California Pools & Landscape

You have heard the nightmares right? Wanted to build a pool, guy came got his money and 6 months latter there was a muddy hole in the ground and no pool builder. What the what!!! Well thats not the case with California pools they keep showing up and with one more experienced and polite crew after the next! In fact they won’t stop showing up till it’s the amazing master piece you had envisioned. From the sales team to the production team A+. Now excuse me while I go drink my margarita and float away on my fabulous pool!

California Pools originally built our pool 20 years ago. We recently had them do a remodel of the pool and the same outstanding work and service excellence we experienced 20 years ago is still the same today. Chris, our project manager and Matt our superintendent did an excellent job of making suggestions, keeping the project on track and keeping us informed. We are extremely happy with the final product and highly recommend California Pools.

We used Cal pools to build our new pool, fire pit, and built-​in BBQ.
Our sales guy (Marc Olsen) was excellent, and the project coordinator Sarese was hyper-​responsive to everything.
We love our new pool, and would definitely recommend Cal Pools to others.

The company was hired to perform extensive landscaping. Though I encountered some challenges during the process, I have to commend the owner’s personal involvement to ensure a satisfactory product was achieved in the end. A vast improvement to our yard.

My wife Lisa and I recently completed a major pool and patio remodel project with California pools. There are no words to describe how satisfied we are with both the process and the final product. Todd Hutchins, our project manager, has truly gone above and beyond in guiding this project though to the end. He listened patiently to both my wife and I and helped to craft our ideas into nothing short of a backyard paradise. Late one evening as the sun set Todd was out in our yard personally digging and pulling up drip lines in preparation for our turf application the following morning. Nothing shocking there except that that part of the project was not being done by his company! He knew that if this detail was not taken care of then there would have been a problem with lines under the turf. When you see a representative from a company go out of their way like this for a customer it really speaks volumes of both that individual and the entire organization they represent. In our minds, that was the definition of customer service. His work ethic and that of California Pools are beyond reproach. We obtained several estimates in the beginning of the project and California Pools was not the least expensive. Trust me, it is because you get what you pay for.
Every team California Pools sent to our home was efficient, skillful and respectful of our property. A few standouts come to mind however. The masonry people who crafted our waterfall and the travertine team who laid the deck and the patio were true craftsman and the pride they took in their work was obvious. They were perfectionists from beginning to end, just what any proud homeowner would demand.
California Pools is a terrific company with outstanding employees and very high quality standards. I would not hesitate to use them on a future project. In fact, I would be uncomfortable with any company but California Pools at the helm. You can trust them to turn out an amazing project with customer service unrivaled in the industry.
Scott and Lisa
Scottsdale, AZ

Worst experience here, felt very unprofessional and the rudest staff. Started from the entry point where I met the consultant, Robby. Went through the specs of what I wanted he seemed uninterested said he would get back to me 2 days later. Took two weeks to hear from him with a plan with nothing that I wanted or anything that we had talked about. He wanted to meet in person got confrentational with me and acted so unprofessional I walked out of the meeting. Lack of customer respect and challenging me that we had not talked about anything prior. Would not recommend this business.

I’m not a customer, nor have I dealt with this company personally. I’m leaving a review as a neighbor who has had to look at the remains of the «work in progress» for the past several weeks. My neighbor is having work done in his backyard, but for the past week has been left with a kiddie pool literally full of concrete and trash from the contractors that were out last (a week ago). From what I can see, they get materials dropped off every 4 – 7 days that just sit around for another few days until someone new comes out. I don’t know the project that is in the works, so maybe the 3+ weeks of work is appropriate, but certainly leaving a client’s home in disarray isn’t.

They just finished my massive pool with grotto waterfall and waterslide. It turned out amazing. My contact through the entire process was Marcee Walker… she did such an amazing job keeping me in the loop and getting back to me within minutes anytime I had a question. I highly recommend California pools… and especially having the pleasure of dealing with someone as pleasant as Marcee!

California pools is hands down the best pool builder in the valley. Get all the bids you like but do yourself a favor and choose California Pools.
California Pools built the pool at my current home in 1996 and it’s still in pristine condition, the original plaster made it 18 years and probably could have made it longer but I felt like changing up the color and finish (went from white plaster to midnight blue pebble)
I have had very few problems with this pool over the years and I am very satisfied with the workmanship.
If I were building a pool today I would not hesitate for one second to have California Pools build my pool.
Five Stars!

I am in love with my new backyard… and CA Pools and Landscaping!
From complete dirt (litterally) to a colorful masterpiece! Who would have thought that some trees, plants, lighting and turf would make me want to hang out in 100 (plus) degree weather.
The entire job took two days. The crews were in and out and were very respectful and clean. I would highly recommend CA Pools not only for your pool, but for your landscaping remodeling needs!

