Upgrading from Intex to ??? Honest review sites?

[Omextreme]

I suspect I know the answer already. Are there any decent review sites for AGP? It is really difficult to find out the whats what and whos who of these things! Growing up we had a Doughboy for 15 years to my 12 year old self it was the best pool ever made. My local shop sells and swears by "their brand" and of course they say doughboy is just "a name." Honestly who am I to judge!

Currently we have an intex 24' frame pool that is 2 years old. Year 1 we built it and made it salt, year 2 we replaced all the top rails due to salt rust and went chlorine and here we are about to start year 3 and I think it is time to jump into a better pool at the start of the season rather then loose weeks in the middle of the summer for repairs like last year.

When we bought the intex @ 499 we knew it was just a trial pool for us. We planned on 36 month max.

I built the deck season 1 and designed it to allow us to adapt it to the new pool's railing shape fairly easily.

SO salt is a must, 24 or 27 will fit..

From there who knows, Prices are approx
(salt approved pool frame and liner only)
2100 - pool factory
$2600 Local pools store brand
TBD doughboy Guessing 4500 - 6000

What to do!

 

[denhajm]

Have you looked at Above Ground Pools - Shop Now ? They seem to have some nice options. I'm in the same boat as you. Last fall I got rid of an extremely rusted Intex 26' Ultra Frame Pool after three summers of use (SWG used each summer). Trying to decide if I do the same thing again or pay 2x-4x more for a more substantial above ground pool that may last well beyond what I need (kids are 13, 13 and 11 and how much longer will they want to use it?).

 

[scout123]

A lot of people use pool factory and have good things to say about the pools and their customer service. Royal Swimming pools sells a range of pool made by the same manufacturer of doughboys. Good luck. I researched for about a year before deciding what I wanted to get!

 

[usedtobeayooper]

We purchased from Royal Swimming Pools last spring and were very pleased with their service. They sent an incorrect base for the pump/filter, but after a quick call and sending a picture to clarify the issue, they express shipped a replacement immediately.

As for the pool itself, we chose an Embassy Sterling, which isn't a cadillac version, but has thus far (in the short time we've had it) proven to meet or exceed our expectations.