourists overlook.
The hotel is a ten minute walk from the old harbour of Puerto del Carmen, the original fishing village that predates the resort strip by centuries. Walking down there in the early morning before the rooftop opens, you can watch the few remaining fishing boats unload their catch at the small dock, then buy grilled sardines from a stall that sets up near the harbour wall. That combination of old village life and modern rooftop luxury is the kind of contrast that makes Lanzarote feel layered rather than one dimensional. Local tip: the rooftop bar runs a happy hour from five to seven in the evening with two for one on local craft beers, and the crowd thins out during that window so you can grab a prime lounger easily.

Iberostar Selection Lanzarote Palace, Puerto del Carmen

The Iberostar Selection Lanzarote Palace is the property I bring people who want a rooftop pool hotel Lanzarote can offer with a more traditional resort feel, because its rooftop deck is large, well equipped, and positioned on the seventh floor of the main building with a view that sweeps from the old harbour of Puerto del Carmen all the way south to the cliffs of Los Pocillos. Located on the Avenida de las Playas near the midpoint of the resort strip, the hotel has been a fixture of Puerto del Carmen's skyline since the early 2000s, and its recent renovation added a new infinity edge section to the rooftop pool that faces west toward the setting sun.

The Bill? Nightly rates typically range from €150 to €350 per room depending on season and board basis, with all inclusive options pushing the upper end higher. The rooftop pool is accessible to all hotel guests, but the infinity edge section is reserved for guests staying in the Star Prestige wing, a detail that is not always clearly communicated at booking.

The Standout? The infinity edge section of the rooftop pool is small, only about six metres wide, but the effect of floating at seventh floor level with the Atlantic stretching to the horizon is genuinely dramatic. I have seen people spend an entire afternoon there without moving, just watching the light change on the water. The rooftop bar also serves a local white wine from the La Geria vineyard region that is crisp and mineral, and it pairs well with the salt air.

The Catch? The rooftop pool gets crowded from around eleven in the morning until four in the afternoon during peak season, and the lounger situation becomes competitive. If you want a prime spot near the infinity edge, arrive by nine in the morning or wait until after five when the families head down for dinner.

What most visitors never realise.
The hotel's location on the Avenida de las Playas puts it within walking distance of the island's oldest surviving banana plantation, a small grove that has been cultivated since the early twentieth century and is still maintained by the original family. Walking there in the morning before the heat sets in, you can see the irrigation channels that draw water from underground aquifers, a system that predates modern desalination and speaks to the ingenuity of Lanzarote's agricultural history. Local tip: the rooftop pool's infinity edge is best photographed in the hour before sunset when the light is warm and the water takes on a golden tint, and the western facing wall of the deck is the ideal vantage point.

Arrecife Gran Hotel and Spa, Arrecife

The Arrecife Gran Hotel and Spa is the tallest building on the island, a seventeen storey tower that rises from the seafront esplanade of Arrecife like a white sail, and its rooftop pool is the highest swimming spot in Lanzarote. Located on the Paseo Maritimo directly opposite the Red Castle (Castillo de San Jose), the hotel has been a landmark since the 1970s, and its rooftop pool sits at the very top of the building with a three hundred and sixty degree view that encompasses the entire capital, the port, the lava fields to the north, and the southern coast stretching toward Puerto del Carmen. I have visited the rooftop on clear winter mornings when you can see both Fuerteventura to the south and the Chinijo Archipelago to the north, and the sense of being suspended above the entire island is unlike anything else on this list.

The Bill? Room rates range from about €100 to €250 per night depending on season and view category, and because the hotel caters to business travellers as well as tourists, weekday rates in winter are often significantly cheaper than weekends. The rooftop pool is accessible to all hotel guests, and the spa on the floor below offers day passes for non residents at around €30 per person.

The Standout? The height of the rooftop pool is the main draw, and on a clear day the visibility extends to over forty kilometres in every direction. I have watched container ships entering the port of Arrecife from the pool, their progress almost imperceptible from seventeen storeys up, and the contrast between the stillness of the water and the slow movement of the ships below is mesmerising. The rooftop bar also serves a local pisco sour style cocktail made with Canary Island rum that is worth trying.

The Catch? The wind at seventeen storeys is no joke, and on days when the trade winds are blowing above twenty knots the rooftop can feel more like a wind tunnel than a relaxation spot. The hotel provides wind screens around the pool, but they only block the wind from certain angles, and on particularly gusty days the pool is sometimes closed entirely for safety reasons.

What most tourists miss.
The hotel's ground floor lobby contains a small exhibition of photographs from the 1970s showing the construction of the tower and the transformation of Arrecife's seafront from a working port to a modern capital. Seeing those images before you take the elevator to the rooftop gives you a sense of how dramatically the city has changed in just fifty years, and the contrast between the old black and white photos and the panoramic view from the pool is striking. Local tip: the rooftop pool is least crowded on weekday mornings between nine and eleven, when most guests are at breakfast or in meetings, and you can often have the entire deck to yourself.

