“Cranbourne Stone is always AMAZING!” - Donna Wells, Project Manager, Carl Vernon Swimming Pools
Since 2011, we’ve worked closely with Carl Vernon Swimming Pools to create stunning swimming pool surrounds. So when Four Seasons Hotels asked Carl Vernon and his team to renovate its existing indoor conservatory pool, surrounds and pool-side shower, we were the natural choice.
Time to Transform an Old, Outdated Pool
Four Seasons is an elite, luxurious 5-Star hotel group that attracts premium gym members and day spa guests. But, their current conservatory pool was in need of updating to complement the aesthetics of the areas within the hotel.
The pool was very old as it hadn’t been refurbished for over 16 years. Tiles had blown around the pool coping and so the hotel had to keep patching these up. The blown tiles not only created an outdated appearance but also posed a safety concern.
Creating a Classic Appearance
Four Seasons wanted to create a classic feel that radiated style and elegance while being consistent throughout the resort and not compromise on guest safety.
Working with us for many years, Carl Vernon Swimming Pools relied on our elegant, comprehensive and professional sample pack to showcase our expert hands and our variety of high-quality natural stones.
Carl Vernon has always recognised and loved our sample kit box as an easy, professional and engaging way to showcase the array of materials, style and colour options. It was a tried and tested method to help provide advice and give value to the Four Seasons team, ahead of the renovation.
After presenting the sample pack to Four Seasons, diligently answering questions and explaining how the finished pool would look, Four Seasons chose stones that would successfully produce the monochrome look they desired. Larger format samples were then requested and delivered for their approval.
Four Seasons decided on creamy porcelain for the main walkway surrounds and then sought to tie this in with the deck level pool. The exclusive hotel group also chose black stone for the pool coping to make the area stand out and prevent it from being a trip hazard.
Non-Slip Natural Stones from Cranbourne Stone
The Four Seasons Hotel in Dogmersfield, Hampshire, has an indoor swimming pool, swim lane and walkway. Guests can use the walkway to saunter outside to a 6m circular spa without ever having to leave the tranquil water.
While undeniably blissful for guests, this innovative element created a unique challenge as we needed to make sure we balanced the very best in luxury relaxation with maintaining the highest levels of guest safety.
We also share the belief and work ethic that safety is paramount — and so we provide our customers with non-slip porcelain to marry style and safety around the pool. We provided Carl Vernon and Four Seasons with our natural stones and porcelain, which come with these non-slip properties.
Porcelain is excellent for high traffic areas due to being less porous than other stones and requires low maintenance which is an ideal choice for Four Seasons’ sought-after spa and gym guest experience.
Our finished look contained:
- 222 metres of 10mm Waterford Cream porcelain tiles for the surrounding floor
- 117 bespoke coping stones with double pencil edge using Boston Grey porcelain
- 20mm porcelain tiles 70 metres of 10mm Boston Grey porcelain tiles
Due to the sheer volume of the products required, we worked with Carl Vernon to make sure we had the relevant stock in. We therefore placed the order ahead of time in November 2018, ready to commence work in January 2019.
Commenting on the enjoyable relationship Carl Vernon and his team share with us, Donna Wells, Project Manager at Carl Vernon Swimming Pools almost jumped out of her chair at the “amazing relationship”, the two swimming pool experts have. “Everyone is super friendly, from the office team to the guys in the yard, manufacturing”.
Working to Precision within a Tight Timeframe
The project had to be completed within a three-month timeframe as the entire swimming pool area and the showers had to be closed throughout the renovations. With members paying £5000 a year for membership, this tight timeframe was an absolute must.
We also needed to work within tight requirements. The falls on the infinity edge had to be millimetre perfect so that the water flow across the coping stones was even around the 20-metre pool. Carl Vernon therefore used calibrated stone and considerable skill to ensure complete accuracy.
One particular area on the step had a radius edge, which had been previously covered over by a mosaic tile. As this tile could be manipulated around the radius, the new lid of the pool featured a coping stone, which presented a problem around the curved edge.
To achieve this precision, we cut the radius pieces to a specific dimension using our extensive cutting expertise and specialist machinery to ensure the overall look, feel and dimensions of the pool were met. It would have been nearly impossible and taken three times as long for Carl Vernon and his team without our bespoke cutting, jet blasting and edging machinery.
“Cranbourne Stone is always AMAZING!” – Donna Wells, Project Manager, Carl Vernon Swimming Pools
With our help and precision, we saved Carl Vernon Swimming Pools a tremendous amount of time and effort and enabled them to remain within their tight timeframe.
“Cranbourne Stone is just brilliant at what they do, expert knowledge within the industry, with outstanding customer service,” shared Donna Wells, Project Manager at Carl Vernon Swimming Pools.
The Final Result
Attention to detail is one of our extended middle names. We applied our water jetting to the step treads, assessed water depths in coping stones and pre-cut step sections for accuracy and safety management. The overall finish of the project was one of beauty and safety.
Working together with Carl Vernon, our renovations created a luxurious indoor pool that met the two main requirements:
- Achieve a luxury classic feel to match the prestige of the hotel and its premium members
- Ensure absolute safety and wellbeing
For more information or advice please call 01264 810813
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