We used Belgard pavers around our pool in a similar large style and really love them. I took home samples of different colors and left them out in the sun to test the "hotness" here in So CA. The darker colors were definitely hotter. Chose the light tan color Montecito but in true summer you still need flip flops to comfortably walk on, or seating where you can lift your feet off ground. Our pavers were tumbled to look "old" and there are small tiny granules. The surface is rougher than our concrete section. Concrete is definitely cooler and less scratchy to walk on barefoot, less expensive but gets cracks and definitely not as pretty. Glad we have both actually! HTH

thanks very much!

I have installed both of the pavers you are talking about. Most people do not like the larger gaps of the Urbana. Lafitt has very small gaps and they actually have two different textures available, at least in our area. The Lafitt Grana is the smoothest and easiest on the feet. If you want he size and color of the Urbana, without the larger gaps, the Catalina is a good alternative. Same size as the Urbana but they fit closer together. Hope this helps.

5birdy, I realize this is an old thread, but I wondered if you could tell me how the belgard Montecito has worked out for you so far? We are considering it for two small driveways and two walkways. One of the walkways is for our trashcans. Although I love the color, I'm concerned about marks and dirty really showing, and am concerned about maintenance.

Hi Mary Lynn, the Belgard Montecito worked out well for us in hot dry Southern CA. Don't know about other wetter or colder areas. We chose not to seal it to preserve the Old World look. Are you planning on parking cars on it? We did not use it like that so I can't comment but would be wary of tire marks, which our concrete driveway did get. At that price we gingerly walked on it! We used a large heavy duty mat to protect from stains around the BBQ grill area. Perhaps you could mix the look using both Belgard and concrete. Here's a recent pic. Hope that helps!

Thank you so much for your response, 5birdy! Your pool area is beautiful. From what I'm looking at the samples in our area, the color appears much lighter, more cream like (although I know samples can be deceiving). I prefer the color of your stone. From what I have read, the color of Belgard products can vary significantly depending on the region, as it's locally made?

I'm on the Central Coast California, so the weather is a little milder than yours, but still nice. So we aren't concerned about the weather so much. Yes, a car would be parked in each driveway so there IS a concern about tire marks on the driveways. And a portion of it is under an arbutus tree, which is messy for much of the year. So perhaps we need something darker, but I have to say, I do love the color I see in your photo! Thank you for sharing!

We used Belgard pavers around our pool for a large deck area. We used the cream colored Travertino, it has the pattern of travertine. The pros: is cool and not slippery. The cons: we have MAJOR mold and mildew problems that keep the deck looking black and green most of the year. We sealed the pavers after installation and try to keep it as clean as possible but with the south humidity this was probably not a good choice for decking. You are not supposed to power wash or use bleach or any acidic cleaner so it is a total pain to keep up with. We are around the Houston area. We also have had some of the pavers come loose on the steps on our deck. If anyone has had issue with this and has a solution we would love to find a way to make our deck look clean. Overall we are not happy with our choice.