Aquatic Technology Pool and Spa

Paul completed our pool in June of 2016. The work he does is truly amazing. My husband is handicapped and an accessible pool was important to us. With Paul's flawless design, my husband has just that, and it does not appear to be an accessible pool in the slightest. The work he did was absolutely beautiful and we receive nothing but compliments. Paul went above and beyond and made sure that we had all of the technology and features that would best fit our family. I especially appreciated his attention to pool safety as we have two small children. Paul has the most unique and gorgeous designs out there, which his portfolio consistently proves. Paul was a pleasure to work with on our project. His professionalism and his attention to detail were shining attributes that he displayed throughout the entire pool building process. Paul is certainly a perfectionist and left us confident that our pool was absolutely flawless.

I was the General Contractor on a project where the client brought in their own "pool guy." I was not excited about working with a new subcontractor, let alone a swimming pool contractor who would not be reporting to me. I have found swimming pool contractors to be the biggest a PITA of any trades. WHAT A BREATH OF FRESH AIR! Paolo Benedetti was remarkable. I cannot say enough about his professionalism. At our project team meetings, when he spoke up, it was always constructive. When he noted something that was not being done correctly, he pointed it out to ME. He allowed me to maintain control over my direct reports, while being an extra set of eyes. I found that he rarely opened his mouth without first doing his homework, He always knew the proper building code or trade & workmanship standard that applied. I found his attention to detail refreshing, in today's "who cares" world. He took advice when needed. When he disagreed, he always was prepared with the facts. He brought a level of execution and workmanship that was actually worthy of my project. His equipment room layout was like a nuclear power plant - done to perfection. The finish masonry and glass tiles were installed with virtually no cuts. The concrete structure was so perfect, that the finish work was installed with virtually zero corrections. I quickly stopped worrying about the out of town "pool guy." Paolo is a creative mastermind. The project architect and I found ourselves actually seeking his input of some complex construction and design issues. I cannot sing his praises loud enough. I will definitely be using his services on my next estate project. It's a no brainer!

We had 4-5 local swimming pool contractors come out to the house. They all had wild ideas about our project, but none really "got it" as far as what we wanted. I did some searching on-line and discovered Paolo Benedetti. It initially took a few days for him to get back to me, and I began to wonder. But, once we opened the lines of communication, he was prompt . Unlike the pool companies that we had out to the house, Paolo wanted to charge me a fee just to meet - I was startled at first. I had read his reviews and knew that he was very talented. My husband pushed me into paying him to come and meet with us. Paolo set aside a whole day just for us. We had lunch together, and chatted the day away. We convinced him to spend the night so that we could treat him to dinner! By the end of the day we "just knew" he was right for us... it was like we had been friends for years. Paolo was both erudite and enlightening. He is personable and intellectual - a classy guy. His knowledge of world history, architecture and swimming pool construction even amazed our engineer and architect. Paolo created a design that encompassed everything that we imagined - and many things that we had never thought of. We wanted a fire feature... but Paolo insisted that it be BOTH functional and visually pleasing. NOW - we are so glad that we listened to him. We would of only had a visual effect - not one of warmth and companionship. At first we had a difficult time mentally getting over the cost projections - in hindsight, he was very realistic, accurate and the specifications were warranted. When we asked, he explained why things were done a certain way and why that made it more expensive. He always took the high road, to ensure that our project will retain it's "like new" appearance. It has been 3 years now, and things still look great. No matter where we turned in the project, I knew if I asked Paolo his design opinion that he'd have one. And 99.999% of the time they were RIGHT ON THE MONEY! Our architect was dumbfounded by Paolo's innate design instincts. We paid a lot more for our project than if we had hired someone from the Los Angeles area. I am SO GLAD that I got my husband to break loose with the extra money. A travel budget on a swimming pool construction project is unheard of... but I cannot imagine there being anyone else on the planet who could do what Paolo did. The best part is, that we get to enjoy and admire the results everyday! And like the other reviews, we also actually have a new friend - the aquatic artisan Paolo Benedetti!

SUMMARY: Paolo is an artist who is passionate about his craft. He has elevated swimming pools to a fine art form. I would recommend Aquatic Technology Pool and Spa without hesitation (and have). Paolo is expensive, but like the other reviews that I've read -I agree HE IS TOTALLY WORTH IT! DETAILS: We reside in the Beverly Hills area of Los Angeles, CA. We learned of Paolo through business associates he had done work for. They spoke so highly of him, that we just had to meet him. We are SO glad that we did! We had been working with an architect on the restoration plans of a historic property that we own in Pebble Beach, CA. The architect's ideas for the pool just didn't seem right to us. Though the original pool had been removed decades before, we wanted it back into the same area. Not only did Paolo agree with us, he actually had images of the original pool in a book in his library. As it turned out, he is very well traveled. He had been to Spain countless times and has an innate understanding of the architecture and period details. He commissioned custom ceramic tiles from Spain to match the period, but that are unique to us. He even turned us onto some vendors that made authentic fixtures for inside the house (hand painted ceramic sinks, lamps and iron work). He charged us like an architect for the design and detail work that he performed. His work was always done when promised. He even hand drew some perspective drawings that were incredible in their detail. Paolo collaborated well with our architect, even after the architect's initial refusal to work with some "pool guy." By the end of our project, they had developed a deep friendship & Paolo had earned his utmost respect. In fact they are working on a project together for another client, as a result of our insistence that he work with Paolo. Paolo is highly organized, detailed and focused. He ensured that his subcontractors knew what was expected of them (in workmanship, specifications and even jobsite cleanliness!). He inspected their work as it progressed and made corrections to ensure that we had a flawless final product. In retrospect, I cannot imagine pulling off out project without his insight, knowledge and resourcefulness. I also admired that he was dedicated to his family & refused to work (or his subcontractors) on weekends. "Everything needs balance" he used say, over & over about many facets of the project. The construction contract was "cost plus." After talking to some prior clients of his about my reservations of a cost plus contract, I learned that he is very dedicated to his clients. He shops for bargains, obtains the best value from the subcontractors and negotiated discounts from vendors (that he passed through to us). He even provided copies of vendor invoices to substantiate his billings. I found his honesty and loyalty very refreshing in today's business climate! Paolo is now working on plans for the yard of our Coldwater Canyon home... ...AND WE CAN NOT WAIT!

We have had the pleasure of collaborating with Paolo on some very unique projects over the past 10-15 years where the designs have been beyond the typical. He has included our HydraLux slatted automatic swimming pool cover on many of these perimeter overflow pools for a aesthetically clean and seamless installation. We look forward to our next project together.