I originally wrote a review back in April 2022. As mentioned in that review, we were absolutely thrilled with the finished product and the issues we were having were based on the communications portion of everything. It has been 3 years since our pool was completed and any time I have had to reach out to the company, I have spoken to Ashley and she has taken care of everything. I had an issue with one of my pumps and lights, and she was on top of it. She provided me the information on who to contact for warranty work and even went above and beyond the call of duty and sent them all of the paperwork they would need to resolve my issue. She returned phone calls in a timely manner and called when she said she would. Recently I had an issue with my salt cell and she and Cody contacted me right away and now my issue will be resolved. I have given their number to anyone who has seen my pool and asked who built it. We were never disappointed with the product, just the communications, which has now been rectified, at least from my standpoint. Ashley and Cody have been awesome with any of the minor issues that have come up in the 3 years since the pool has been built. read more

I would NOT recommend this company. We ordered our pool and gave them first payment 11 months ago. Construction has been slow and riddled with mistakes and gaps in communication. We've been sitting awaiting the interior coating for over 6 weeks now. Their plumbers placed the pool pump equipment in the wrong spot, and it couldn't pass the final electrical inspection as a result, creating further delays. They've since has plumbers back out who moved the equipment again to the wrong place. More delays and excuses. They will not give us a timeframe for completion. Our project manager Carmen is not being responsive. We've paid them everything but a small final payout. I'm starting to wonder if our pool will ever get done? Can you add this to our reviews: Update 4/11/22: Ashley, one of the owners, called us today and was very apologetic. She blamed the pool industry in general, and many of the subcontractors for the issues that we've had. She asked us to take down this review, which we refused until our pool is complete. She said this week we should have plumbing and electrical done. So we will update this review to see if they follow through on their word. My husband and adult children were also going to post negative reviews, but we are holding off on that until we see what happens this week. read more

Super happy with Tropical Escapes!! A friend of ours recommended them after they built their pool. We had heard about some delays with the supply chain and were worried about the inflation affecting every industry in America; ultimately, we decided we were going to build now, even with the higher prices. We are very glad we did! While any project of this size and so much to coordinate is going to have some hiccups along the way, we were patient and understanding and TE really kept us up to speed on everything that was happening. Rosa basically ALWAYS answers the phone and that is very reassuring. She met or beat just about every time frame she ever gave out. She under promised and over delivered with every step which I really appreciated. We brought in one contractor for a custom job who was not affiliated with TE but had decades of experience with pool building and he commented every day at how impressed he was with the quality of their work... "I see a lot of pools being built and a lot of corners cut and I can tell you I am REALLY impressed with these guys work!" The extra steps they took to provide QUALITY work when they could have cut corners to save money was evident and appreciated. Some examples are the additional framework around the spa, using Shotcrete instead of gunite, using a second pump for the waterfall, etc. I had never built a pool so I had no idea what these things even were before this experience. When all was said and done we went from breaking ground in June to swimming in our pool in October!! We became worried when we saw neighbors posting in FB about delays but honestly, supply chain issues affected everyone and they were really great with us! Brian & Kyle the project managers made sure that every single last loose end was completed. They all really felt like friends by the end of the process. We could not be happier with the quality of our new pool and spa and the kids LOVE it!! Sincere thank you to their whole team! Steven B. read more

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It all started wonderful, which is why we originally went with Tropical Escapes. We selected them based on their costumer service, and not so much on price. We were quickly provided false promises on deadlines and experienced many turnovers with pool managers. We understand that this is the business now, but no communication was given, during this time. We were originally told the pool would be completed before Christmas and after several complaints, it was finally filled by the end of March. Once our pool was filled and all payments were made, we had to be at the mercy of the company for them to complete any remaining checklist items. This included not passing inspection, due to pavers being very unleveled by the pool equipment. We also addressed our bubbler literally blowing off about 10 minutes after they "started up" our pool. I of course let them know this in March and it has not been addressed yet. We have a hole in our pool, where children swim and can potentially hurt themselves. We have made them aware of this many times, and my husband has even gone to office with more false promises. Keep in mind, what we did not realize, is many of these workers come from Olympus.....which now explains the lack of communication and quality. I wish I could be writing a positive review and be so excited about the second largest purchase we've ever made, but that is just not the case. I feel for the owner, Cody, as he has attempted to resolve many issues we've had, but we are still not complete. If they ever address these issues, I will note this in the review and respond to any other social media complaints. At this point, I do not recommend them. read more

Tropical Escapes Pool Builders - Pool & Hot Tub Service Near Me - Land O' Lakes, Florida

I am continuing to have issues with Tropical Escapes completing our poo. They scraped piec of cement from the back cage, but left this mess and I was told by Kyle that Tropical Escapes needs to clean this up and put more cement read more

