What You Need to Know About the Grotto
There’s plenty of pool-industry lingo that gets thrown around when discussing different designs. Lagoon. Modern. Infinity. And those are just the pool shapes. (If you wanna know more about the most popular pool shapes, check out our blog about it here.)
Then there are design elements: Scuppers. Spillovers. Coping. But one of the most misunderstood aspects has always been one of the most intriguing – the grotto. We’ll be peeling back the curtain on where grottoes come from, what makes them so enticing, and why you should (or shouldn’t) have one in your pool.
What is a Grotto?
By definition, a grotto is an artificial cave used as a decorative feature. It’s meant to look like a natural feature, like those shallow little caves that end up behind waterfalls from eons of erosion. They were popularized in ancient Greek and Roman cultures as decorative features cut into rocks and were often fed by the underground springs.
The popularity and beauty of these ancient grottoes inspired later Italian, French and English royalty to include huge grottoes in their gardens. Though these were often much more detailed and much less natural than a true grotto of earlier times.
And while modern-day pool grottoes are a far cry from those ancient caverns from antiquity, they still carry the same elements of natural stone and flowing water like their ancestors of old.
Natural pool grotto
When we start talking about pool design and the term “natural stone” starts flying, the most obvious match would be a natural pool. Lagoon style pools already have the natural and rough cut stone, so cutting a cavern into the side of a stone waterfall would be the perfect place to start. But that’s just the beginning of what’s possible.
There are walk-through grottoes, where you enter from one side of the waterfall and exit from another. Spa grottoes (or spa-ttoes, as I like to call them), where the spa is recessed inside the cavern for a more natural “bathing pool” sort’ve feel.
Bar grottoes, lazy river grottoes, and (given enough space) literal man cave grottoes can all be built into the pool for the ultimate place to escape on a hot summer day.
Modern pool grotto
Natural pools don’t get to have all the fun, though. If giant Disney-water-ride boulders aren’t your style, you can opt for a sleek grotto to complement a more modern pool. While something as hefty as a grotto usually wouldn’t go well into a low square pool, there are certain designs that blend the best of both worlds.
The best way to hide the big backside of a modern (or any) grotto is to have a higher landscape elevation behind the pool. If you have a large yard that slopes toward the house, a raised back beam would be needed anyway. You might as well make the best use of it you can by carving a modern grotto into the side of the hill.
With a large flat-cut table-rock as the cover, or maybe even a raised lounge area to span the top, you can maintain the aesthetics of the pool design while getting your built-in shade structure. And the best part is that the materials that make up the rest of the pool can be carried through the grotto as well. So you can finally have the room covered in the 1” glass tile that you’ve always wanted.
Parts of a grotto
While it may sound like a grotto is just a hole in the ground on the side of a pool, there’s more that goes into it than you may think. This is where we get into the “it depends” portion of the article, but depending on the style and construction of your grotto, you may need additional elements. As a general rule, here are the basics –
Water returns - Since a grotto is usually a sharp deviation from the typical water circulation of the pool, dedicated returns need to be placed inside the grotto to maintain proper flow. And no, a waterfall at the front doesn’t count as a return.
Proper support - Depending on the type of grotto, you need to make sure that the proper support is built in. There can be literal tons of stone and water at any one time, and the last thing you want is to have a problem while you’re relaxing inside.
Veneer - Sometimes this can be completely different material to stand out, or the same tile or stone as the rest of the pool for a seamless look.
Lighting - Grottoes are literal caves, so they’re pretty dark. Unless that’s the vibe you’re going for, make sure you put some source of light inside, whether it’s above water in the stone, or below water in the pool wall.
Waterfall - This can be a true stone waterfall, or just a water curtain. But the hallmark entrance to a grotto is some sort of falling water.
Should I have a grotto?
That’s really for you to decide, but it’s true that they’re not for everyone and every pool. Here are some things to think about it you’re thinking of whether or not a grotto is right for your design –
If you like everything on the ground-level, it’s hard to have a grotto. They inherently stick out, and if nothing else on your pool does, they’ll stick out like a sore thumb.
If you wouldn’t like the extra maintenance, a grotto may be out for you. They’re hard to reach with brushes and nets while standing on the sidelines, and often require a swimsuit to fully clean.
If you’re not ready for the added costs, you might wanna pass. There are a lot more cost-effective ways to get a water feature into your pool (which you can read about here.)
But if you’d love having something that’s unique, and you don’t mind the extra cost or upkeep, a grotto could be the perfect feature for you. The ancient myth was that grottoes were the homes of divinities, and there are few pool features as magical as your own pool hideaway and grotto.
