Vacation home pool warm enough in October?

[Timon]

We are thinking of renting another vacation home in October and was wondering if getting the pool heated was absolutely necessary or is it still warm enough that we wouldn't need to get the heat?

We've only previously rented in January and we got the pool heat then.

Thanks for any info!

 

[Steve P]

central FL still plenty warm through the 1st 1/2 to 2/3's of the month. first week: mid 80's and higher humidity, by the 4th week, we usually have our first cool snap where it might be in the 50's at night, 70's daytime with no humidity. 1st half of Oct it's a sure bet that unheated pools are fine, even late month, only FL thinblooded natives find it to cool to swim in unheated water.

 

[FLeisure]

Sorry but I'm going to disagree with the above poster. Personally I think you need to wait until nearer the time as weather patterns thesedays can change dramatically. If you are going to stay at a home managed by a smaller management company they can turn the pool on when you are at the home.

Alternatively, call them a day or so before you arrive and they'll tell you if pool heat is needed.

 

[Aubrey]

We had the funniest experience with pool heat on a vacation home rental in April. We had requested pool heat but when we got there, the pool was 65 degrees. We called the management who told us the pool was heated and that was the correct setting. We complained that the temperature was not adequate and that we wanted it increased to at least 75 degrees. After initially saying no, they eventually sent someone over to remove the locking device which limited the heat setting but he somehow BROKE the thermostat! The pool did indeed begin to heat but did not turn off. By the end of the week, we were swimming in the world's biggest hot-tub.

 

[Robinrs]

That's some story, Aubrey!

 

[twinz]

We rented a vacation home in Sept/Oct 2002. I found the water a little chilly at night. The kids didn't care, but I did!
Twinz

 

[pomcoach]

We rented a lovely 4 bedroom home from a lady from England. We paid a premium amount for pool heat. To our dismay the pool heat wasn't even turned on when we arrived. We called, and someone came the next day while we were gone to turn on the heat. On our arrival home, the pool was still freezing and unusable. We called again. She said it might take a few days to heat up. The next evening, the pool was still freezing and the hot tub was so cold, even the children were screaming and wouldn't get in the hot tub. The next evening, we bought a thermostat from Walmart and the pool was a very cold temperature and the hot tub too. We called again. She said there was nothing she could do. We were very disappointed that we had no pool or hot tub for our vacation, but still she would not refund our pool heat money. I so wish we had just used Priceline and bid for 3 rooms at a hotel. We would have been much better off financially and had fun in a pool. Sorry to be a bummer, but we will never rent a house again. Just our experience.
Pomcoach

 

[SusieJane]

We rented a pool home the first week in Oct last year. The pool wasn't heated and the water was a little cool, but it only took a few minutes to get used to it. We used the pool every day and had a wonderful time. I think if the pool had faced east or west the water would have been warmer.

 

[FLeisure]

pomcoach,
I'm so sorry you had a bad experience but you shouldn't judge all vacation home companies and owners the same way. I've listed the criteria to book a home by elsewhere and if you stay by those rules you'll be absolutely fine.


Where , when and who was it that you tried last time ?

 

[pomcoach]

Dear FLeisure,
It will take me a little while to find that information, because it's been over a year. I know the home was a four bedroom, 3 bath home, not too far from the Entrance to the Splendid China theme park. It was a lady from England who owns about 3 homes to choose from. We had other problems with our stay, too. Not just the pool. I will post here if I can locate the papers from our stay last year. Thanks for your interest!
Pomcoach

 

[Gillian]

What is the normal temperature for pool heat?

 

[Aubrey]

Well, according to FamiliesFirst vacation homes it was apparently 65 degrees but experience indicates that being a persistent squeeky wheel might change that on a case by case basis. I think the answer varies according to property manager. We found that our rental home had a locking device on the thermostat of the heater unit on the side of the house to prevent guests adjusting it but the managers all have maintenance staff that have the keys to the locks and can adjust it if you can convince them to. I'd advise making your request during office hours as soon as you can because the pools heat slowly. You could also make clear what temperature range you expect when you make your reservation and see how accomodating the management seems to be. They apparently make a lot of money charging for pool heat that isn't really spent on fuel, (except in our case!).

 

[pomcoach]

We were so worried about the pool heat, even before we contracted with the home owner, we had her put it in writing. Now I can't find the papers, but I believe she stated that the pool was to be 75 degrees and the hot tub 85 degrees. According to the Walmart pool thermometer, the water never reached the temps she agreed on, or even came close.
Pomcoach

 

[Gillian]

I'm certainly no expert, but 85 seems cold for a hot tub. They usually seem hotter than body temperature.

 

[pomcoach]

I'm no expert either. I'm just going from memory with the temperatures. I'll ask my husband tomorrow. He has a better memory of such things. I might be completely off with the 75 pool, 85 hot tub. I'll post back when I have more info.
Pomcoach

 

[Aubrey]

Hot tubs should be between 100 and 103 degrees. I personally like a pool to be between 80 and 85 but my kids are happy enough at 75 to swim without turning too blue.

 

[Gillian]

I tried researching this last night, because we plan to rent a home in the future. I hate cold water! That's why DH takes DS swimming in the winter, not me! Even the indoor pool gets chilly here in NJ

I couldn't find any great guidelines, but a lot of pools (community?) are advertised to be heated to 78-82. Apparently this is some kind of Red Cross suggestion, but I couldn't find where they said it.

Hot tubs were occassionally mentioned to be heated to 100-105.

Anyway, this was very helpful to me. I'm so sorry people have had problems with pool heat! But I do appreciate the info.

 

[pomcoach]

We had no pool or hot tub to swim in because even the hot tub was too cold and the kids would squeal! I know that someone had asked me what temps the owner of the rental home had agreed to. We just can't seem to find that in writing right now, but my husband says he believes the owner wrote to us agreeing that the pool would be 85 degrees and the Hot Tub would be 102 degrees. So Gillian, your temperatures sound very close to that.
Someone had also asked When, Where, and Who had rented the beautiful home with the pool and Hot Tub that was unusable for our entire week. We did find that information. It belonged to a Karen Simon, that seemed to also call herself "Florida Vacation." The home was in the development of Indian Creek and wasn't too far from Splendid China.
We had other problems with the house too, not just a pool and hot tub that we couldn't use. Alarms were going off, there were no washcloths in the house to use, and no toilet tissue or kleenex. We had to go out at midnight to buy washcloths and batteries to replace in the pool alarm. When we called her about the earsplitting alarm that was going off, she said to just take the battery out and disconnect the alarm. But a warning said that was against State law. Well, anyway, we won't be renting a home in the near future. I'll take the hotel, where I can call down to the desk and have washcloths sent up. Enough venting! I'll just chalk it up to a lesson of "Live and Learn."
Pomcoach

 

[karenvicki]

I'm sorry to hear that Pomcoach had a disappointing stay in a rental home but I had a near perfect experience with a rental in the same subdivision in November. We too were in Indian Creek and rented through a couple from Scotland. They were quick to return emails, pleasant to deal with and we had no problems with pool heat (which we did use since the kids did most of their swimming at night once we got back from the parks). We did not experience any of the other problems pomcoach had either. I guess it's a live and learn situation but I would hope this wouldn't turn others off from renting a home because so many of the post on this thread indicate what a positive experience it can be!

 

[FLeisure]

We normally allow our pools to get to 82 degrees and jacuzzi to 95 degrees. Anymore than that and the chemicals can burn off quickly and the pools can start to turn green !

Have to say that even 82 degrees isn't warm enough for some guests and personally I like my pool at 86 degrees so we do allow that for guests who like it a touch warmer.