Worst experience with a pool builder we've ever had thus far, we get minimal work done every few weeks, Poor communication from all levels except the design team, slow service, unprofessional correspondences from leadership, no accountability from the top or communication between sections and poor planning when it comes to ordering equipment needed for each job. There are many other builders that you can use that will probably be less stressful. We are both disabled veterans and wanted this pool for more therapeutic reason and this has been a total cluster F at every stage after design. read more

We had a horrible experience, 8 months building, multiple issues with he process. Our hot tub never went over 100 degrees. The 4th construction who finally completed the job told me that was all the heater we have would do. Here's the rest of the story... So, I just have to say this is another example of the huge fail on my pool builder.  I queried the construction manager about our hot tub not going over 100 degrees and taking 3-4 hours jut to get there.  Despite my insistence this was unacceptable and not what we were told he said that is all the heater could do.  We bit the bullet for a while, but finally after speaking to several other builders we chose to reach back out to you for another try at getting it fixed. You said call Hawkins directly.  We did. Hawkins said call Rheem directly.   The Rheem technician on the phone took all of 5 minutes to talk me thru moving a wire that was placed in the wrong position initially.  I did it myself in 5 minutes.  Tried it and, lo and behold, less than an hour later the hot tub is at 102 degrees. You didn't do it right the 1st time, gas-lighted me to believe it was as good as it would get, then pawned me off to sub- contractors to fix your mistake.  Thank you Tropical Escapes! read more

We had a great experience with Tropical Escapes. They were very good with communicating what was going to be done, when etc. They took pictures after each event and posted them on the app. When we did have a minor hiccup, the owner himself came out to provide a solution. Even months later when we needed something fixed, the owner assisted. We did extensive research prior to choosing a pool builder and Tropical Escapes was the only one with 5 star reviews. read more

Updated Review!! TE has demanded that I delete my review! They said they would "consider" refunding the $385 we had to pay a Tech to hook up our equipment that they should have done in the first place! They want my review removed first and then they'll think about it. Sure, they will. In my book that is illegal. I stand behind my review 100%. They are lucky that we didn't leave more details about their lousy mismanagement. read more

First of all, I want to say that William (designer) and Carmen (construction manager) have been kind and wonderful individuals to interact with. Even Ron who came to fix a few things was pleasant and algelpful. Secondly, the final product is exactly how we envisioned it. My issues with Tropical Escapes are as follows: 1. Project duration: We were told that the project was going to last 6-8 months. We signed Feb 2021 so we were hoping we should be done before November. This was already conservative because other pool contruction companies at that time were estimating 4-6 months. While I understand that there have been global materials shortages and labor shortages plus the high number of ongoing pool projects around us, what is frustrating is that a friend of ours who signed their contract with Patio Pools a couple of weeks after us has theirs finished by late August. This tells me that the problem is not really the economic and market situations but with how Tropical Escapes manages its multiple projects. 2. Scheduling of jobs: One specific example was, we were told that pool screening was planned for x date and when we called the screening company a couple of weeks later, we were advised that we weren't even on the schedule yet. We waited a long time for the pavering, a long time for the screen, a long time for plastering. 3. Project management: I run projects as part of my work and every single activity is set and partners and stakeholders are informed when the activity will happen or targeted to complete. With our pool project, us, the customers, had no idea what activities will be happening and when. People would sinply show up and we had no idea what was going to be done. Sometimes, they show up early in the morning, on weekends unexpectedly. 4. Communications: At the start of the project, we were supposed to use the Buildertrend app. I thought this was great and it will make the process more transparent. However, this app was hardly used. I sent messages through Buildertrend but none was ever acknowledged. 5. Point of contact: Our main point of contact was Carmen but there was no easy way to reach out management if we can't get a hold of Carmen. I understand that Carmen is handling multiple projects and she can get very busy but we need someone who can answer our question ar least within 48-72 hours. 6. Excess materials: My understanding was materials are ordered and delivered in batches (ie pallets for pavers, boxes for tiles) etc. When there were excess materials, I had expected that to be ours. However, they said that any excess will be taken away. I eventually haggled to keep the excess. My concern is that this is different from what I heard from other pool projects. Plus, I know that for pavers as an example, you can't order less than a pallet. Just odd, in my opinion. 7. Issue with spa depth: It took us a couple of months to convince Carmen that the spa was too deep. Only until her boss Brian saw this in person weeks aftet that they decided to fix it. 8. Pending items: Pool was filled with water last week of January. - Salt chlorinator was only installed almost 3 months later after repeated follow ups. - Plaster surface is rough causing kids to have scrapes and gashes. Not yet done. - Plaster surface had fading and stains from the very start. Not yet done. - Child fence door is swinging the wrong way. Needs to be replaced. Not yet done. - Coping replacement due to rust stain. Not yet done. read more

