i guess it would depend on your house. 4 bedroom child friendly or a 2 bedroom with 3 acres of master bath that would more appeal to childless couples?

its a very high-end look, but not really family/guest friendly i'd give it a pass unless you really dont want to have pool parties.

then there is resale, and that can be answered by the first paragraph.

how about one of those endless pools that you swim against a current? that at least would take up less space and look more like a 'water feature' than a swimming pool.

we have a regular inground pool at our vacation home, its wonderful. we do have a pool service so its not any work at all for us. and we dont live there so we dont have to look at a closed-up covered pool from sept til end of may. even if i dont get in i love lying by it, and you dont have to get guests out of bed early enough to go to the beach because otherwise the parking lot will be full.

Great Question! Regular pool versus lap pool really depends on how you plan to use the pool. If you love to swim laps and that will be the main use of the pool, then go with lap pool. Just give some thought when your designing the pool where the steps are so you don't run into them when you are swimming. If your family doesn't swim laps and wants to lounge in the pool, a regular pool would be the way to go with more surface area for floating, playing, etc. The shape of the pool may also be dictated by the lot, design/shape of house, etc. Another option is you can design a shape that incorporates both - we have done that in the past for our clients. Another factor on the shape depends on where you live and if you will want to heat pool, put a cover on it, etc. Feel free to contact me directly if you have any further questions about designing your pool.

If you have a lap pool that doesn’t have a deep end will it be cheaper to keep it at a bit warmer temp? That is if you are not heating a lot of deep water?

I only have half my thyroid so I need my pool to be warm not hot, and not cold, if it’s hot I get too cold when I try to get out so the warmth is very important, if it’s below 82 I get too cold trying to get in the pool so ideal for me is right about 85 so I can stay in and exercise all I need.

My stepson has a lap pool (which he uses every day) - it's the same depth all along its length - not sure of the exact depth, but definitely under six feet.

I have a lap pool.It came with the house I bought and I would never have known otherwise how great they are and maybe just put in a regular pool if the house didnt have one.But I am so happy that I have a lap pool because where I live its hot enough to swim May thru oct and even longer if you pay to heat it.But I get free heat from the sun year round because its solar heated and once the temperature outside reaches into the 90's so does the pool.I also keep it covered when not swimming so it stays at 90-100 degrees for 5.5 months,if I want it to.I like it hot because its therapeutic for my back pain and with soothing jets also.But its only 3 feet and 5 feet deep so it also is easy to exercise with different equipment and I like the fact that having a long narrow pool motivates me to do 10 or 20 or 30 laps which may be more difficult in an odd shaped pool,plus I can stand or reach the side any time I am tired.There is also a seat on either end.I love to swim at midnight or anytime because its like a jacuzzi when the night air is cool.Its not expensive either.I pay 95 per mth for pool service and he puts in chemicals and scrubs the sides and other than that I just add water when its low.With a variable speed pool pump the electric bill isnt even much more and in the winter I look at blue sparkling water with amazing patterns. Its not great for a big family but for one or two people at a time or even more who are exercising in place,aquatherapy,its awesome.