Montpellier Family Hotels with a Swimming Pool

A pool is worth having in Montpellier because the afternoon heat from June to September makes the stone streets of the Écusson tiring for children. The easy rhythm is sightseeing in the morning, a swim after lunch and a walk to the Place de la Comédie in the evening. A heated pool also extends the season into spring and autumn.

The Pullman La Pléiade Montpellier Centre has the most unusual pool in the city: an outdoor pool on its rooftop terrace, open all year and heated from April to October. That heating makes a swim possible during spring and autumn school holidays, when many outdoor pools in the region are still too cold. Rooms are spacious and air-conditioned, family suites are available, and the hotel sits in the historic centre, so the Écusson lanes, the Musée Fabre and the Place de la Comédie are all within walking distance. It suits families who want a city break without a car, with a swim at the end of each sightseeing morning.

Hôtel Oceania Le Métropole is the other central option, a short walk from the Place de la Comédie and Montpellier Saint-Roch station. Its swimming pool and shaded garden terrace give children a calm place to cool off, and family suites, a spa and wellness centre and refined air-conditioned rooms make it comfortable for a longer stay. The hotel is pet-friendly too. Arriving by train is easy, and the tram network starts close by for trips to the Odysseum and its Planet Ocean aquarium. For families, the shaded garden is the detail that matters most in July and August, when the midday sun is fierce.

In Port Marianne, the Courtyard by Marriott Montpellier sits next to the Town Hall in the modern east of the city. It offers an outdoor swimming pool, family suites, a spa and wellness centre, a fitness centre, a bar and a restaurant serving Mediterranean cuisine. The district is newer and calmer than the old town, with wide walkways along the Lez and easy tram links to the centre and to the Odysseum. It works well for families who want a modern hotel with a pool and plan to split their time between the city and the beaches of Palavas-les-Flots and Carnon, a short drive south of Port Marianne.

On the edge of the city, two estates give the pool more space. Domaine de Verchant, a five-star Relais & Châteaux hotel in a former mansion, combines its swimming pool with a kids' club, a playground, tennis courts, bike rental, a spa and family suites, so children rarely run out of things to do. Domaine de Biar, a four-star, has a swimming pool with a view, a pool bar, a restaurant, family rooms overlooking the garden, bike rental and free private parking. Both accept pets and both are easier with a car, but they offer the closest thing to a resort stay within reach of Montpellier's old town.