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Spools
The Perfect Blend of Spa & Pool
Transform Your Backyard with a Compact Plunge Pool
A spool, a spa-pool hybrid, is the ultimate solution for small backyards or those seeking versatility without the footprint of a full-sized pool. This compact yet luxurious feature allows you to soak in warm, jet-powered hydrotherapy or cool off on a hot day, all in one beautifully designed space. Whether you’re looking for a relaxing retreat, a stylish focal point, or a year-round backyard escape, a spool delivers the best of both worlds.
At California Pools & Landscape, we specialize in custom-built spools designed for comfort, efficiency, and Arizona living. From heated hydrotherapy to a refreshing plunge-style design, we create a personalized water experience that enhances both your lifestyle and outdoor space.
What is a Spool?
A spool pool, also known as a compact soaking pool or plunge pool, is a versatile backyard feature that blends relaxation and function in one design. Typically ranging up to 20 feet long and 10 feet wide, it’s ideal for lounging, hydrotherapy, or cooling off without the footprint of a full-sized pool.
With built-in jets, heating, and seating, spools create a comfortable, year-round escape that fits seamlessly into smaller patios, courtyards, or urban spaces. Each design offers the comfort of a spa and the refreshment of a pool in a size that suits any Arizona backyard.
Popular Spool Features
Hydrotherapy Seating
Built-in benches provide a comfortable soaking area
Adjustable Water Jets
Create soothing or resistance-based water movement for relaxation or exercise.
Heating & Cooling Systems
Enjoy warm, spa-like water in the winter or refreshing dips in summer.
LED Lighting
Custom underwater and perimeter lighting enhances ambiance.
Waterfalls & Deck Jets
Flowing water features create a calming, luxury aesthetic.
Custom Designs for Any Backyard
No two outdoor retreats are the same, and these multi-functional pools are fully customizable to match your style and space. Whether you prefer a sleek, contemporary design, a natural rock-lined lagoon, or a resort-inspired soaking pool, every feature can be tailored to enhance your outdoor living area.
Material choices like concrete, fiberglass, and tile allow for unique design elements, while custom add-ons such as infinity edges, integrated fire features, or surrounding pergolas elevate your backyard into a truly stunning getaway.
Why Homeowners Love Pool-Spa Hybrids
Not everyone has the space or need for a full-sized pool, and not every homeowner wants the upkeep and expense that comes with it. Compact aquatic features offer the perfect balance of functionality and luxury, providing a versatile, easy-to-maintain solution that works for a variety of homes.
Low Maintenance & Energy Efficient
These backyard spools require less water, fewer chemicals, and reduced energy use compared to traditional pools. They heat up quickly and use smart filtration systems to stay clean with minimal effort. For homeowners looking to reduce water consumption and lower maintenance costs, this is a sustainable solution that doesn’t compromise on comfort.
Designed for Relaxation & Year-Round Use
Unlike traditional pools that are used mainly in summer, heated plunge-style pools provide four-season enjoyment. Use it as a soothing hydrotherapy spa in the winter or a cooling retreat in the heat of summer. Whether you want stress relief, muscle recovery, or a peaceful outdoor sanctuary, this custom backyard upgrade adapts to your needs.
All Great Builds Start With a Conversation
Whether you need an estimate, funding, or inspiration from our award winning designers, we're ready to roll our sleeves up and start building your dream space. If you're not quite ready... keep scrolling!
Superior Water Filtration
Even though compact plunge pools hold less water than traditional swimming areas, maintaining clear, balanced water is still essential. The right filtration system makes all the difference. Homeowners can choose between traditional chlorine, saltwater filtration for a gentler swim, or UV/ozone purification systems that significantly reduce chemical use while keeping the water pristine. With high-quality water management, maintaining your private retreat is effortless.
Efficient Heating & Cooling
One of the biggest advantages of a spa-pool hybrid is its seasonal versatility. With energy-efficient heating technology, you can enjoy warm, spa-like comfort in the winter and a cool, refreshing plunge in the summer. Gas and electric heaters allow for quick temperature adjustments, while heat pumps and solar heating provide long-term cost savings and eco-friendly solutions. Many homeowners opt for a combination of heating methods to maximize efficiency, ensuring their outdoor oasis is always the perfect temperature.
Smart Features for a Seamless Experience
These modern plunge pools are designed for convenience, and smart technology makes them even easier to maintain. With automated control systems, you can adjust temperature, lighting, filtration settings, and water features right from your smartphone or tablet. By scheduling heating and filtration cycles, you can minimize energy use while keeping water conditions perfect. Whether you want to turn on spa jets before arriving home or adjust LED lighting for an evening soak, automated systems make relaxation effortless.
