Six Spectacular Outdoor Pools for a Snowy Swim for your 2020 winter vacantion

While tiptoeing through the cold while wearing a bathing suit might seem a little extreme for some, the delicious juxtaposition of relaxing in a heated outdoor pool while delicate snowflakes gently fall all around can make that short, but chilly journey 100% worthwhile - especially if there’s a stunning wintery landscape to enjoy. In fact, with 84% of global travelers* believing that taking time to relax during their vacation is important and 81% saying that beautiful natural scenery is a great motivation to travel in the first place, a soothing, steamy dip in a pool with spectacular views conveniently ticks a couple of boxes of what travelers are looking for in 2020. With that in mind, and considering that 44% of global travelers also want to stay in an accommodation surrounded by snow**, we have put together a list of six amazing outdoor pools surrounded by stellar, snowy landscapes, guaranteed to deliver some relaxing, once-in-a-lifetime, utterly Instagrammable travel memories.

The Cambrian, Switzerland

Magnificent, uninterrupted views of the Swiss Alps await at the panoramic outdoor pool of The Cambrian. Offering one of the best views in Switzerland, this outstanding heated swimming pool is THE place to be after a busy day hitting the slopes. Although this amazing infinity pool is considered the crown jewel of the property, the hotel’s spa offers an array of unique treatments, specially designed to soothe the mind, body and soul. For travelers who don’t plan to do any skiing, it’s still a perfect place to relax and enjoy the majesty of Mother Nature in all her wintery glory.

“I found this place on Booking and was blown away by the pictures, but in person it is somehow even more magical. They have thought through every detail in creating an atmosphere that will make you feel like you are in a dream!” - Lisa, USA

Arakur Ushuaia Resort & Spa, Argentina

The pristine infinity pools at the Arakur Ushuaia Resort & Spa in Argentina are a truly spectacular spot to enjoy dramatic, uninterrupted views of Ushuaia Bay and the Beagle Canal stretching all the way to the surrounding snow-capped mountains. Located in Cerro Alarkén Natural Reserve in Southern Patagonia, 800 feet (250 metres) above sea level, this unique accommodation is at one with the surrounding natural environment, nestled cozily within the surrounding native forest. As Ushuaia is a popular port for Antarctic cruises, guests who are preparing for a truly epic polar adventure can enjoy a variety of outdoor winter activities in the area before they depart, such as skiing, sled riding and snowshoeing. Imagine daydreaming about your impending Antarctic journey while soaking in those glacial blue waters, which are, of course, heated. #travelgoals

“Having an outdoor swim at -3 surrounded by white peaks and viewing Ushuaia from above is dreamy”. - R, United Kingdom

Frost and Fire Hotel, Iceland

Located on the banks of a river, right at the source of bubbling geothermal springs in Hveragerdi, Iceland, Frost and Fire Hotel invites travelers to escape and unwind in its amazing outdoor spa facilities, including an impressive outdoor pool that is warmed exclusively by hot springs underground. Swim a couple of laps as the snowflakes begin to fall or simply kick back and enjoy the soothing sky blue waters while admiring the surrounding idyllic Icelandic landscape. On a clear night, guests might even be treated to an impressive display of the Northern Lights.

“The hotel is situated near a geothermal area and river and has a pool and two hot tubs naturally heated by hot springs. We were able to take a dip in the river then warm up in the hot tub while watching the northern lights.” - Isabella, USA

El Lodge, Ski & Spa, Spain

Set in a charming Alpine-inspired structure, surrounded by the impressive snow-covered peaks of Andalusia’s Sierra Nevada range, the heated outdoor pool at El Lodge, Ski & Spa provides guests with a picturesque setting to unwind at that’s surrounded by nature, even when it’s snowing. Whether just finished a vigorous day on the slopes of have simply come for the crisp mountain air and a little R&R, travelers can soak up some winter rays on the spacious sundeck or just float their cares away in the Finnish hot tub.

“Never written a review before but compelled to this time. This place needs to be seen to be believed. It’s utterly amazing.” - Simon, Spain

 The Green Leaf, Niseko Village, Japan

Slip into the therapeutic waters of The Green Leaf, Niseko Village’s heated outdoor pool and feel as if you’ve stepped into an immersive Zen paradise. The Green Leaf Onsen is a true oasis of serenity, surrounded by beautiful pine trees laden with snow, reflected perfectly in its crystal clear waters, which are fed entirely by natural hot springs. The spring water is believed to have healing powers and comes out of the ground at about 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) - ideal for soothing sore muscles from an active day out in the elements and sure to keep guests nice and warm, even when the snow is falling.

“Heated outdoor pool and onsen are excellent to relax your muscles after a day on the slopes.” - Iryna, South Korea

Fairmont Banff Springs, Canada

Although the Fairmont Banff Springs was originally modeled after a real-life Scottish baronial castle when it was constructed in 1888, it’s now a Canadian National Historic Site and landmark in its own right. Overlooking the mountains and dense pine forests of Banff National Park in southern Alberta, this iconic hotel’s heated outdoor pool is perfect for a warm wintery swim. No matter how cold it is outside, this elegant pool entices with a soothing soak, surrounded by snow-kissed spruce and frosty fir trees. While many travelers go to Banff for the winter sports and fresh mountain air, they’ll stay for the simmering, indulgent waters and awe-inspiring views of the Canadian Rockies from this hotel’s sensational outdoor pool.

