PoolTalk

Pools of Las Vegas

The downtown pool that makes the list of the top five pools in Vegas is at the Golden Nugget. Watch out for sharks:

Golden Nugget: The only downtown spot to make our list, this gem’s latest attraction is the Tank, a $30 million pool that contains a 200,000-gallon shark tank. Adventure-seekers can plunge through the tank on a three-story waterslide, with sharks swimming inches away. Guests can catch their breath and wet their whistles at the pool’s new Dive Bar, which stays open into the wee hours.

Cattails in the pool

No chemicals, plenty of cattails. That's the premise of a new concept for pools, described in detail in this backyard pool New York Times piece. Here's an excerpt:

"The “natural pools” that Total Habitat builds are bordered with wood, planted with lush vegetation and free of chemicals like chlorine; they resemble nothing so much as a swimming hole. “It’s natural-looking, like a pond,” Mr. Hilleary said. “But the water looks so clean. People really want to swim in it, more than in a farm pond.”

Natural swimming pools (or swimming ponds, as they are called in Europe, where the concept originated 20 years ago) are self-cleaning pools that combine swimming areas and water gardens. Materials and designs vary — the pools can be lined with rubber or reinforced polyethylene, as in the case of Total Habitat’s, and may look rustic or modern — but all natural pools rely on “regeneration” zones, areas given over to aquatic plants that act as organic cleansers."

Water slide

Aquatic center in North Carolina doubles attendance with new water slide and other improvements.

Large Ohio outdoor pool

Not far from Route 77 in Stark County, Ohio, is Branhaven Tennis and Swim Club, with one of the larger outdoor pools in the region.

Brooklyn floating pool

Update on a floating pool off Brooklyn. Read the excerpt from Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn: "Ann L. Buttenwieser, a former Parks Department official, had the great idea 25 years ago of putting a swimming pool on a barge and mooring it somewhere in the city’s 578 miles of waterfront. Yesterday it became a reality."

Outside Fort Worth

Here's a pool -- a natatorium -- that just opened near Fort Worth, price tag nearly $13 million. When is a pool a natatorium or an aquatic center? Probably when costs creep over the $10 million mark.

Near Canton, OH

The "It's Stark" page has a good view of one outdoor pool. Surrounding it is one of Ohio's best golf courses.

Biltmore, Coral Gables

Ah, the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Fl. So clear, so calming, so luxurious.

Kokomo, IN

A fine view of the great outdoor swimming pool in Kokomo. And another view. A season pass was $40 for a child, $50 for an adult. The center is closed until June.

Hall of Fame

Fort Lauderdale is home to the International Swmming Hall of Fame, with several very large outdoor pools. It's the center of plenty of swmming activity. A good place to make a splash.