Eco-Friendly Spools
Because compact pools use less water than full-size swimming pools, they’re already a sustainable option. But additional features can further enhance eco-friendliness. Built-in pool covers reduce evaporation, maintaining consistent water levels while also preventing heat loss. Variable-speed pumps keep water circulating efficiently while using minimal energy. By integrating conservation technology, homeowners can enjoy a luxurious backyard feature while making responsible choices for the environment.
All Great Builds Start With a Conversation
Whether you need an estimate, funding, or inspiration from our award winning designers, we're ready to roll our sleeves up and start building your dream space. If you're not quite ready... keep scrolling!
How Do Spools Compare to Other Small Pools?
Want the comfort of a spa with the flexibility of a pool? A spool (spa + pool) delivers heated relaxation, powerful jets, and year-round enjoyment. But how does it differ from a cocktail pool or play pool? Here’s the breakdown:
Cocktail Pools
A cocktail pool is designed more for socializing and aesthetics than therapeutic use. While both a cocktail pool and a spool are small in size, a cocktail pool is usually unheated and meant for lounging rather than hydrotherapy. If you want a sleek, stylish water feature without spa elements, a cocktail pool is a great choice.
Play Pools
Play pools are larger and designed for activity. Unlike a spool, they are not heated and focus on games, movement, and cooling off rather than relaxation. If you prefer swimming and playing over soaking and unwinding, a play pool may be the better fit.
See What Our Customers Are Saying
elena Cordova
California Pools and Landscape came to our rescue! Another contractor left us with a half-finished project, an empty pool, and a giant mess. After seeing our disaster broadcast on 3 By-Your-Side, the owner of Cal Pools actually reached out to us and offered to help. We have done many, many construction/remodel projects over the years. Never have we worked with such a professional, organized, honest company. They truly set a new standard. Stephen, our project manager, seamlessly coordinated each aspect of our complicated redo. They have an App for your phone that provides continued updates, alerting you to when and who will be in your yard, what the steps are to complete the project etc. Each subcontractor is part of Cal Pools, so they know their aspect of the job and performs at the same high standard. Our yard is beautiful!
Metin Gurbuz
Dave is an amazing designer and a great person to work with. He is very professional, responds fast ans easy to work with. If you are going to work with California pools definitely ask for Dave Grau. Hope to work with you in our future projects.
Stan Taylor
We were thoroughly impressed with California Pools. Vina and Matt were excellent and communicative through the process. They always got back to us in a timely fashion. Brian was the only designer of 4 pool companies that we talked with that found a solution for our pool equipment, notice it is not in the backyard!!! it is on the side of the house and keeps the pool/spa area quiet. And the Porcelain looks amazing. Was it perfect, no, but it was very good, and when there was an issue they gave me choices, suggesting the best for us long term. Thank you all, I would highly recommend CalPools Queen Creek!! Stan.
bryan geoffrey
Absolutely perfect experience with California Pools. They completed our job in record time with the hole being dug 10/11/23 and the pool being filled in late January 24'. I think it would have been fasted but we actually held them up a bit. Donnie was our project manager and was OUTSTANDING. He was at the job site daily and fixed things before I even noticed they needed fixing. Ashton handled our hardscapes and had the same "whatever it takes" attitude. Really impressed and highly recommend them.
Brian G.
We absolutely love our new pool from California Pools & Landscape! Kyle Morse did an outstanding job designing our pool! Kyle is very knowledgeable and gave us many suggestions as he was designing our pool. Kyle was also great at answering questions during the pool installation! Stephen Dreher oversaw the entire pool installation from start to finish. He came to our house numerous times to check on the process of the installation. Stephen would also take the time to explain what was going on as our pool was being installed. I would definitely recommend California Pools & Landscape! I would also recommend Kyle Morse and Stephen Dreher!
Kristy Y.
When we moved to Arizona, our first priority was to build a pool. We received quotes and design plans from many pool companies. I honestly feel like other companies tried to take advantage of our lack of "pool knowledge" and tried to sell us all of the bells & whistles. After talking to friends, we were referred to California Pools. We were pleasantly surprised at how easy the sales process was. Our sales guy, Travis, paid attention to what we wanted, didn't try to oversell us and designed a pool with our input. Although the building process took a little longer than we anticipated, we couldn't be happier with the end result! We have a beautiful pool that exceeded our expectations!
