# Pools Granada/Malaga



## alborino (Dec 13, 2014)

Hi all. Wonder if anyone can help. What is the latest on costs/options of pools in Malaga/Granada regions?

We should be off there within 6 months so time to get serious as a pool is exercise for me and my wife (so we are looking for a good size - not plunge pool). I note options like communial pools, salted water pools and normal (??) pools. The first is unlikely I think for us.

Is it just a cost issue? Do pools actually cost an arm and a leg due to fill costs? Are there times when water is not available? 

I've read quite a bit but things change rapidly and I appreciate any firsthand current thoughts.

Well seasons greetings to all 

ps Most useful place this


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

Hi and welcome to the forum. First of all I am assuming you will be moving to a place that already has a pool and you aren't thinking of building one? The chances of getting a licence to build a new pool are practically zero. We find the running costs of our pool (8 x 4m) is around €40 - 50 a month in the summer and maybe €10 a month the rest of the year. As for filling a pool you are supposed to pay for someone to bring you a truck full of water which, depending on where you live will cost around €100 - 200. We empty ours every three years to give the tiles and grout a good clean. Many people fill their pools from their mains or well water which in many areas is illegal. It isn't illegal where we live and our water is metred so we pay for what we use and last year it cost about €110 to fill it. Slat water pools are becoming more popular as they are supposed to be considerably cheaper to run but I don't have one so can't be more specific. Hope that helps...


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## alborino (Dec 13, 2014)

What a brilliant, useful, focussed reply. Thank you so much.

Interesting comment on the build. We have seen several "space for a pool".

We would prefer not to go that route as although we are young 60s I still need to keep my UK business going so am not looking for construction or DIY projects. That said we want to be 25-40ks back from the coast and need a reasonable garden so rustic properties, many which don't have pools are an option. So you have focussed the mind there.

Based on your figures that looks lower cost than I had thought. For sure a 8x4 would do the job. 

Cheers Thrax.


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## whitenoiz (Sep 18, 2012)

Worth bearing in mind is that 25-40 kms inland from the coast generally puts you in mountainous areas which during the summer attract the high temperatures that make a pool an attractive proposition, but during the winter it's an entirely different matter. It can get very cold... 
Where I live at 750 metres altitude, our mean night time temps are at or very close to freezing. We have had several nights already where temps have dropped below this to around -3C and daytime temps rarely exceed +10C. 
In fact most inland campsites actually close and drain their pools at the end of October... and dont re-open them until well into May...
I cannot speak from experience but since electricity in Spain is very expensive, I would guess that the costs of heating a pool during the inland winter would be astronomical. I have enough trouble keeping up with heating costs just for our little house never mind a pool!


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

Our swimming season is May to October. I don't do cold and the cost of heating our pool just isn't worth it.


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

I know someone in Calahonda, Málaga who has just had a pool put in. I was surprised as I thought new pools were being frowned upon. The license came from the ayuntamiento de Mijas.


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## whitenoiz (Sep 18, 2012)

Just the thought of exposing my bits to the outside temps during the winter gives me goosebumps... Brrrrr; no thank you. 
Me taking the dogs for their midnight walk resembles something out of 'Nanook of the North' and a team of reluctant double fleece coated dogs!


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## alborino (Dec 13, 2014)

whitenoiz interesting thought that I'll add to the househunting criteria list. Tx. I've checked our targeted pueblos and most are below 300 ms but even so I can appreciate with mountains around some will have less hours of sun in winter so temps may not be much better than you get.

Interesting also in that now my wife has found the odd possible house very near the coast with garden/huerta, walkable to services, and with communal pool. I'd thought that wouldn't be the case outside golf/holiday resorts/ etc. but a 20 meter pool maintained by someone else does sound attractive even though your own is cheap enough.

But anyway house not on market till January so mustn't get ahead of myself. 

ps: Add guard dog's jackets to budget.


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

My parents - in their 80s - make use of their communal pool from April until late October. Part of their rent goes towards maintenance but not that much as it is really down to the owner. Looking after your own pool is really easy especially with people on this forum available to offer advice etc. But it isn't for everyone. I've been looking after my pool and my neighbours for 3 years now and have it down to a fine art - or at least I thought I had until a proper pool man gave me a tip!! BUT it's a secret.....


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

alborino said:


> whitenoiz interesting thought that I'll add to the househunting criteria list. Tx. I've checked our targeted pueblos and most are below 300 ms but even so I can appreciate with mountains around some will have less hours of sun in winter so temps may not be much better than you get.
> 
> Interesting also in that now my wife has found the odd possible house very near the coast with garden/huerta, walkable to services, and with communal pool. I'd thought that wouldn't be the case outside golf/holiday resorts/ etc. but a 20 meter pool maintained by someone else does sound attractive even though your own is cheap enough.
> 
> ...


Bear in mind that normally communal pools are only able to be used during the warmer months, though (a) because most are not heated, and (b) because the community only pays for insurance cover during those months.

I love swimming and want to swim all year round, so personally I prefer to live in a house without a pool and belong to a local health club which has a heated 20m indoor pool. I was there yesterday afternoon to put in my usual thrice-weekly 1km swim, and to my disgust had to share it with one other person, normally at the time I go I have it to myself as it's lunch\siesta time for the Spanish members.


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## alborino (Dec 13, 2014)

Thrax you can't do that; you need to tell. It will really trouble me when I'm sitting in the lounger with my glass of cold wine watching the wife cleaning the pool - knowing she could do it quicker if she had the Thrax secret. I mean what happens if she hasn't finished and my glass runs dry?????


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