World's Largest and Most Expensive Pool

We're in the middle of a heat wave right now in the Northeast and all I can think about is this amazing pool. Yes, that thing this guy is sailing a boat on is a pool.

The San Alfonso del Mar resort in Chile holds the record for the world's largest swimming pool. It cost over $2 billion to build and now requires $4 million a year in maintenance. It's twenty acres of crystal clear saltwater maintained by a state of the art suction and filtration system.

You could piss in this thing for 4 days and 4 nights straight and the filtration system wouldn't bat an eyelash. Even the most asparagus infused urine turns into Fiji Water in 2 seconds.

Can you imagine how great it would be to cannonball into this right now? It's kept at a perfect 78 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer, while the surrounding oceanfront water only gets up to a quite 'Chilean' 62 degrees. (Additional photos and more after the jump)


Contains 66 million gallons of saltwater and stretches the length of three football fields (Isn't it weird that we always use that as a measurement? Why not say how many racquetball courts long it is?)

Watch out for the deep end too. It's 115 feet to the bottom and you can see it clearly because of the pristine water the filtration system churns out.

While you're out in the middle of this 'pool', I find it hard to believe you don't feel like you're in the ocean. It's so massive that you can even go windsurfing, sailing, and kayaking in it. A pool like this speaks volume of the quality of the resort. Probably the type of place that gives complimentary happy ending massages.



I'm a little rusty on my Spanish, but according to the website a one bedroom apartment for 5 nights and 6 days costs about $331,000. If you find yourself in this part of Chile this summer, maybe this is the place for you.

Has anyone been to this place? Let us know in the comments section if it is better than heaven, because it definitely looks like it.


(click photo for full image)

Thanks to Most-Expensive.net) Most-Expensive: Swimming Pool, June 10, 2008

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Nude Vacations On The Rise

This might be a great potential investment given the growing trend among wealthy vacationers. It could also be a top spot for you vacation, if you're into the naked old people thing.

The photo pictured is a perfect example of the uncomfortable nude shenanigans I am inclined to want to avoid. (Cannon-balls!) However, according to an article in Sunday's New York Times, these places are where the big vacation money is going:

The real boom in nude vacations is coming at the high end, as upscale hotels and resorts have begun seeing the economic potential in the no-clothes crowd. In 2007, nude recreation represented a $440 million industry -- up from $400 million in 2001 -- and it's still growing.

The all inclusive luxury hotel, Hidden Beach Resort, in Mexico along the Mayan Riviera charges $300 per person. Which sounds like a good deal, but when we're talking about nude hotels, how inclusive does that go? Apparently it also includes nude dining, nude open bars, and nude games of tennis and volleyball. Nothing beats dipping your balls in a stiff cocktail after a sweaty game of nude tennis.

Now that all sounds great and gross and everything, but with the current real estate market where it is, is investing in new luxury nude condos the way to go? The reason these new resorts are doing so well is because of the clientèle they attract. Most nude-cationers earn over $100k, drive a luxury car, and spent over $3,000 on travel. Many of these spas and resorts have no problem filling rooms priced from $300 to $900 a night. Those are some attractively financed individuals. The problem for the rest of us is that those people very rarely tend to be attractive.

This is a great little vacation for anyone out there with these 'liquid asset', but they must not being going there looking to see unwrinkled young nude people. All butlers, wait staff, and guest relations personnel are under a strict very formal dress code.

Fun Fact: According to the article in the NY Times, both founding father Ben Franklin and famous transcendental author Henry David Thoreau enjoyed naked walks in the woods, which they referred to as 'air baths'. I believe there are some parts of Europe where air baths are referred to as 'regular baths'.

Although this might not be your ideal vacation, it might be a good potential investment to look into. Or at least read about, without any unnecessary photographic evidence.

Let us know in the comments section if you've ever been to one of these places and if they're decent. Otherwise feel free to voice your disgust at the accompanying slideshow.


New York Times: No Shirt, No Shoes, No Worries, April 27, 2008

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