Cameron
We first had our pool drafted in 2019, got cold feet and backed away from the idea. In 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic we contacted Chris to get ball rolling again. They still had our draft, which made it easy to restart the process. Due to the pandemic, construction and completion of out project was somewhat delayed, but not nearly as bad as that I'm currently hearing build times are now. Fast forward to today 5/28/2021. We are 95% happy with CalPools and our pool build out. Chris was great to work with. We did have a small issue with deck cracks, and grout separation at the water line, but CalPools worked quick to rectify the situation. Cari was incredible at getting our needs taken care of in a timely manner. The only issue I have with the over project, which in hind sight and not knowing much about pools. I wish we would have made the very last step a bit smaller and reduced the depth of our Baja/sun step. It stands at about 12", two less inches would have been perfect. So far so good. Happy with our choice, happy with our pool. Our landscape was completed by another company. In the end it all came out exactly as we planned it.
Marc Steadman
Nicholas was the project manager for our pool/yard remodel and stayed involved from beginning to end. His design analysis and expertise was always appreciated. But most of all we were thankful that Nicholas took personal responsibility that our project would end well. We could always count on Nicholas to respond quickly, and to find the right person to get our concerns resolved. Thank you.
M. K.
i would recommend california pools to anyone who is wanting to build a pool. we are 1st time pool buyers and we were so nervous! special thanks goes out to : joe m (project manager), rick f (construction manager) shannon h.( schedule manager ) they helped us with everything. great work guys! wish i could give higher then 5 star!
Chuck Martinez
Cal Pools really stands behind their warranty statement and provides an exceptional customer experience. I recently had a warranty issue and Jesse R (Service Mgr.) and his team: Bianca, Gabe, Trevor & Ray immediately came out and addressed the issue. Throughout the entire process the service team was professional, courteous and maintained great follow-up; a real pleasure to work with. CPL truly takes care of their customers. What an outstanding team and company!
Ron Smith
My wife Shelly Smith works at California Pool & Landscape. She has never been happier. She loves the camaraderie of the staff and owners. I have met many of them and they are all great! The customers have to get great service with these happy employees.
Christa Gentile
Brian Fox and the whole team at CPL are fantastic. Brian was very creative in designing our entire backyard environment. We had so much fun each time we met with him in the design phase and other associates that helped us along the way. When we had issues/changes during the process; they were addressed very quickly. Everyone was very responsive, professional and friendly. I would highly recommend CPL to anyone looking to build a unique, personalized pool.
Leilanie R.
We are so happy with our pool and landscape! We had just moved to AZ and it was our first time having a pool. We bought a new construction and Cali Pools was able to start construction before we even closed on the house. We are so happy with Dave's vision and Cari who helped with the warranty requests. We highly recommend them. Even our pool guy complimented how nice and high quality work California Pools did.
S.
Brian E, Nathan and Michelle were absolutely incredible!! We had the best experience from design all the way through completion. Communication throughout the entire process was outstanding. We could not be happier with our new pool and backyard from California Pools & Landscape!!!! ❤️
Joe T.
Completely satisfied from start to finish. While Cal may not be the least expensive pool you can build in this market, it is an excellent product. Having had multiple pools over the years, I am very comfortable recommending this company. The professionalism and friendliness of this team are extraordinary from start to finish!
Jeremy James
Jon Utz was awesome as the construction manager. Responded immediately to the questions and concerns we had during the process. We had pool and entire backyard landscape designed and constructed by CPL and we love it! Yes, pool construction is expensive and issues with supply chains, worker delays, etc but CPL does not compromise on quality which cannot be said for other pool companies in the valley. A few (very) minor issues with equipment, etc. were promptly remedied with ongoing warranty. Great customer service and quality. Highly recommend, would use them again.
Jennifer Lawson
I give 5 stars to CA POOLS they were great. Whenever i had a concern it was addressed. I have a beautiful pool. Thanks to Myra O, Pete B and Joel P
dominick V (DVX1738)
When we decided to have a pool built we checked out several pool companies and found that only California Pools understood our vision. Other pools companies gave us boring and outdated designs and some even pushed back when we asked for new designs. Our designer at Cal pools Matt Sauer worked with us until we were 100% satisfied with our design (and 8 change orders during the construction because we were super indecisive) and we felt no pressure. During the construction our construction manager Jeremiah was extreemly helpful and ensured our pool was built properly and with excellent quality. He always worked with our scheduling coordinator Sara and let us know the phases of construction that we were in and helped us make any last min changes to ensure we were happy. I would definitely recommend California Pools to design and build your pool!
Frequently Asked Questions about Cocktail Pools
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