Pool Heat

[conniehar90]

We will be staying in a WH townhouse for the first time next March. We have stayed at WH several times but always in a condo.

I asked about the pool heat for the TH pool and of course it is an extra charge per day. The owner told me it is up to me but if it were his wallet, he wouldn't waste his money. I know my kids and if the pool is freezing they won't get in it. But, is it worth $200 when they could walk down the street to the clubhouse pool?

I know I could ask the owner this, but if you pay for the pool heat, do they set it at a certain temp or can you adjust it to what you would like? I would hate to pay for it and find that the temp they set it at is still cold.

Just wondering what others have done regarding pool heat. We were there last March and it was 85 every day so not cold out at all but I am thinking the pool will not have any sun so it might be a bit chilly.

Thanks!

 

[JANNYANS]

Usually the pool heat controls are locked and the pool set at the guidline temps for safety this could be around 85 or higher.Only you can decide whether it s worth it -will your family rather have a pool outside their door or to have to walk to one ?

 

[HunterBoo]

You must be talking to the same owner I am! He said not to waste my money on pool heat and that if I thought any other homeowner was actually turning on the heat, then I was wrong. He said in March you don't need it, but other owners would tell you they had it on, but they really didn't. I actually wasn't impressed with his little rant to tell you the truth - lol!!

We stayed at a townhouse last year on March break and we did have pool heat and it was included in our price ... it for sure was heated as you felt the warmth to it, it wasn't just the sun making it warm. I believe that anyways ... but maybe the guy having a rant knows something I don't! I know that my mom won't go in if the pool is chilly at all - she feels it thanks to some medication she is on. I also like it a little warm. If anything the large pool was cool last year (for me and my mom)!!! LOL So I pay the extra for pool heat

 

[JANNYANS]

This owner is doing others a great disservice by suggesting they do not turn on the heat ! In March you will certainly know if it is not on .

 

[4kids4karen]

You should ask if the clubhouse pool is heated. We live in a Florida gated community and our pool is not heated. The only heated public pools I am aware of is at our local community center that offers a competitive swim team that practices year around. Heated pools in Florida are not common, but perhaps in a tourist area they do spend the extra money for heated pools? I know a few years ago I was looking for a mini-vacay with the family in Tampa and could not find a hotel with an indoor pool. Was told they don't have indoor pools in Florida. LOL. I do know of a swim school with an indoor pool in Tampa.

 

[conniehar90]

You must be talking to the same owner I am! He said not to waste my money on pool heat and that if I thought any other homeowner was actually turning on the heat, then I was wrong. He said in March you don't need it, but other owners would tell you they had it on, but they really didn't. I actually wasn't impressed with his little rant to tell you the truth - lol!!

Yep! Same owner! I can see why you weren't impressed with his rant. I felt a bit of that too, but all of our other correspondence with him was positive and he seemed like he was an honest person and maybe just frustrated with others dishonesty. But, it certainly shouldn't be presented as "everyone does this".

You should ask if the clubhouse pool is heated.

Great question. We were there last March and I believe the clubhouse pool was heated. The kids went in it and didn't complain. I am going to ask though.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[softballmom3]

I know if I expected to use it in March I would want pool heat. We stayed at WH in October one year and was told didn't need it for our splash pool and guess what? It was so cold my kids wouldn't touch it. We don't spend too much time in our rooms so it was ok.

 

[jeff968]

Heated pools in Florida are not common, but perhaps in a tourist area they do spend the extra money for heated pools?

All the resorts have heated pools.

 

[Brian Noble]

I know if I expected to use it in March I would want pool heat.

Me too.

As for whether it is worth it: hard to say. When my kids were younger, the splash pool was fun. They're probably old enough now that it wouldn't be that entertaining, and they would rather go to the main pool.