Sadly, our experience with Tropical Escapes has been nothing short of disappointing. We signed on for our pool project in May 2021 and it was "finished" in March 2022. We in NO WAY hold labor or material shortages against any company, nor this one. Our issues lie in management, oversight, and project processes. To make a very long story as short as possible, here are our issues: Poor to nonexistent communication. The project managers do not return calls or texts. The office staff will not give you any answers or information. They refer you to your project manager (who doesn't call you back!) The scheduling department rarely takes your phone calls, and promised "return calls" are often days out if they actually happen. When a major problem arises, your project manager is not "allowed" to make changes to your project, however requests to speak directly with the company owners are flat out denied. It was stated to us that the owner "did not have time for us and refused to speak with us". Poor project oversight and management of contractors and subcontractors. During our excavation phase, the soil under our ac air handlers began to erode and left our ac units tipped almost sideways on multiple occasions. We repeatedly asked for the issue to be addressed and it took days for anyone to come out and backfill the dirt under them. When dirt was placed under the units, they were not at grade level with the rest of the yard, and the concrete pad was skewed. Tropical Escapes refused to fix the issue, stating that they don't handle AC's. Our project manager then changed his tune and agreed that it needed to be fixed and that they would take care of it for us. Also during the excavation process, the crew piled large amounts of dirt against our neighbors fence, causing it to break. They also piled it against our shed, which broke the door off. After repeated attempts to have Tropical Escapes move the dirt, and correct the issues, they agreed to fix the fence using one of their subcontractors, and to give us a credit for the shed. When the pavers were installed, they were well above the grade level of the ac units, which left a pool of its own around the units. Every time it rained, the area filled with water and our units were sitting in water. Due to this issue, we failed inspection twice. Our project manager and other employees had told us for months that they would resolve the problem by lifting the units onto new concrete slabs. However, after our final payment was made to the company, they sent a notice on their communication system that they would not be taking care of it, they didn't even bother to call. We went back and forth with them citing the promises that were made to us and the safety issues that AC handlers sitting in water presents. Still, they refused and said that they "already paid to fix the fence and the shed" (that THEY broke) and that we were taking advantage of them. Since then, we have had to pay out of pocket to raise the units. Aside from these main issues, is a general lack of care for the homeowners property. Trash and food was constantly left all over the yard. They left concrete chunks, rebar, wiring, and plastic all throughout the yard, even after their "clean up". They sprayed gunite all over the back side of our house which we will now have to get painted. They also sprayed concrete on our fence and windows/sliding doors. Although the end result of the pool looks nice, I would not go through this company simply based on the way they lie, misrepresent to, and treat their customers. Poor Communication.Getting a response from the company to fix or address anything requires weeks of phone calls, messages, and emails. The fastest way to get in contact with them is to leave a negative review, and then someone will contact you to remove it. The unfortunate part about this, is that many people are in the same situation as we are/were, and they don't feel like they can leave a bad review for the company, because it may make things worse for their already difficult project, and for future warranty issues. read more

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I, in good faith, would not recommend Tropical Escapes. We started the pool build in the middle of the pandemic and fully understand the delays and were 100% ok with that. What we were not ok with is the lack of communication, professionalism, and once we were paid in full, we basically got ignored completely. Make sure to do your homework, check Yelp, check the BBB, check Buildzoom and you'll see that there are alot of negative reviews that don't necessarily compare with their current 4.7 rating on Google. We paid in full in May and it's now the end of October, we had only a few punch list items but they are fairly important. We've been removed from the Builder Trend app that they use where we were asking for updates since May but not a single response. Between then we tried calling multiple times only to have a standard response of "someone will call you back soon". We tried sending emails and zero response. Near the end of the project we received a text from our project manager that she was no longer with the company. No word or communication was ever given by the company itself. We never got a new project manager. The training on how to use the pool equipment was very lacking (partially due to the heater never worked from the beginning so they couldn't even train us on that). The day after the training we tried reaching out for additional questions only to be told that the trainer is no longer with the company and they don't have anyone that is able to answer those questions and to call Jandy (the pool equipment company). The mobile app that they sell for $4,000 dollars that can control the pool equipment is terrible and doesn't work properly. It's archaic and pales in comparison to ones I've seen that friends have. The main reason the heater never worked was due to the flow switch inside of the heater. Both the electrician that came out and Jandy said that part didn't belong to them and it appeared that someone may have swapped it out. Very strange and unsure how that would happen other than whoever installed it. This took a few months to finally get resolved (no thanks to Tropical Escapes) and we are thankful to the electrical company, Hawkins, for putting in the effort to get this taken care of! Our "overflow" system that was put in place doesn't work and we had to pay a couple hundred dollars to have something built so we can drain our pool when it gets too full. Again, this was after countless times trying to get a response on this and nothing back from Tropical Escapes. I'm happy for those that had a good experience with them. It's odd how there can be such a difference with people very happy and then our negative experience (and the many others). read more

