Luxury Home Magazine

with light-veined Vermont marble and 17 th Century bas- reliefs. Even more luxurious is the Roman pool, designed as a replica of a Roman bath, with glass tiled mosaics, fountains, and eight statues of Roman gods. There was no shortage of oppulance when it came to Hearst and he made sure to create luxurious pools where he and his family could swim or bask in the San Simmeon sun. On a more commercial level, Las Vegas hotels have been known to amp up the wow-factor when it comes to fan- tastic swimming pools. The Hard Rock Hotel boasts a guitar-shaped pool; the Golden Nugget is home to a daring three story clear water slide that twists through a tank stocked with sharks and other wild marine life; and Mandalay Bay installed an 11-acre simulated beach pool with waves ranging from two to fifteen feet. Of course here in Hawaii, we have our fair share of amazing resort pools. The Grand Wailea pools on Maui is one such example. Offering several swim- ming areas such as the Hibiscus Pool which is a made from over 630,000 pieces of Mexican glass mosaic This deceptively simple pool design provides the focal point of the home drawing the eye to the most extraordinary view of the entire west side of Maui and the islands beyond. The Aqua Magazine Choice Award winner, the long, three-sided vanishing edge is pool is elegant, artistic while complementing the contemporary-Asian style home.Whimsical bronze sculptures by Sergio Bustamante adorn the champagne edge raised spa and children’s play-pool which are approached by large steppingstones which appear to float on water.This is, indeed, a magical pool. See Page 31 tile. The entire pool contains over 2.2 million individ- ual tiles and features two Jacuzzis. Another pool at the resort is The Wailea Canyon Activity Pool which is a 770,000-gallon pool consists of nine free-form pools at six levels and is home to the world’s only water elevator. Although hotels are known for having some of the most extravenagnt and amazing pools for the public, it doesn’t mean you can’t create a similar retreat in your own back- yard. It’s not pracitcal on a smaller scale to swim with the sharks, or necessary to replicate ancient tiled mosaics, but there is a new standard in luxury swimming pools for the 21 st Century. Luxury pools are a status symbol and can be functional, stunning, fantastic, and edgy. With a nod to nature’s own creations, naturalistic pools are perfect additions for those choosing to play up the landscape or imitate natural formations. These amazing pools can blend with the surroundings, or stand out as a whymsical lagoon where mermaids could be lounging. Naturalistic pools are established with a freeform shape which could be meant to mimic a specific body of water, or simply to have amore fluid space.Materials such as stone or