Category: Featured

Backyard pools in Florida are pretty common, but Olympus Pools has helped hundreds of New Tampa and Wesley Chapel homeowners make a uniquely personal statement with theirs.

“We take pride in giving people the most bang for their buck,” says James Staten, who owns Olympus Pools with his wife, Alexis.

The options available to homeowners who want to build a pool are extensive with Olympus, ranging from traditional models that tend to be linear in shape, to blends of rustic and contemporary styles that combine the basic elements of fire, stone and water into a backyard oasis.

Designs can accommodate features such as a dry, sunken living room, swim-up bar and a cozy grotto illuminated with LED lighting and fire bowls. Water and lighting features can be managed from anywhere there’s a phone signal, via a smartphone app.

While the pool design will be one of a kind, Staten says the level of customer service also  is uniformly high.

“We build them the same way for our customers that we build them for ourselves,” he says.

Olympus Pools is licensed for commercial as well as residential pool construction, but Staten says creating the perfect backyard water wonderland for each customer’s needs is the heart of the business. In fact, he added, his company built 240 pools last year and he attributes this success to focusing on three key elements: design, construction and service.

“We try to make sure we’re the best in each of these three,” he says.

The Design Of Your Dreams

Making a splash (pun intended) with a great backyard pool starts with design and Staten says meeting each customer’s individual needs, interests and construction requirements are always considered in that process.

“Every design we do is custom,” he says.“ “Every single one. We don’t have any templates or cookie-cutter designs.”

Staten says the goal is creating a pool that’s well-designed, meets your budget considerations and suits your lifestyle.

Olympus is staffed with pool designers like Toni Masse, who combines a background in construction with interior design experience in her swimming pool creations. She says creating a sunken living room for a pool has similarities to designing one inside a house.

“I enjoy the process of meeting new people and designing their pools,” she says, adding that paying attention to what  customers want as important in meeting their expectations. “Part of being a designer is listening to the customers.” 

Olympus designers can take your ideas and turn them into construction projects that Staten says will usually take six-to-eight weeks.

“We’re known for building pools very quickly,” he says.

Whether you want to add a spa to an existing pool or get a complete backyard makeover, Olympus pool designers stay connected with you throughout the process.

“I continue with you throughout the construction, because I’m committed to the customer from beginning to the end,” says Santiago Serna, who has 28 years of experience designing pools. Serna adds that he gets a great sense of satisfaction when he visits for a follow-up check of the construction and sees families having a barbecue around their pool.

Building a backyard pool means plunging into the deep end of home construction permitting that ensures the work conforms to legal standards. Staten says Olympus Pools manages that process, which is one way the company provides a high level of service to its customers.

“We handle all of the permits and engineering so the customer can sit back,” he says. “We do all the hard work.”

Customers can keep track of the progress on their project with construction updates they can receive as text messages.

“It keeps the customers involved and helps keep us on schedule,” says Staten.

Satisfied Customers

Receiving text updates is a feature that Dan Carroll says he appreciates about his customer experience with Olympus Pools.

“They tell you what’s going on,” says Carroll. “The quality,, I think, is outstanding. I got exactly what I wanted.”

Another thing that Staten emphasizes in his company’s pools is safety, from using unblockable channel drains to the screens and fences enclosing them.

“I have five children myself,” says the Live Oak Preserve resident. “So, it’s extremely important to me that you have the safest possible pool.”

Once your pool is completed, Staten says it will add value and “salability” to your home, although the big payoff to pool ownership isn’t necessarily financial. “You automatically have plans for every weekend,’’ he says. “My favorite memories are hanging out in a backyard pool with family and friends.”

Staten started his company after working in the pool construction industry for more than a decade.

“I’ve worked every job in the field,” says Staten, who manages the operation from the company offices located just off Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., near Tampa International Airport (west of Dale Mabry Hwy.)

Staten attributes a lot of the growth of Olympus Pools to referrals from customers. He also uses social media to generate interest from customers and people in the pool construction industry.

He also says his company’s page on Facebook (search: OlympusPools ) is a primary source for the most up-to-date information, photos and videos about pool design, construction trends and other information.

In addition to the Facebook page, you can visit OlympusPoolsFL.com, call 983-7854 or see the ad on page 28.  The Olympus Pools office & design center is located at 4422 N. Lauber Way in Tampa.