Resorts/hotels with lake or nice outdoor pool in Pittsburgh-ish area?

August 22, 2023 9:38 AM

Planning a weekend meetup with friends where we can all meet at a location that is roughly equidistant from our respective homes (everyone's driving). This means roughly Pittsburgh, but could be within an hour or two radius of there. The goal of the weekend is just to chill and catch up, sit by the pool/lake, swim, maybe do a little sightseeing or catch a movie, although chilling is the top priority. :)

We've been looking at hotels in Pittsburgh itself, but most of the hotels with pools just have indoor pools (makes sense, Pittsburgh is not really a warm-weather city) -- but sitting at the little indoor hotel pool is not really giving the chill summer vibe we had in mind.

So we're open to other locations within an hour or two of Pittsburgh, but don't know where to start. Would be interested to hear any recommendations of places that people know in that area that might fit the bill. We'd like to keep the budget reasonably low, understanding that it's high summer season, but going over $200/room would price some people out.

Of course, if anyone's got great suggestions for Pittsburgh, we'll take that too!

posted by leticia to Travel & Transportation (10 answers total)

How many are in your party, how many rooms/beds, do you have any accessibility needs, are you willing to self-cater? If your party is small, a vacation home might be a better fit.
posted by shock muppet at 9:58 AM on August 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

I wouldn't normally recommend Erie, PA for anything, but it DOES have a lakefront and it's two hours from PGH! Also pretty likely to be inexpensive. Sightseeing may be less than inspirational, though, outside of Presque Isle State Park where the pretty beaches are. (Presque Isle is genuinely nice though!)
posted by babelfish at 10:09 AM on August 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Seven Springs ski resort (~an hour east of Pittsburgh) has an outdoor pool. It's been like 15 years since I've been there, so I don't really remember how nice it is, but Seven Springs in general has always been pretty nice without being over-the-top, and there's other stuff nearby if you do decide to leave the pool. I checked the rates, and they seem to be toward the higher end of your price range, but still within your price range.
posted by kevinbelt at 10:14 AM on August 22, 2023

Lifelong Pittsburgher here and a hotel with an outdoor pool is tough and at that price point it's even tougher. As shock muppet asked, have you considered an Airbnb? It looks like there are a few near the city that have outdoor pools. However, these are going to require a car if you want to leave and go anywhere in the city. Which, by the way, you should definitely do!
posted by anotheraccount at 10:42 AM on August 22, 2023

Best answer: The Slopeside Hotel at Seven Springs does fit the bill, but I'm not sure what the vibe is like in the off season. My recommendation would be the Summit Inn near Ohiopyle.
posted by notquitemaryann at 10:50 AM on August 22, 2023 [5 favorites]

I was thinking the lake at Rocky Gap Park checks a lot of those boxes but google maps is showing 2:20 hours from Pittsburgh.
posted by Press Butt.on to Check at 11:24 AM on August 22, 2023

Best answer: I'm not sure what the vibe is like in the off season

At least 15 years ago, it was great. They really tried to reframe themselves as a year-round "mountain resort" instead of a ski area, so they have stuff to do in the summer (alpine slides, bike rentals, mini golf, etc.). But it's still the offseason, so it's not terribly busy, which means you won't have the pool entirely to yourself, but there won't be 600 people there either.
posted by kevinbelt at 12:38 PM on August 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Seven Springs is SE of Pittsburgh. Roughly the same distance SW is Oglebay Resort. It is in the hills above Wheeling, WV. It has a large outdoor pool, an indoor one, golf, hiking, etc. There is a hotel/conference center as well as cabins in the woods to rent.
posted by mmascolino at 1:45 PM on August 22, 2023

If the house rental idea holds any appeal: VRBO listing w/pool and deck, within an hour of Pittsburgh
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:15 PM on August 22, 2023

Best answer: Cheat Lake in Morgantown WV is worth a look. You can also do nice river tube floating in that region.
posted by veery at 10:24 AM on August 23, 2023