Very few people in our area do fiberglass. I have, however, owned both gunite (with pebbletec vs. plaster) and vinyl pools.

Please note that I am not a "pool person" and do not actually enjoy pools. My husband, however, is and does. I am pretty partial to my husband, so I do a lot of care and maintenance of the pools.

Generally, I think that gunite pools tend to be used in more high end applications. You can do a lot of cool customization, textures, etc. They can be a little rough on the feet. When you eventually have to have your pool resurfaced, it seems more expensive.

Vinyl, in my mind, often looks less high end (in large part due to the frequent use of white vinyl/plastic trim). Please note that there are some high end vinyl pools that avoid the white plastic look. Vinyl is easy on the feet. When it wears out, it is also seems cheaper to replace the liner.

Have you read and/or posted on trouble free pools? They have some really good pool building forums.

i have a vinyl lined pool currently under re-construction, with the plastic coping being replaced by decking overlay (no photos yet, hope it comes out nice.....). there is quite a variety of liners so you can go with whats trendy, they don't last forever so you dont feel the need to choose something for your whole life.

There has been a vinyl lined pool in my family since the 1970's. Liner has only needed to be replaced twice so far. This past summer it was redone. There are a lot of options for doing the coping (not the plain white metal of days gone by). This time a stone look was installed - looks amazing. good luck.