Updown Farmhouse is a boutique hotel in the Kent countryside, where XL Pools installed the widest and deepest Aqua Technics pool, the Torino as part of its guest offering. Designed to complement the hotel's relaxed, rustic character, the pool combines generous swimming space and social seating with commercial-grade filtration, automatic water treatment and efficient heating, creating a luxury experience capable of meeting the demands of regular hotel use.

Updown Farmhouse deserves recognition because the best hospitality pools are not necessarily the biggest or most elaborate. They are the ones that understand the place they belong to and improve the experience of staying there.This pool does exactly that.Updown Farmhouse has a very recognisable character: relaxed, rustic and luxurious without feeling formal. A highly polished or overly contemporary pool could easily have felt out of place. Instead, the natural pool colour, Fossil Pearl tumbled stone and surrounding planting allow the pool to feel established within the grounds.The Torino was also particularly well suited to hospitality use. At 11m long it provides genuine swimming space, while the integrated social bench recognises that hotel guests often want to sit, relax and spend time around the water rather than simply swim lengths.What guests don't see is equally important.A three-hour turnover, automatic free-chlorine and pH control, supplementary UV treatment, inverter heating and an automatic Coverseal safety cover provide the infrastructure required to manage changing bather loads while maintaining consistent water quality, safety and energy efficiency. Nano-Graphene composite construction, Pool ColourGua

The brief was not to create a pool that looked overtly commercial, but one that felt completely at home within Updown Farmhouse's established identity. The hotel is known for understated luxury, natural materials and relaxed countryside surroundings, so every visible element needed to reflect this. We recommended the Aqua Technics Torino, our largest one-piece model, providing an 11m swimming length, and 4.45m width, alongside generous integrated bench seating particularly suited to guests relaxing and socialising. The pool colour was kept natural and restrained, complemented by Fossil Pearl tumbled stone copings whose softer, aged appearance works beautifully with the farmhouse and surrounding gardens. Behind the appearance, we advised on a specification suitable for hospitality use, including increased circulation, automatic chemical control, UV treatment and efficient heating. The result feels like part of the hotel rather than an addition to it.

The installation comprises an 11m x 4.45m Aqua Technics Torino one-piece pool, with depths ranging from 1.0m to 2.0m and an approximate water volume of 55m³. The Torino was selected not only for its scale but for its suitability to the hospitality environment. Its integrated social bench provides an area where guests can sit and relax without compromising the main swimming space. The Aqua Technics shell incorporates Nano-Graphene within its composite construction, increasing flexural strength and supporting long-term structural performance. Pool ColourGuard® dual-surface technology protects the interior against chemical and UV exposure, while Microtech® antimicrobial protection provides additional protection against microbial growth. These technologies were particularly valuable for a pool intended for regular hotel use. The pool was installed with compacted 14:1 screed backfill and a reinforced-concrete ring beam. A hydrostatic relief valve and 600mm groundwater inspection chamber were incorporated, while pipework was pressure-tested to 15psi before backfilling. Filtration is provided by a Waterco Micron 30-inch side-mount filter with glass media, paired with a Zodiac FloPro 1.5HP 150T circulation pump. The system circulates approximately 18.5m³/h, achieving a three-hour turnover. This was an important consideration given the pool's hospitality use and potential variation in daily bather load. Circulation incorporates two 63mm deep-suction outlets with safety grilles, two Astral stainless-steel front-access skimmers and two 63mm Ocean return outlets with stainless-steel covers. Suction and return lines have a 55mm internal diameter. Water quality is managed by a Compact Controller MK3, automatically monitoring and controlling free chlorine and pH. This is supported by an 80W Pool Technologie UV system for secondary treatment, helping maintain water clarity and bather comfort during periods of regular use. Heating is provided by a Polytropic Master Inverter L+ three-phase air-source heat pump, selected to provide efficient modulating temperature control appropriate to the extended operating requirements of a hotel pool. The design allows approximately 2m³ of water per bather, equating to a theoretical capacity of approximately 25–27 bathers. However, the hotel generally restricts use to around 10 guests at one time, giving the filtration and treatment systems additional capacity during normal operation. The pool is now fitted with an automatic Coverseal safety cover, providing secure protection when the pool is not in use while also reducing evaporation, heat loss and debris ingress. Its low-profile design was particularly well suited to the hotel setting, maintaining the clean appearance of the pool area while improving safety and energy efficiency. Working within a live boutique hotel was one of the project's biggest challenges. Construction activities had to be coordinated around the hotel's calendar and guest experience, while specification and finish changes required continued communication between XL Pools, the client and suppliers. Following commissioning, hotel staff received operational training covering filtration, dosing and emergency isolation, supported by an Operation & Maintenance Manual, certificates, drawings and maintenance information.

XL Pools Ltd