Indoor pools in Paris, the ultimate luxury
Sublime and beneficial, the indoor pool ranks among new luxury appointments alongside private gyms, hammams and other amenities encouraging a healthy life-style. Representing a new type of elegance and joining the quest for well-being typical of our day and age, it is the crowning glory of a few rare homes in Paris. Spotlight on a highly-coveted water feature…
Hiding in confidential and ultra-luxurious addresses, offering dimensions that are often XXL, indoor pools in Paris bring in their wake a notion of excellence, glamour and originality. Very precious, they are also rare, as explained by Eric Vincent, director of the Emile Garcin Rive Gauche agency : “The proportion of properties with pools in Paris is tiny. In our agency, I would say that on average, a property with an indoor pool amounts to 1 out of 20. Most of the time, they are to be found in fine renovated mansions or lofts with vast interiors, which can accommodate a basement or a dedicated floor. They are rarely in the midst of a lounge, though that does happen, as witnessed by Kenzo’s house in the 11th arrondissement. I also remember a loft in Le Marais, at the end of a courtyard, acquired by a show-biz personality, where there was a pool in the middle of the lounge. Today, they tend to be in basements dedicated to wealthy, accompanied by a gym, massage room, sauna… An indoor pool is a plus and a new trend, which was not the case for many years when heavy maintenance costs put off the clientele. And even if it’s not a sales argument, it is a bonus much appreciated by wealthy clients, because people do still dream of having a pool. You find more of them in the 7th and 16th arrondissements, where properties offer large surface areas, though Paris always comes up with surprises, such as a certain loft in the 11th !”.
A bling-bling asset in the 1980’s, the indoor pool has now been treated to a makeover and is seen as part of a global concept of well-being. It appeals to a well-off clientele and is found in elegant residences, as pointed out by Alexandre Moisset, CEO of the Mobilis Paris group : “Indoor pools are often in private mansions, luxuriously rehabilitated to suit today’s taste ; they are added because there is enough space to accommodate them. It is a niche market comprised of properties worth 10 to 15 million euros or more. Taking the elevator in one’s bathrobe, riding down to the basement and relaxing in the water with no-one around is a luxury proposed by a private mansion we currently have on our files. Here, the heated pool benefits from spearhead technologies : a counter-current flow and an aquatic sound system. It also comes with a gym and hammam. These kinds of amenities appeal especially to business clients, French or international, used to travelling to the world’s largest cities and staying in palatial hotels with spas. For this well-heeled clientele, having an indoor pool is an extension of their life-style. The supreme luxury is the indoor-outdoor pool, but that’s very rare. There was one in a sublime private mansion in the 16th arrondissement, where the pool flowed into an enchanting garden. Spectacular !”.
A luxury with the wind in its sails ? Something observed by Maud Poncet, sales negotiator with John Taylor : “It’s becoming a clear trend in prestige real-estate, particularly in the rehabilitation of private mansions which all, or almost all, have plans for a basement with a pool, gym, hammam… What has evolved over the past few years is the feasibility of this type of facility. Thanks to new technologies, the construction of an indoor pool is possible virtually everywhere, even if it is not very large, as people often talk about lap pools rather than Olympic-sized pools ! New technologies mean that the water does not have to be changed so frequently, that one can benefit from highly efficient dehumidifying systems, not use chlorine, and also have pools that age better, and less quickly. In addition, they come with very appealing options such as chromotherapy, music… and are, in fact, multi-functional. All things that did not exist 10 years ago. It’s true that old pools were unending sources of problems, too complicated to maintain. The modern pool is a symbol of luxury, an option that hits the spot ! It is, in fact, a feature that is always mentioned in the title of an ad for a property that is up for sale. In high-end properties of recent construction, I have noticed that it is a box that is ticked almost systematically”.
