One of the hot new travel trends which gained a lot of popularity during the Covid years of 2020 & 2021 was vacationing in private pool villas. Although the name is very self-explanatory, just to clarify, these are Villa’s or luxuriously large rooms come with private pools which can be accessed by the residents of that room only. With this definition, anyone can guess that such villa’s with private pools can be found in independent B&B’s or in some of the best hotels & resorts. Another reason or the popularity of these pool villas has been their promotion by platforms such as AirBnB, VistaRooms, Makemytrip and other such aggregators.
Due to this popular trend, many such pool villas came up in popular tourist destinations in India including Rishikesh, Kasauli, Goa, Udaipur etc. Unfortunately, this also meant that there was a range of services and quality which was being offered by these establishments creating lot of confusion and subsequent disappointment in the minds of the travelers.
In order to help you choose your next pool villa like a pro, we have put together a list of 5 things which should be kept in mind when planning your next vacation to a villa with a private pool:
Page Contents
Size of private pool in the villa
This is an obvious yet crucial consideration! Afterall, the reason for visiting a pool villa is the POOL!!! Many times, even a small plunge pool or a jacuzzi is marketed as a pool by some establishments. And this can be very misleading. Therefore, we recommend checking the exact size of the pool before making a reservation. In our view, a decent size would be anything bigger than a 6 x 8 feet pool. In addition to the size, the depth is also an important factor. Although, regulations do not allow a pool to be deeper than 4 feet without a full time life guard being present, for a pool villa we feel that 3 feet is enough to float and also be seated comfortably while keeping your head above the water. If you are travelling with kids, then you may want to choose a pool villa with an even shallower depth of say around 1.5 to 2 feet.
Seating area around the pool
When booking a luxury villa with a private pool, the area around the pool becomes the heart of your entire stay with maximum time being spent in this area. Keeping this in mind it becomes important to see what kind of seating arrangements have been made around the pool. Although, every ones seating requirements will be different depending on the size of the travel group, we recommend a seating for at least 4 and a couple of loungers to relax on after a swim in the private pool. Given the temperatures in most part of our country, a covered seating area with a fan would be a big plus!
Shower area near the pool
It may not be super convenient for someone to go back to the bathroom in the villa to take a quick shower to clean off the chlorine water of the private pool. To avoid making this walk, you can consider looking for a pool villa which has a shower area right in the vicinity of the pool. This way, you can enjoy maximum amount of time in & out of the pool while taking showers every now and then. It may seem like we are being very picky about our recommendations, but it is small things which will make your stay memorable
Food & Beverage options
It is a scientifically proven fact (unverified) that staying in the water makes a person hungry! Well, in that case, staying at a pool villa will make the traveller’s very very hungry 😉. Keeping this in mind, it becomes very important to check the food & beverage menu’s of the pool villa before booking one. This is where a pool villa location in a hotel or resort comes in very handy because they usually have their room service menu’s to satisfy all your cravings. Also, lets not forget that you can always carry some snacks and beverages with you for your next trip. Since you are booking a private pool villa, there would be on restrictions on you consuming your personal food near the pool.
Rooms size and capacity
Last but not the least, as much as we would like to spend most of the time in or near the pool, we would have to go inside the rooms to sleep! So this is where the room becomes important. Looking at the size of your travel group, look for options which have enough beds/bath’s to meet your requirements. For instance, if you are 2 couples travelling, you may prefer two independent rooms with bath’s. However, if you are 4 friends travelling, you might be ok with 1 large room and 1 bathroom. In hotels/resorts, the pool villas are typically the more expensive & luxurious rooms. But you do have the flexibility of booking 1 pool villa and balance regular rooms if travelling in a larger group.
Did we miss anything out? Let us know by responding to this post or reaching out to us on any of our social media channels.
Happy holidaying!