The folks over at Gridskipper pointed me to this splashy piece in Portfolio magazine about a hotel pool boom.

Nothing says vacation like a cerulean blue pool under a cloudless blue sky. And hoteliers know this. That's why they're pouring cash into huge pits of sparkling, cool water.

From Miami to Atlantic City, N.J., to Vegas, the pools are getting bigger, better and wetter. Pool concierges. Suites with private pools. Adults-only pools.

The magazine also rates the best hotel pools, including Harrah's Resorts new Waterfront Tower hotel in Atlantic City, which gave away free rooms to folks in Baltimore last week. If you scored one of those rooms, don't forget to take a dip in the pool.

(Photo: Courtesy Harrah's Resorts)