By Niloufar Haidari
Atop a five-bedroom villa in Puerto Pollença, Mallorca, is a feature more often found in luxury hotels — a rooftop pool long enough for swimming lengths (pictured above).
At just over 20 metres long, the pool features unbroken views across both the sea and the surrounding mountains. It also has a 2.5-metre-long oval window at the bottom that sends rippling light cascading down the home’s interior stairwell.
“We’re quite keen swimmers so we wanted something where you could genuinely do good lengths and get some exercise, but also have this rather exciting, dramatic backdrop,” says owner Colin Grimshaw, who bought the land with his wife in 2015 and built the house from scratch. “It’s such a serene experience swimming up there — it feels like you're part of the elements and the landscape.”
The rooftop pool not only sets the villa apart in terms of design, but also helps avoid using up valuable floor space, since pools count towards the total square metre allowance under Mallorca’s planning rules.
“Finding a home with a pool of this size isn’t always easy,” says Alice Storrie, associate director at Savills Global Residential. “A swimming pool has always been high on our buyers' wish lists, but the type of pool they’re looking for is changing. There’s now a stronger emphasis on pools designed for swimming proper lengths. For some clients, it’s even been a deal breaker,” she adds of market trends in Savills’ European offices.
The trend isn’t just confined to the continental European market. “As the British summers are getting warmer, we are seeing a surge in demand for larger outdoor swimming pools,” says Ed Welton, Head of North Thames & Chiltern in Knight Frank’s Country Department. “Homeowners want more than just a place to cool off, they're seeking multipurpose pools that double as a place for exercise as well as an entertainment space.”
Alex Kemsley, Managing Director of Compass Pools UK says that the company has seen a rise in demand for pools that go beyond leisure and aesthetics, with clients increasingly seeking installations that support genuine swimming and fitness. “Our pools are being integrated into a diverse range of properties, from compact city centre homes with cleverly designed courtyards to expansive countryside estates with fully landscaped gardens. In every case, the pool is a central feature of the home’s architecture and outdoor living experience.”
In terms of shape, lap pools are often designed as a long and narrow rectangle, and although there is no standard size, a minimum length of 11 metres — excluding surrounding copings and landscaping — is recommended to allow swimming without having to turn too many times.
Located in the heart of Hammersmith, this seven-bedroom house currently on the market with United Kingdom Sotheby’s International Realty for £5.5mn, features a full-length heated pool in the garden, which the owners use throughout the year.
According to Compass, lap pools can be cheaper to build than traditional pools due to the lower water volume and materials used. The company’s prices start at about £60,000 and go up to £200,000 for more ambitious installations.
For fitness enthusiasts with limited outdoor space there is the option of a more compact model such as Compass’s Fit 50 that in effect turns a pool as small as just 5 metres long into an endless lap lane. The swimmer remains in the same place in the water as they swim against a current generated by turbines.
“We’ve seen growing interest in longer, performance-led models that incorporate turbine systems — on average, 40 to 50 per cent of our swimming pools are being installed with turbines,” says Kemsley.
Photography: Savills; Peter Wright/Knight Frank; United Kingdom Sotheby's International Realty
