Do you like your Grotto? Pros...cons.. regrets?

[Michellef]

We are getting to the final stages of our pool design. The plan is a natural-form pool, spa with rock waterfall, 12 foot weeping wall and 3'6" grotto/waterfall with small seating area behind waterfall. The pool will be 20K gallons with 6 ft deep end.

I have seen some grottos that are breathtaking and some that look like a giant ugly hump of rocks that really doesn't blend in to the environment. I would love to see pictures if you have built a grotto that you love.

Do you have any regrets building a grotto (ie, should have done a rock waterfall instead) or do you love it and kids play in it/ jump off of it/ use it as a primary place to play? Is it a place that adults really like to sit and relax?

I would love any input...

 

[257WbyMag]

I think that it all has to do with how artful one is at landscaping. Done right and it can look like a rainforest. Very tranquil and secluded almost. You might check with some professional landscaping companies. They can draw up some really cool things.

 

[maxepr1]

I have a grotto/water fall seat. You can look under my name and I believe there are photos. We love it! Its 4 feet wide and 30" deep at it's widest point. Huge diving rock/water fall over head. The only 2 things that bother me are salt erosion on the underside of the rock and I shouldn't have listened to my plumber and put 2 returns in the seat area. Vac. never goes up and cleans in there, and there always dirt settling in there.

 

[CactusGirly]

Not sure what part of the country you live in, but here is my two cents...

I am in Arizona, and one of my previous homes had an elaborate pool with a grotto. After moving in, I quickly found out that some of the large arachnids here in AZ just love those big boulders that overhang the pool, and the grotto was their favorite hangout. This is why when I got the first chance to build a pool at my new home I had a heart to heart with my PB... NO BOULDERS.

 

[Elizablue]

Here is my grotto and no it's not what I wanted, but it's what I got. I is brand new so they are still trying to address the leaks from the back. This started out as a waterfall, but we made the decision to move it over the existing pool bench and build a grotto.

My initial and prevailing concerns were that I wasn't given any type of design with dimensions or a drawing of what it would look like first. And sure enough I get hit after it was built with "rock overrun" and "extra labor". I never wanted this much rock and if I'd had the chance to do it over again I would have insisted on picking my own ceiling rock, because I think this one is just too big and bulky. And I definitely would have insisted on a design drawing.

I did not anticipate having to be home everyday and monitor every little thing, but certainly wish I had been.

 

[Michellef]

Thank you for the pictures! I agree, there is a lot of rock - it seems like with that much rock, in needs to be continued along the edge of the pool for conformity. I think if you do some landscaping behind the grotto, it will soften it up. I'm sure it will be a nice place to sit and have some shade. We ended up doing a grotto (the rock work was completed last week). We were there that day, but didn't have a lot to say in the process. I did go over the grotto several times with the PB, pointing out pictures I liked and didn't like and expressed my concerns. Ours will have water coming off the top and there are some rocks up the side that the kids can climb to get on the rock and then the can jump off. The water will cover up the bottom 18 inches of rock. The seat is divided - the left part is where the kids can get out of the water. Our ceiling rock was a bit concrete-appearing - (doesn't look like natural stone) and I'm wondering if I seal it if I can get the color to darken a little.

 

[cbink]

Our pool along with a grotto and slide is currently being built otherwise I'd have chipped in sooner. I'll upload photo's when it's done. They are doing the stacked stone around the pool at the moment and should be doing the waterfall/grotto/slide rock work towards the end of this week.

 

[cbink]

Older thread but someone pm'd me about this recently so thought I'd update this. I love our grotto. In the short amount of time since completion it's got a fair amount of use. It's great for getting out the sun and it's just a nice place to sit and relax. I had a little shelf put in to rest a drink on which turned out to be a great move - really like having it in there.
I also really like the sound that the waterfall makes falling off the top of the grotto - it's very relaxing (if you like that kind of thing, which I do).
It's also great to jump off the top of - be warned though you do need adequate depth of water to do this. Mine's 7' and is the minimum I would want for an adult to jump off the top (my feet always hit the bottom when I jump off it). Kids are fine.