“You feel like stepping back into a more genteel, formal, grand era. The pools are beautiful - didn't want to get out of the outdoor pool, heavenly.” - Shari, USA

Booking News

Blockchain news - Major Deployment & Migration to LockTrip.com Completed

LockTrip is starting the year with a new deployment, marketplace migration to the root domain and many new improvements. In this article we want to explore some of the changes made.

Moving the Marketplace to www.LockTrips.com

The first and most important feature of this deployment is the migration from beta.LockTrips.com to the root domain www.LockTrips.com. What does that mean for users?

First of all, it is easier to find www.LockTrips.com through a direct search input from the search bar. Many users prefer to directly search through it for quicker access, which is also the intuitive behavior of many first-time users.

As LockTrips.com is now the home of the marketplace, all project/ICO related sections are moved to secondary pages. It is one of many steps that reflect the continuous process of moving out of the ICO environment.

Last but not least, we are officially moving out of “beta” in accordance to the completion of all four major milestones presented a few months ago:

1. Deploying 500,000+ Hotels and Properties
2. Integrating LOC Economy 2.0
3. Deploying the new Blue Design
4. Integrating Crypto Payments

The next 3–4 months will be fully dedicated towards preparing the marketplace for the marketing initiative push unveiled last month, both in terms of improving the user experience and developing the required affiliates tools.

That being said, let’s get back to today’s deployment.

Filter Improvements

The price slider is now dynamically adjusting to the range of the specific search. In the example below, $21 would be the cheapest available hotel and $1,470 the most expensive one.

Filtering overlaps that occurred for certain display resolutions have also been fixed.

Stability & Speed

Rate limiting modules that caused website instability have been improved. At the same time the loading speeds of hotel details pages are now much quicker. Further improvements on that front are on their way as we optimize the code and back-end components related to the new design.

In addition, logging in or registering on the marketplace does not trigger a reload of the search results. Previously searched results remain unchanged.

Usability

The “Sydney” card on the main page was incorrectly leading to a city in Canada, which has been fixed.

Returning from the billing information page to the hotel details page resulted in the screen briefly flashing and there was a small bug with signing out while being in the profile dashboard. Both have been fixed as well.

Sometimes users are returning to a search page hours after initiating the search. In these cases it is very likely that the displayed prices are no longer up to date. One of the newly added features is a time-out notification to alert the user about expired prices.

As a final item on this front, date selection has now become more intuitive.

Map Improvements

We identified a weakness with map loading times that sometimes lead to display issues, which has been fixed with this release. In addition there are also improvements on the “nearby hotels” feature within the hotel details page.

Nearby hotels also did not display hotel stars correctly.

Texts & Links

Our terms & conditions are now directly linked in the registration window. We have also made a number of text adjustments throughout the marketplace.

Other Improvements

Our database engine has seen a complete upgrade with this deployment. This has no direct visible impact, but is a critical component of back-end operations — maybe even the most central element of this deployment.

A number of improvements have been made to the built-in wallet, such as improving the wallet password resetting flow and fixing previously identified errors (some of which were pending for some time).

Important Notes

1. Expect maintenance on our mobile apps for the next few hours as they adopt to the new database upgrade.
2. All referral links that lead to the previous marketplace domain automatically redirect to the root domain. Nevertheless we recommend our affiliates to do their own checks.

We are already working towards the next deployment as we complete more and more tasks in our to-do list for the next few months in order to deliver as many new features and improvements as possible.

www.LockTrips.com  is now Live

Enjoy your savings!

LockTrip saves you 23% in Istanbul

Have you been to Istanbul before? If not, it is definitely overdue! With more than 15 million citizens and a long history going back thousands of years, Istanbul is a perfect fit especially for those who are interested in history and culture.

Dolmabahce Palace

One of the architectural highlights of Istanbul is the Dolmabahce Palace. Built in 1856 by the Ottomans, this palace fulfills every criteria of beauty. At the cost of more than 35,000 kg Gold, a huge complex with 285 rooms was built on the shore to the Bosporus.

Be advised that only 25,000 visitors are allowed per day. Coming in the morning will greatly improve your chances of getting in.

Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and an absolute must when you visit Istanbul. Built in 537 by the Romans, this structure served for almost a millennium as a Basilica and was quickly turned into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453.

You can quickly see how Christian and Islamic elements mix into a very unique appearance.

Enjoy the Food

Istanbul has a lot to offer from a culinary perspective. From meat lovers to vegetarians, everyone will find a delicious dish to broaden their flavor horizon.

Where to stay?

Through our 0% commission policy, we are able to offer you significant savings compared to other booking sites. Our internal price comparison analysis showed that you can expect average savings of 23% for the city of Istanbul.

Please note that this is an average, which has been calculated from a sample of many hotels. Prices for individual hotels/rooms will show significant deviation.

Below is a small selection from 1,500 Hotels in Istanbul that can be booked on our marketplace.

1. Celine Hotel

→ View on our Marketplace

2. Seven Hills Palace Hotel

→ View on our Marketplace

3. Neorion Hotel

→ View on our Marketplace

You can browse all 1,500 Hotels in Istanbul here.

Did you know that you can earn up to $100 for sharing your experience after booking with LockTrip? Here is how it works.

Team LockTrip wishes you a great stay in Istanbul!
Locktrip saves you 23% in Istanbul