Hotel Boutique Palacio Ico, Teguise

The Hotel Boutique Palacio Ico is the property I recommend to people who want a rooftop pool hotel Lanzarote can offer in a setting that feels genuinely historic rather than resort modern. Located on the Calle Herrera in the old town of Teguise, the island's former capital, the hotel occupies a restored seventeenth century palace that has been carefully converted into a small boutique property with just fourteen rooms. The rooftop terrace is intimate, more of a private sky garden than a resort pool deck, with a small plunge pool, a few loungers, and a view that takes in the church of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe, the surrounding volcanic hills, and on clear days the coast near Costa Teguise. I visited for the first time in 2022 and was struck by how quiet the rooftop was, even on a Sunday afternoon when the famous Teguise market was in full swing just two streets away.

The Bill? Room rates range from about €130 to €280 per night depending on season and room type, and because the property is small and independently owned, booking directly through the hotel's website often yields better rates than third party platforms. The rooftop terrace is accessible to all guests, and the hotel also offers a private terrace dining experience for an additional fee of around €50 per person, which includes a three course meal with local wine.

The Standout? The intimacy of the rooftop is its greatest asset, and the small plunge pool is just large enough for a cooling dip after a morning exploring Teguise's colonial streets. The view of the church tower from the terrace is particularly beautiful in the late afternoon when the stone turns a warm gold, and the absence of other buildings at a similar height means you feel genuinely alone above the town. The hotel's restaurant also serves a local goat stew with roasted vegetables that is one of the best traditional meals I have had on the island.

The Catch? The plunge pool is small, roughly three metres by two, and it is not suitable for swimming or even proper lounging if more than four people are using it simultaneously. If you are looking for a proper pool experience this is not the right property, but if you want a quiet sky level retreat with historic character it is hard to beat.

What most visitors never know.
Teguise was the capital of Lanzarote from the fifteenth century until 1852, when the administrative centre shifted to Arrecife, and the town's colonial architecture reflects centuries of wealth from trade and agriculture. Walking through the streets around the hotel, you can see carved stone doorways, wooden balconies, and interior courtyards that date back to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and the rooftop terrace gives you a vantage point from which to appreciate how the town's layout was designed to channel cool air through narrow streets, a passive cooling technique that predates modern air conditioning by centuries. Local tip: the Teguise market on Sunday mornings is one of the largest in the Canary Islands, and visiting it before returning to the rooftop for a late morning swim is one of the best ways to experience the town's dual character as both a historic monument and a living community.

When to Go and What to Know

The best time to visit rooftop pools in Lanzarote is between May and October, when daytime temperatures range from twenty five to thirty two degrees and the trade winds are consistent enough to keep the heat manageable without being strong enough to close most rooftop decks. Winter months (December through February) are still pleasant, with temperatures rarely dropping below eighteen degrees, but the shorter days and higher chance of wind mean that rooftop pool hours are often reduced and the experience is less reliable. Peak season (July and August) brings the largest crowds and highest prices, but also the longest days and the most dramatic sunsets, so if you can tolerate the heat and the competition for loungers it is still worth visiting.

One practical note that applies to all the properties listed above: Lanzarote's sun is strong, and at rooftop level the UV index can be two to three points higher than at ground level due to the absence of shade and the reflective properties of the surrounding volcanic rock. I have seen visitors burn badly after just an hour on a rooftop deck, so applying sunscreen before you head up and reapplying every two hours is essential. Also, most rooftop pools in Lanzarote do not allow glass containers, so bring a plastic or metal water bottle rather than a glass one.

A final insider tip: many of the hotels listed above offer rooftop access to non residents through day pass programmes or bar purchases, so even if you are not staying at a particular property you can often still experience its rooftop pool for the price of a few drinks. It is always worth calling ahead to ask, because the policies change seasonally and the front desk staff are usually happy to accommodate.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many days are needed to see the major tourist attractions in Lanzarote without feeling rushed?

Four to five full days allow you to cover Timanfaya National Park, Jameos del Agua, Cueva de los Verdes, the Cactus Garden, Mirador del Rio, and the La Geria wine region at a comfortable pace. Adding two more days gives you time for Teguise, Arrecife, and the northern islands of La Graciosa and the Chinijo Archipelago.

Are credit cards widely accepted across Lanzarote, or is it necessary to carry cash for daily expenses?

Credit and debit cards are accepted at most hotels, restaurants, and larger shops across Lanzarote. However, smaller market stalls, some rural tapas bars, and taxi drivers often prefer cash, so carrying around €50 to €100 in euros for daily incidentals is advisable.

Is Lanzarote expensive to visit? Give a realistic daily budget breakdown for mid-tier travelers.

A mid-tier traveller can expect to spend approximately €120 to €180 per day, covering a mid-range hotel room (€80 to €130), two meals at local restaurants (€30 to €45), transport by rental car or bus (€10 to €20), and incidental expenses like drinks and entry fees.

What is the standard tipping etiquette or service charge policy at restaurants in Lanzarote?

Service charges are generally included in menu prices at restaurants in Lanzarote, so tipping is not obligatory. However, leaving 5 to 10 percent in cash for good service is appreciated and common among both locals and tourists.

What is the average cost of a specialty coffee or local tea in Lanzarote?

A specialty coffee such as a cortado or café con leche costs between €1.50 and €2.50 at most cafés across Lanzarote. Local herbal teas, including varieties made with island grown herbs, typically range from €1.80 to €2.80 per cup.