Spending time at a five-star hotel is easier than you think. The secret? Don’t spend the night.
Whether you want to treat yourself to a luxury experience while traveling (or to a staycation close to home), you don't always have to book a hotel room to enjoy the pool, spa, or other high-end amenities at top hotels and resorts.
Many luxury properties offer day visitor access, even at brands such as Fairmont or Ritz-Carlton.
I've been traveling the world for over a decade, and on more than one occasion, I've spent an entire afternoon poolside or relaxing at a luxury hotel spa without booking a stay. This can be an especially nice tactic if you’re staying in an Airbnb but still want the perks of a hotel, or if you want to book a cheap hotel just to crash, and then spend your day on another property entirely.
Here’s how to walk away feeling like a guest for a fraction of what you’d spend had you stayed overnight.
In this article
Buy a Day Pass Directly from the Hotel
At some hotels, all you have to do to gain entry for the day is ask.
Many properties sell day passes to outside visitors, granting access to hotel pools, spas, fitness centers, and other amenities for a flat fee. It's not always advertised, so call the front desk to ask or check the hotel's website.
At The Savoy Hotel & Beach Club in Miami Beach, for example, day passes start at $60 per person and include beach and pool access from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., a lounge chair, umbrella, towel service, and concierge service, while rooms start around $300 a night and climb past $1,000 during peak season.
At The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay in California, non-guests can get spa access during spa hours for $100 per person, which includes the sauna, steam rooms, co-ed soaking tub, and fitness center. Rooms start around $900 a night and can exceed $1,200 during prime season.
Book a Day Pass Through ResortPass
Staying at a hotel or vacation rental with no pool? Another option is to book access through a service like Dayaxe or ResortPass, which partners with 2,000-plus hotels and resorts worldwide. Search by location to find available day-pass options for pools, spas, waterparks, cabanas, daybeds, and even day-use hotel rooms.
Some standout options include the Omni Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa near Palm Springs, where pool day passes start at $56 for adults and $39 for children. You'll get access to multiple pools, a lazy river, a hot tub, a sandy beach, and water play zones with fountains and sprinklers.
Spa day passes, which include the spa pool, whirlpool, sauna, steam room, and relaxation lounge, start at $67 per person. The hotel’s nightly rates, on the other hand, start around $275 and can be more than $650 during peak season.
Elsewhere at the Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort in Hawaii, a day pass starts at $75 and includes access to four pools, a hot tub, the beach, poolside dining, towel service, and free valet parking. The adults-only spa day pass starts at $175 and includes access to a tranquil adults-only pool, fitness studio, dry sauna, steam room, heated plunge pool, and relaxation lounges. Nightly rates start around $750 and rise to $1,200 or more during high season.
Book a Spa Treatment at the Hotel Spa
Many larger luxury hotel properties allow non-guests to enjoy full use of spa facilities by booking a spa treatment. Booking a spa treatment as a back door to hotel amenities is one of the most widely available, and least advertised, perks for non-guests at luxury properties.
The Phoenician in Scottsdale, Arizona, is one example. The 50-minute Golden Glow treatment, a full-body exfoliating scrub and oil treatment, costs $225. That’s a fraction of the hotel’s $900-plus nightly rate during peak season, and a treatment comes with full spa access to the vitality pool, steam room, sauna, relaxation room, and rooftop pool.
At The Langham Chicago, booking any spa service gets you access to Chuan Spa's 67-foot indoor pool, Hydro-Vitality hot tub, Oriental steam room, and Eucalyptus and Himalayan salt stone saunas for the day. The 60-minute Chuan Balancing Massage is $260; a Customized Classic Facial is $275. Rooms, meanwhile, start at $400 a night and exceed $1,000 during peak season.
Rent a Daybed or Cabana
Some hotels and resorts extend pool access to non-guests through daybed or cabana rentals. Depending on the property, you may encounter either a flat rental fee or a food-and-beverage minimum spend. ResortPass offers this option too, in addition to regular day passes.
While many properties make this available, my go-to is the Biltmore Hotel Miami in Coral Gables, where non-guests can access the pool by renting a private cabana complete with a flat-screen TV, Wi-Fi, towel service, a stocked fridge, and a dedicated server. Cabanas for up to four people start at $240 on summer weekdays and $475 on peak-season weekends. Meanwhile, nightly rates range from about $275 during slow months to $700 during peak season.
And at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, non-guests can access the Chelsea Pool by reserving a lounge chair, daybed, or cabana. The reservation fee is applied as a food-and-drink minimum, which starts at $175 for one lounge chair. Rooms average around $400 a night and are significantly higher on peak weekends.
The Shortcut
The access usually isn't advertised. Plenty of hotels sell day passes to non-guests but never post about it, so call the front desk or check the site before you assume it's off-limits.
Booking a spa treatment is one back door. The fee usually includes full-day spa and pool access as a bonus.
A cabana fee often isn't a true fee. At spots like the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, the charge is a food-and-drink minimum. If you're planning on lunch and cocktails anyway, it's not a bad deal.
No pool at your rental? Sites like Dayaxe and ResortPass list day passes at thousands of hotels worldwide, searchable by location, which makes researching easy.
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