silly spa question

[domster]

We have one attached to our pool and from previous experience it is just fine as the florida weather is warm enough.

DOM

[jad]

Having been "educated" early in my villa ownership between the difference of an attached spa (which we have) and a hot tub I have to put my two pennies worth in.

We have a spa attached to the pool and have been told from several knowledgeable sources that the spa is not designed to have more heat to it than the actual pool. The warm water system feeds both together (and therefore spa heat cannot be had without the pool heat on). In practice the spa does tend to be significantly warmer than the pool because you have the warm water directed at a smaller space. The spa bit I think refers more to the bubbles (which can be very refreshing on a hot summers evening...)

Now if there is a hot tub/ jacuzzi whether in ground or stand on deck type that is completely separate to the pool then it has it's own heat source and tends to be used at temperatures much higher than above mentioned spa.

Jackie

[Karen]

Jessica, if you are looking for a more private pool area, if you put secluded pool in the search facility that is available you will find a selection of us with that attribute.[msnsmile2]

[chrizzy100]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by jminmaine
Thank you, everyone, for your input. I know florida can be hot, as I used to live in Jacksonville, but we visit at the end of feb/early march every year and find that weather at that time is unpredictable, and nights can cool down quite a bit.

As for size of spa, I hadn't thought about it, but will now. But I'm not sure it is easy to tell on these websites anyway. Some pool decks appear to be enormous in one photo, then the more realistic 10 x 10 in others. LOL! also I am learning that if the pool photo is toward the home, and shows only about 3 feet in the air, then the pool backs onto other pools, but if the photo is taken from the home, looking out back, the owners are proud of the view and not afraid to show it! But either way it looks like you have neighbors on top of you to the left and right in most of these developments, with nary a shrub in sight. Would it kill these developers to lose a few bucks in profit and plant a tree for heaven's sake!?

Thank you all again.
[/quote]

Most Americans have no hang ups about being seen in the pool or spa or on the deck eating.....I think us Brits are getting the hang of being seen in the pool too.....its nice to be able to call out to your neighbours to come in for drinks .......and not be hidden away behind walls or fences.....a holidays a time to meet people and make friends.....

[Karen]

Chrizzy, you might be surprised how many Americans do like privacy. We have quite a few book our villa for that reason(plus a selection of Canadians, French and other Europeans)[msnwink]

[chrizzy100]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Karen
Chrizzy, you might be surprised how many Americans do like privacy. We have quite a few book our villa for that reason(plus a selection of Canadians, French and other Europeans)[msnwink]
[/quote]

Maybe they only like to show it off when its their own stuff.....because so many people here BBQ in the front garden...on wrap around decks......and if the pool can be seen from the street.....it sure is.......hehehehehe

[jminmaine]

As for privacy, as an American who is shopping for a rental villa, I do want it, because we have two young sons who can be LOUD, and parents who sometimes have to be even LOUDER to get them to listen to us!! At some of the newer communities the villas seem so close together that it looks like normal adult conversations could easily carry from one pool area to another -- never mind the sounds of screaming toddlers. Also (and I don't want to offend anyone here -- this is just personal opinion) it's kind of unattractive to see all these homes just stacked one on top of the other with no shrubs or bushes in between. But I'm biased -- we moved out of Florida because of concerns about hasty/unplanned development. A lot of folks have other priorities and interests. It seems like older communities do have more space and trees, so we may gravitate to one of those.

[chrizzy100]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by jminmaine
As for privacy, as an American who is shopping for a rental villa, I do want it, because we have two young sons who can be LOUD, and parents who sometimes have to be even LOUDER to get them to listen to us!! At some of the newer communities the villas seem so close together that it looks like normal adult conversations could easily carry from one pool area to another -- never mind the sounds of screaming toddlers. Also (and I don't want to offend anyone here -- this is just personal opinion) it's kind of unattractive to see all these homes just stacked one on top of the other with no shrubs or bushes in between. But I'm biased -- we moved out of Florida because of concerns about hasty/unplanned development. A lot of folks have other priorities and interests. It seems like older communities do have more space and trees, so we may gravitate to one of those.
[/quote]

I love the sound of kids playing in the pools....sometimes at home I feel like I'm the only person alive.....and we have a main road in the next block....I put my love of background sounds to living in flats and terraced homes......I miss my neighbour come home and hearing her shouting for me to 'put kettle on'....over the fence....[msncry][msncry]

[Ruth]

My spa is attached to the pool and shares the heater with it but it's temperature is set independently and so it gets significantly hotter than the pool.

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by jad
We have a spa attached to the pool and have been told from several knowledgeable sources that the spa is not designed to have more heat to it than the actual pool. The warm water system feeds both together (and therefore spa heat cannot be had without the pool heat on). In practice the spa does tend to be significantly warmer than the pool because you have the warm water directed at a smaller space. The spa bit I think refers more to the bubbles (which can be very refreshing on a hot summers evening...)
Jackie
[/quote]

[caroline]

So does ours Ruth