When summer hits in OKC, there’s just so much an air conditioner or an ice cream cone can do. Once July rolls around, only a swimming pool can satisfy. Thankfully, hotels throughout the metro rise to the occasion with pool bars that are accessible for guests and locals alike. For non-guests, some require pool passes, while others are free. No matter the cost of entry, though, the opportunity to sip rosé at pool’s edge is priceless. From wading pools to water parks, here are the best pool bars in OKC.
Ambassador Hotel Oklahoma City
With offerings from the best rooftop space in town to Beef Wellington Bites, this Midtown mainstay has a bar for every vibe. The pool at Ambassador Hotel is tucked away behind the property, offering a shaded grotto where guests and locals alike can order drinks from the bar while wading. Summer drinks this year include a Chamomile Spritz, a Golden Hour Mojito and a pitch-perfect Aperol Spritz, along with sparkling wine and pretty-in-pink Social Bird Rosé. Join for Poolside for the People, a weekly event that offers Neapolitan-style pizzas and drink specials on the patio through summer. 1200 N. Walker Ave.
Omni Oklahoma City Hotel
The pool deck at the Omni Oklahoma City Hotel is almost as stunning as the view, offering unparalleled vistas of Scissortail Park and the downtown skyline from its third-floor perch. Catbird Seat is the pool bar and restaurant, offering refreshing libations like a Blood Orange Spritz and Smoldering Mango, with gin, mango, Ancho Reyes Verde and lime. Just outside, the sprawling pool terrace is lined with loungers and cabanas with drink service; day passes are available for non-guests. 100 Oklahoma City Blvd.
OKANA Resort & Indoor Waterpark
The splashiest (pun intended) new pool in town is also the largest. Pools are the star at the newly opened OKANA Resort & Indoor Waterpark, featuring indoor and outdoor water attractions including a 100,000-square-foot indoor park that ranks as the largest in the region, with a wave pool, lazy river, 15 water slides, adults-only pool and more. Outside is The Lagoon, the fourth-largest pool in the country, complete with sandy OKANA Beach, attractions and 36 private cabanas. The resort’s swim-up pool bar, accessible to guests and waterpark visitors, Okasis is found in the lush lagoon, offering quenching cocktails like the Passion Plunge (citrus gin, passion fruit puree, lime juice, simple syrup and club soda), and Tornado Twist (vodka, triple sec, lime juice, cranberry juice, ginger beer, bitters). Inside, The Dive Bar spotlights classic cocktails, frozen drinks and pitch-perfect daiquiris from the top floor of the waterpark. 639 First Americans Blvd
Pool Bar
Nestled alongside The Fordson Hotel, Pool Bar channels vibrant Palm Springs energy in the West Village, with a wading pool flanked by shaded cabanas, DJ booths and an outdoor bar. Open to the public for both pool and potables, drinks include frozen margaritas in a multitude of flavors like hibiscus and cranberry, along with wine, canned beer and fruity cocktails — such as the Strawberry Fields with vodka, strawberry, peppercorn, white chocolate and hazelnut. 900 W Main St.
The Ellison
Although the pool is only available to guests, the adjoining rooftop bar at Nichols Hills’ The Ellison is well worth the detour for locals — for its periodic live entertainment, its understated skyline views and its chic canopy lending shade over lounge chairs and sofas. The bar specializes in seasonal snacks and refreshing cocktails, and its Nichols Hills location ensures a more serene ambiance. 6201 N. Western Ave.
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