Ten Things That Matter the Most
Pools, Decks, and Lanais – Is Bigger Better?
In a rush? Want to jump straight to the crib sheet?
Yes. Bigger is Better.
… most of the time.
Got a minute longer? Let’s look at the more in-depth answers. We’ll do this backwards and start with lanais.
Lanais
I’ve heard different terminology so to be sure, in our world the lanai is the covered area of the pool deck. Not all villas have them. They are usually built into the structure of the villa or created with an overhanging roof. The important thing is that they are covered because, and I’m not sure marketing people would like me saying this, sometimes in Florida it rains. Sometimes it rains like hell, like a million big taps in the sky have been opened at the same time. Thankfully these times don’t last long, but boy when they happen you either want to be inside or you want to be undercover.
Some villas don’t have a lanai. Some lanais are tiny with barely space for a small table and chairs. They’re small but they’re better than no lanai. Some lanais are huge with space for big dining tables and sun loungers. These are the lanais of the gods.
Eating outside is part of the Florida lifestyle and part of the enjoyment of being there. It’s nice to have a bit of shade and it’s nice to know that you are safe if the heaven’s open.
Similarly if you have people who prefer the shade rather than the sun you’ll need a villa with a lanai big enough to have some sun loungers. The Florida sun is really unforgiving. Shade lovers (and I hold up my hand here as being one of them) either need a lanai or they need some big parasols.
Decks
The thing with a deck is that this is where the sun loungers go. This is where you lie out in the sunshine, top up your tan, and generally love the time you spend there because this is why you are in Florida.
It sounds obvious but smaller decks don’t have room for many sun loungers. Surely you want a place where everyone gets their own lounger. Isn’t this one of the reasons for staying in a villa? To avoid that early morning fight to get towels on loungers and stake your claim for the day.
Even worse are those tiny decks where the loungers don’t actually fit between the villa and the pool and have to be turned onto an angle so that they don’t overhang the water. That’s no way to be. When you (reluctantly) get up off your lounger you want a safe footing without worrying about going arse over tip straight into the pool. You absolutely don’t want the risk of having to climb over other pieces of furniture to get to the fridge or coffee machine.
Pools
At a private villa you’re never going to get a 25m pool where you can swim lengths to train for the Olympics. But you don’t want a tiny pool either do you? You at least want enough space for everyone to be in the pool at the same time. Better still if the pool is big enough to drift around on a pool float. Better still again if there’s enough space for a game of pool volleyball. And best of all are the pools that are big enough for the next Olympic (or Villalympic) sport of alligator racing.
Bonus points go to pools that are big enough for all the above and have a sunshelf. If you haven’t heard the term before this is a very shallow area (just a few inches or cm) where you lie in the water while sunning yourself. This is proper luxury.