California Pools are an EXCELLENT pool builder!!! November 2014 we put in our 3^rd pool and backyard with them since our first in 1996!!! We have used them 3 times because they build GORGEOUS pools and backyards!!! They are VERY TALENTED, EFFICIENT AND THEY STAND BEHIND THEIR VERY HIGH END QUILTY WORKMANSHIP!!!
We have had minor cosmetic issues with our pool but MICHELE GARCIA in their Warranty Department is FANTASTIC!!! She responds IMMEDIATELY to Warranty Requests and gets the guys right out to your house to do whatever has to be done to make your pool/​backyard «perfect!!» IT IS SO REFRESHING to work with such a FRIENDLY, PROFESSIONAL AND VERY EFFICIENT person when you need a warranty issue taken care of!!!
We can NOT say enough GREAT things about CA POOLS… from the initial meeting with TIM who designed our pool to Laurie who helped us pick out everything to Michele Garcia who has addressed any warranty requests we have emailed to her VERY PROMPTLY AND WITH SUCH CARING!!!

We love our pool!!! We had some problems with the company that installed our Travertine Pavers but Todd made sure everything was fixed to our satisfaction. Thank you Todd and California Pools for standing behind your warranty.

Completely satisfied from start to finish. While Cal may not be the least expensive pool you can build in this market, it is an excellent product. Having had multiple pools over the years, I am very comfortable recommending this company. The professionalism and friendliness of this team are extraordinary from start to finish!

We just wrapped up the build on our second pool with California Pools and we are thrilled with the results. Our project this time around was a whole lot more involved than the one they did for us 10 years ago, but they did a fantastic job again.
The first person we met was our sales rep, Aaron Heninger and he’s a great representative for the company. Aaron is friendly, knowledgeable and easy to work with. He spent several sessions with us, first meeting to get our ideas and then when he presented the final CAD version to us. We had multiple changes during our build, probably close to a dozen, and each time he responded immediately and got us a change order within hours.
The appointment with Lori to pick colors/​finishes was a pleasure. Lori was helpful without being at all pushy and was totally easy to work with. I got through with my decision making quickly and have been happy with every choice.
I spoke with Marcee Walker almost from the first day and she is just a sweetheart. Again, very responsive to every little thing that came up, very easy to work with, knows what she’s doing and kept the project on track. I’m sure she’s super nice to everyone but half the time I felt like I was calling a friend to talk about my project. Marcee was great about keeping me in the loop and letting me know when each crew would be out.
Every crew came in and got their part of the job done efficiently and well. We had a few minor glitches with our landscapers not really having a plan of attack on day one, but with Marcee & Luis we got it all sorted out quickly and everything worked out great and most importantly, it looks great. From the excavation at the beginning through the misting system install, the whole project seemed to flow and move along smoothly.
Special shout outs to:
The travertine crew: We had a massive amount of travertine laid for this project and these guys did an amazing job. It came out better than we ever thought it could, it’s simply stunning!
Pergola dude: One guy, three days, amazing. I don’t think this guy even took a break, he just methodically put together my pergola from the ground up by himself. It came out exactly as I’d envisioned and made such a difference in how our backyard looks. It even made an eyesore of an outbuilding into something that looks like it was meant to be part of my backyard oasis.
We had a huge pool party after the project was done and everyone commented on how gorgeous our yard looks now. We couldn’t agree more. Overall all, we had a great experience and we would use California Pools again if we ever needed a pool built or remodeled.

Update since signing the contract — might have used a 3.5 rating on the process of finalizing CAD /​color details. But as each of the people I interacted with during this phase have been helpful and professional (and very friendly) I’ll keep the rating a 4.
I think with the number of people involved in the discussions (and employee vacations), some of the details got lost in the shuffle and I had to clarify on a few occasions — just took a little more time/​effort to make sure the plan aligned with the various conversations than I would have expected. I should be getting the «final» version of the plan/​CAD tomorrow or the next day — I anticipate that it will be accurate this go round. I do however recommend looking at every detail on your plan and change orders to make sure everything is as expected/​requested.
I also recommend booking a 2 hour slot to pick all of your colors (pebble/​tile/​decking/​masonry/​pergola/​etc) — I made 3 trips to the showroom (the first ended up being spent on CAD adjustments) and ended up forgoing the inclusion of a decorative tile on the edges of Baja ledge and stairs — mainly due to option exhaustion and avoiding a 4^th trip to the store.
Excavation was to begin tomorrow morning — but learned this afternoon that it will be delayed until end of day (or Friday morning) due to «repairs» needed on the equipment. Not the end of the world by any means; but just noting the lack of backup equipment.
PS — the subcontractor who did my layout (Paul /​«PJ») was fantastic — he had a good suggestion on one area that I was quite concerned about given the AZ monsoon potential (I’m a recent transplant) — grading/​drainage! Also adjusted dimensions of my stairs on the fly — which was a GOOD change both functionally and aesthetically.
BTW — this is first pool I’ve had built — so maybe the above items are typical of this process; I just noticed a few improvement opportunities, in my opinion that is. Hoping the dig — and whatever comes next??? goes well (waiting to learn of the steps /​duration /​timeline). Clearly I’m ALL about the details ;)

