A resort-style oasis: A Tauranga pool's journey to Pool of the Year

When it comes to custom-designed pools, it’s all about striking a balance between landscaping constraints and the client’s brief, all while creating a striking design that lets the pool shine as the focal point of an outdoor area.

This stunning pool, built in the backyard of a sensational home in Tauranga – and a winner of the Pool of the Year awards – was no different. A shining example of the confluence between form and function, the curvature of the pool interacting with the space around it evokes the feeling of a tropical resort, creating a sense of sanctuary for this family to resort-at-home and enjoy the ultimate ‘staycation’.

Not to be outdone by looks alone, it also offers all the bells and whistles – an in-built spa, dual purpose heat pumps that warm both the pool and spa at separate temperatures, as well as moody LED lighting throughout.

All these features and more helped this oasis-like pool on its journey to winning the top prize at the Pool of the Year awards. To glean more details about the project, ArchiPro sat down with Mayfair Pools’ Tauranga/Whakatane agent Gary Fowell, who discusses the design and concept of the pool as well as the background of the Pool of the Year awards.

Gary Fowell: The Pool of the Year awards are held annually at the Mayfair Pools Conference and Awards Dinner (this year held on 2 August in Wellington). The awards celebrate design excellence utilising the Mayfair Pools proprietary system, with entries from agents across the country.

It recognises the best custom swimming pool designs and the craftsmen behind them. Award categories include Swimming Pool of the Year; Commercial Pool of the Year and Swimming Pool Renovation of the Year as well as a variety of agent awards. Suppliers are also recognised through the Supplier of the Year Award.

GF: The customers had a vision of what they wanted, and a specific area they wanted to create their pool project. The pool was always going to be curved, and early in the project they decided to incorporate a spa pool into the pool. 

The design was done as part of a collaboration while on site. The curved steps around the edge of spa pool were an added feature during the build. The pool is heated by a dual heat pump which heats both pool and spa separately. The pool is also treated with Naked Freshwater System.

GF: The client wanted to work with what they had using their deck area and existing gardens as boundaries. There was an unusual restrictive shape to work around and it needed to be a good size as the client enjoys swimming lengths. 

It had to cater for both their adult children and their grandkids, plus their safety and we wanted to incorporate the outdoor entertainment area into the experience.

GF: The excavation was completed by Peard Excavation under our guidance, but had the expertise to create the workable shape in a confined area. The landscaping was done by Ross Nicolaas of Rydgeview Landscapes who completed the stunning pool surrounds.

We’ve done a number of renovations before and knew we were in for some challenges a build of this size can present, but Gary and his team at Baywide Pools made the whole process so stress free.

Throughout the process the team’s communication skills were wonderful. They listened respectfully to what we wanted and were prepared to adjust the design when I came up with additions once the build had begun.

We appreciated how respectful they were reducing the wider impact on our property and also valued their cooperation with other tradies we had on site.

We were impressed with their workmanship and love how the Mayfair Pools design is such a strong structure with a great finish.

Altogether Gary and his team have created the pool of our dreams. It’s a great drawcard for our adult kids and grandkids. We often say it feels like we’re living in a resort. We can’t thank Gary and the team enough.