So VERY HARD to get a straight answer out of this company, or to get them to show up once you notify them of an issue to correct. DO NOT BELIEVE that they can complete your pool in six to eight weeks. We are at week 14, so far, and it still is not completed. The pool was recently turned on and the 'electricians' have to come back out for the fourth time to correct an issue in order to get it to work properly. The chemicals will not balance and to try to get someone out here for a face to face response on what is going on does not work no matter how many times you call/email company representatives about your situation. The sub-contractors DO NOT CLEAN UP after themselves, and leave food and materials all over the place to include nails and screws in the road for your neighbors to run over with their tires. DO NOT try to schedule your landscaping to be done, etc., in a timely manner. IT WILL NOT HAPPEN, as you cannot receive any good answers from this company in any fashion because they refuse to update your online schedule so you know what is going on. You have to keep up after each and every thing that they say they do to ensure it is completed correctly each step of the way. The project manager cannot seem to schedule the sub contractors back to back as there are times when no one even shows up to do any work to the jobsite for a week, or more! I do not think they really care about their customer/customer service as they promise a lot and fail to deliver on what they say over and over again each step of the pool construction process!!! read more

Love this pool builder. Could not be happier with our pool. Even with the supply issues they did not let us down. Super glad I chose Codie and team. read more

Tropical Escapes Pool Builders - Pool at night - Pool & Hot Tub Service Near Me - Land O' Lakes, Florida

We love our pool. Kyle and Brian were extremely helpful throughout the process. And, the pool was completed before the timeframe that they originally quoted. We would highly recommend Tropical Escapes. read more

One year in and I don't have my salt system, my heater is not working, the jets stop working after one month, no one had come and teach us the basic of pool maintenance. I call the office several times and nothing. I text Carmen and nothing. The worst company ever I have encounter. From the Benitez and escoto family read more

The company is not completing my pool construction. We contracted in December 2020. They broke ground in April 2021. Since then there have been multiple issues needing to be corrected because the construction manager Carmen did no quality control before checking of a step. This led to two revisions of the footer dig and pour, moving a door pad that was placed so we would have had to walk thru the pool to use a screen door and the equipment all had to be moved from where it was placed. I have to call them constantly to get any kind of activity on the project. We finally have water in the pool but the person they sent to start the pool yesterday did not complete the job. The filter is running half primed and 24/7. The pool is filled with dirt and was left like that. They will not reply to my inquiries about the in pool lounge chairs we've paid for. They damaged HOA properties by leaving material and debris for a month where they shouldn't have. POOR COMMUNICATION! read more

Terrible company would highly recommend not using them there reviews on there site are from friends and family they only want your money I've had many many issues 12 month still not done office people are horrible to talk to no one gets back to you I have spoken to many other people trying to deal with them same iss but they call you at 7 am for a check that's all they want but don't finish DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY read more

LOOK UP TROPICAL ESCAPES ON THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU....We researched companies last year and got a referral so we expected the best experience, however turned into a nightmare. We have a pool however the office and management are non responsive. They signed an agreement with our lender knowing that they have to sign a notice of termination for the LENDER to release final payment. The lender has the payment log and and the contracted amounts documented and keeps sending to this company but the office staff do not know anything about business or how to add (they misdocumented payment amounts even though I have check stubs)....so even though our pool contract was for $74k they are now saying we owe $78k and have zero documentation to support that....SO NOW I HAVE TO WASTE MORE OF MY TIME GETTING THE BBB AND AN ATTORNEY INVOLVED.. .they are clueless which is frightening when you are dealing with this amount of money. This is a mom and pop with kids doing the accounting. No one ever calls back, they just keep "taking a message"... I have tried everything to get a manager involved and to provide something showing where they are coming up with an extra $4k but they are just making it up as they go along. No response even tho I have begged for them to submit one form so that the lender can send them the final payment and I can be rid of these people. This has been a full time job having to be the project manager to get my pool done, I have had to constantly call to get things scheduled, rescheduled, and follow up on everything from the inspections to the messed up pavers and leaky roof that was installed, as well as the defective control panel that they told me would be replaced and wasnt...fortunately I can now go straight to the vendors because I finally tracked them down. So much stress and a horrible experience.. Do your research and pick another company. read more

I love my pool and spa. Great work team effort. Kept me informed all the way. Love the way it was done.