The UKâs multiple water leisure sectors celebrated their biggest night of the year at the hotly-contested UK Pool & Spa Awards.
This yearâs awards entries smashed through the 140 mark from over 60 companies, including some from as far afield as the United States and Africa.
Continually evolving and improving, the 2015 UK Pool & Spa Awards saw a Gold and Silver standard introduced to maximise exposure for companies involved. Over 100 entries achieved the Gold Standard and over 40 reached the Silver Standard; all were rewarded with a certificate of recognition.
Overall category winners across 25 categories were each presented with a certificate and a trophy at the special prize giving and networking evening, which was this year held at the brand new Resorts World complex in Birmingham.
âThere is a real feel good factor within the industry at the moment and the outstanding entries received in this yearâs UK Pool & Spa Awards exemplify that,â says Christina Connor, editor of Pool & Spa Scene magazine, the independent publication behind the annual competition.
âOnce again, the sector raised the bar across all areas of water leisure, from large commercial swimming pools to residential hot tub installations.
âThis year we welcomed more entries, from more companies, across more categories than ever before â setting a new competition record.â
Founded in 2010, the UK Pool and Spa Awards are organised by Waterland Media and are open to all companies across all sectors of water leisure, regardless of trade affiliation. Voting by the judging panel â made up of industry representatives and professionals from all over the world – accounted for 60 per cent of the overall vote and public online voting accounted for the remaining 40 per cent of the vote.
Stand out categories in the 2015 awards included the Residential Indoor and Outdoor Pool of the Year categories and the Outstanding Pool Design award, which all featured an A-list line-up of exceptional pool projects.
Portrait Pools & Enclosures took the top spot in the Residential Indoor Pool category, with a luxurious 13m x 5m concrete skimmer pool that includes a spa pool and a bespoke custom-built sauna. The Portrait team successfully met the clientâs brief by designing the steel reinforced concrete swimming pool and sauna, featuring top of the range finishes that really had the âwowâ factor.
The Residential Outdoor Pool of the Year title was awarded to Falcon Pools for a 9m x 4m pool, featuring 50mm slate tiles on pool walls and large format slate tiles on the floor, with grey grout and adhesive. The client had very exact requirements relating to the look and internal finish of the pool and wanted to replicate something they had seen in a high end leisure complex at a hotel recently visited.
Two companies were praised in the Oustanding Pool Design Wellnessâ winning project was a highly contested contract which included the design and installation of an innovative swimming pool, sauna, steam room, experience shower, foot spa and heated tiled loungers. World Leisure was awarded the accolade for a commercial pool refurbishment project at Northwich Memorial Leisure Centre, which featured a moving floor and a 56m long flume.
Three companies were named category winners of the Hot Tub Project of the Year award â Waterstream, Wittering West and Splash-Tec. The project by Waterstream involved the installation of a Villeroy & Boch hot tub on the Penthouse of a five bedroom apartment on the seventh storey floor in an exclusive area of London. Wittering Westâs winning project was the installation of a Jacuzzi hot tub at a picturesque private residence beside a lake, and Splash-Tec was praised for its retro fit of a commercial style overflow spa for a 80ft super-yacht in Italy.
Visit the UK Pool & Spa Awards website for the full list of 2015 award winners and photos from the awards evening.