 

[cey]

We spend two months of the year at Windsor Hills and always get pool heat for the month of March. Evenings can be chilly and will quickly drop your pool temperature. ( I take a pool thermometer and monitor ours daily ) Besides most pool heaters also heat your spa, so I would think if you have the pool heater off, your spa will not heat! You will probably want to take advantage of your spa after a long day at the parks.
I would be very hesitant to rent from an owner who appears ambivalent about heating the pool. I would start to suspect that he has maintainance issues with his pool heater and perhaps the heater is not working!

 

[sjanus]

Oh my, definitely you will need pool heat in March if you want to use the townhome pool. It would be difficult to look at it and not want to jump in, especially for the children, even if you are using the community pool!

Sandy

 

[conniehar90]

Thanks for all the advice! You have all convinced me that we need the heat. I went back to my quote and found that it was $120 for the heat, not $200 - even better! For $120, I will feel better not having to continue the should I or shouldn't I debate any longer.

I will report back if I have any issue with the owner (alluding to the concern of maintenance issues).

Thanks again!

 

[HunterBoo]

Thanks for all the advice! You have all convinced me that we need the heat. I went back to my quote and found that it was $120 for the heat, not $200 - even better! For $120, I will feel better not having to continue the should I or shouldn't I debate any longer.

I will report back if I have any issue with the owner (alluding to the concern of maintenance issues).

Thanks again!

Yes - same home owner as he quoted $12 a day to me. The little rant turned me off though, so we decided not to rent from him. I know it is silly things like that, but I found another email to be a bit "know it all" kind of way. So anyways - we've gone with a different townhome (well, we have narrowed it down to three and we REALLy must choose - for some reason I am very indecisive! lol)

I think his house will be perfectly fine - needs more pics on his website though ... but I didn't get the feeling that anything would be wrong. Just a vibe I didn't like.

When do you go in March? We are on March break, but my parents are going down the week before us, so we are renting a place for two weeks total (the 2nd to the 16th) ... we've narrowed it down to Ethan's Little Disney, Our Disney Dreams, and Orlando townhouse ... just can't decide!!!

 

[conniehar90]

We will be there 3/22 - 3/30.

Owner responded back to me that I didn't have to make a decision on the pool heat until 30 days before - to see how the weather is. I truly think this guy is a good guy and wants to do right by people. He probably just needs some lessons in marketing!

Good luck with your decision!

 

[Ali]

Or his heater doesn't work and he doesn't want to tell you.

I stayed at WH in July and we needed pool heat because the pool got so little direct sun. We are florida people and will not survive cold water!

 

[chocolatemint]

Or his heater doesn't work and he doesn't want to tell you.

My thoughts exactly. His heater is probably broken and he doesn't want to pay to fix it.

 

[lbry9062]

If anyone is still searching this thread... I wanted to say that I'm pretty sure we just stayed at the unit discussed in some of these comments - the one where the owner is a bit rude and tells you the pool heat is a waste of money. Well... I can't comment on the pool heat because we didn't even dip a toe in the small pool. The rest of the unit was pretty gross. Linens seemed like they were from Goodwill, among many other concerns. Stay away. I'm happy to confer with you if you want to double check the owners name. Just PM me.

 

[lbry9062]

Connie - got your PM but apparently I can't send a PM since I'm new to the boards! I have a long response for you... can you PM me your email address or another way to contact you?

 

[dsnycrzy]

Although I did not get a rant, I did get an owner that told me I wouldn't need pool heat because I am booking for 2 weeks in mid-August. First question is, is this true? I always go to FL in August but I stay at resorts both Disney and off-site and never realized if the pool was heated or not.
It's a reasonable price so it's not a big deal but I will be taking a toddler who may not be into cold pool water. Thanks.

 

[nessz79]

Although I did not get a rant, I did get an owner that told me I wouldn't need pool heat because I am booking for 2 weeks in mid-August. First question is, is this true? I always go to FL in August but I stay at resorts both Disney and off-site and never realized if the pool was heated or not.
It's a reasonable price so it's not a big deal but I will be taking a toddler who may not be into cold pool water. Thanks.

I doubt you would need pool heat in August. Trust me, it doesn't cool down hardly at all at night, so the pool water probably stays warm all on its own.