I recently had a pool/​landscape done with you guys and I can’t say enough about how great the experience was! Aaron Heninger was the first person we met from California Pools. We got 3 bids from 3 different companies and California Pools was the winner HANDS DOWN, not just because of price, but because they gave us everything we wanted and more and were always there for us from start to finish/​day/​night. We really loved working with Aaron and appreciated him taking a HUGE chunk out of his day to answer ALL our questions and coming up with a design right then and there. Through out the process, we never once felt like just a number. Anytime we had questions/​concerns, Aaron or Marcee got back to us right away. I really appreciated that I could reach out to Aaron anytime, including weekends for any questions. Everyone was great and we would HIGHLY recommend your company to all of our friends. We have a 4 month old and a 2 yeard old that absolutely love their new pool/​backyard. We have been able to spend a ton of time outdoors and have lots of fun/​laugher and that’s what it’s all about. We were so worried with choosing a larger company, but after going through the entire process, we would work with you in a heartbeat! Your entire team rocks and you guys should all be very proud! Again thank you!
Cheers:)

I made an appointment with DJ. The first appointment he had to cancel. The second time I had available he was not. And the third appointment I had to email to confirm and then he was a no show! I received no calls or emails to inform me that the appointment could not be kept.
Below is my confirmation email:
Good Morning–
Yes! DJ has you down for 9am tomorrow at your home. We are excited to meet with you
–Meghan
Sent: Friday, May 29, 2015 8:46 AM
To: Meghan Gonzales
Cc: DJ McClanahan

We hired CA Pools to build our 2^nd pool and did have some problems with the build. Fortunately, as soon as their President Jeremy learned about this, he immediately made an appointment with us and brought out some of his top guys to review our issues.
They spent the next two weeks fixing every single issue for us and then did some more really nice work.
We’re very happy with the results and very impressed with how everything was handled.
I’d highly recommend them based on the quality of their final product and the superior way they handled a difficult situation.

After building our home we contacted all of the major pool builders in the Phoenix metropolitan area to quote us on a pool and complete our landscaping for our backyard. I spent a lot of time carefully reviewing each company to ultimately achieve the highest quality product at the best price possible. (Please do not confuse best price with cheapest.) I also know with a pool I would need to have a positive trustworthy relationship with a pool company as I would require periodic maintenance and support. I decided on awarding the job to California pools. From early on in the pre-​sale process I felt California Pools sincerely valued me as a customer and wanted to earn my respect as a very satisfied customer.
What grabbed my attention early on and differentiated them from the competition is they listened to what my family wanted and took my ideas and built me an amazing back yard. They didn’t try telling me what I wanted but took the time to explain the different options in regards to chemicals, pool maintenance, and equipment. Not once did they bad mouth their competition which contrasts to what we experienced with their competitors. They used phrases like, «we build a pool this way and believe this is the most robust way because.»
The owner of the company (Mike Smith) called me right away to introduce himself and gave me his personal cell phone to call him if I ever needed to. He also checked in with me throughout the construction. California Pools is a large company but you get the attention and feeling of a small family owned business. The people who came in to do the work also were very professional and paid close attention to details. We are extremely satisfied with the entire process. California Pools uses the highest quality products, are modern with their processes and technology, and have a customer centric staff that is knowledgeable, courteous, and always willing to help. Very few companies demonstrate the highest standards of integrity and I honestly believe California Pools is one of the few that do it consistently.

I wanted to use California Pools. It was going to take 2 weeks to get a guy out for a quote. Found another sales person in our area and he was able to make it out the following day even feeling under the weather. He was very thoughtful and professional. It took a week to get a design back. (understandable during the busy season) I liked how he listened to our needs. He didn’t want to make any revisions to the design until we put a deposit down.
The ratings were really good with California and the awards they won really made me feel this would be the best company for us. Wasn’t too impressed with some issues and comments on the BBB how they responded. No one is perfect and I would not expect them to be as long as if there is an issue they correct it.
California ended up being our second choice. Cant really say a bad thing about them.
Taking so long to get quote, response time to questions, 6 – 8 week quoted lead time to start dig, and then the products which was still plaster based I wasn’t sure of. They had other options, but were much more. California pools seems like a great company.