I first heard about this pool via this article from Harper’s Bazaar and the pictures I saw from my Instagram search on it sealed the deal. So, this weekend, I made it part of my boyfriend’s birthday package and we were not disappointed.
The website to purchase day passes is a bit under the radar, but you can find it here. This link then leads you to a Moonshine site which, I assure you, is totally legit. I feel like this pool in general is very “hush hush” with the intention of only hotel guests knowing about it. The price tag also keeps it from being overcrowded as well ($150 per person). At any rate, the front desk was extremely welcoming and provided me with detailed instructions on how to enter when I emailed them.
You arrive at the Parker and take not the main entrance, but the one labeled ‘drybar’, which makes the experience seem like a speakeasy excursion. After taking the elevator down to the basement, you walk past the salon and down a short hallway to Gravity, the hotel’s gym. It’s there you that sign in. The girl at the front desk was extremely attentive and made us feel right at home.
Yet, you’re not at the pool just yet. You return to the drybar elevator and take it to the first floor, where you cruise through the marble lobby and around a corner to an elevator bank that goes to the Penthouse. That’s your floor. After riding to the top, you exit and follow a winding hallway with arrows pointing you helpfully toward the pool until you arrive at a glass door. It’s there where this awaits you:
The views are breathtaking. You look out at the bottom on Central Park and you’re just high enough (around the 50th floor range) to look down at most of the rooftops around you.
Plus, there is a multi-level outside deck, with tanning spots right outside the pool, one level up, and (my personal favorite) a third tier with an unbelievable outside views:
Feel free to alternate between tanning and going for a swim. The pool is a small one (6 feet deep at its end), but for the majority of the time, we had it all to ourselves.
You can also order drinks and sandwiches from the table menus, delivered room-service style. There’s also locker rooms by the pool so you don’t need to worry about going downstairs to Gravity for your stuff. Just bring your own lock.
Overall, we had an amazing time and I would say that this pool is one of Manhattan’s best kept secrets. If you ever feel like treating yourself without running into crowds, this is the place to go.
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