catocony

Modern pool heaters can get the water up in the mid-80s pretty quickly. I've had both heated and unheated pools at my homes, so I do know a bit about it. Would I go in water that's 77? Sure, because to me that's not cold. I much prefer temps in the 80s - 84 is just about perfect - but 77 is pretty close. If the air temps are about the same, there's a breeze and no sun, it would be chilly for a few minute, but still warmer than the ocean and the Med in late May is already fairly warm.

A couple other random thoughts on this. One, it's Greece. It's not a great country for customer service issues at hotels, at least in my experience. Two, it's Greece. Why waste time at a hotel pool when you could be out on the island? Three, if you're looking for a swimming spot for your kids, a $500 a night hotel is a pretty expensive way to find them a pool.

DesertNomad

Nope. I was a kid and that's just where we swam. We'd only go in on hot days (75-80F... remember, this is at 6,200' above sea level) in July and August.

SAN_Finn

I am also quite surprised by peoples believes on swimming in cold water. Growing up in Finland the ocean almost never gets much past 20 Celsius, We would swim for hours and hours without wetsuits or anything else. And so do my kids now though this summer water is a little warmer (23C / 73F last week in our summer cottage).

But I do agree with op that if you paid for a heated pool and it was not heated its not right and compensation is due.

onlysuites

onlysuites

pinniped

I've stayed in so many hotels with ice cold pools that I honestly expect it at this point. Doesn't matter whether it's a roadside Fairfield Inn or a Ritz Carlton - the pool is almost always freakin' cold unless it's a hot resort location.

It had never occurred to me that hotels might not want guests at the pool. I figured the Fairfield would want to use it as a differentiator and the Ritz would want you there because poolgoers are likely to buy $18 cocktails while they're there. Without the pool, I'd leave the property and spend money elsewhere.

However, I've never thought to complain about it. In my Fairfield case, it's usually the kids swimming for 15 minutes during a 1-night roadtrip stay - I know they can't really change the temperature for us at that point. We always tell the kids whether the hotel will have a pool, but always prepare them for the fact that it might not be something they actually swim in for very long.

Cledaybuck

72k is definitely too cold.

CJKatl

Please, enough of the victim bashing. It is obvious that had the OP not relied on the website and believed there was a heated pool the OP would have made other vacation plans. The vacation was very expensive and lacking in a promised amenity that was important to the OP. While pool temp would not be important to me, it is understandable that it was important to the OP and could be important to future guest like him who would make a different decision if they were not erroneously made to believe there was a heated, not semi-heated, pool.

This is not a roadside FI a family stays at for a night because it is near the Bar Mitzvah location or down the road from the state prison where they are going to visit a relative or near the fairgrounds; this is an expensive destination resort. There are different expectations and standards between the two. What one would expect at an FI pool is irrelevant except my hunch is most FIs would have probably raised the pool temp while the OP's family used the pool.

The OP complained while there, after getting home and having gotten nowhere, eventually on FT. Sorry to the posters who demand he should have come here first, but some people work on a solution first before going public. That's not being deceitful or wrong.

fastflyer

The crazy part of this is that the energy cost differential between heating the pool to 25C and 30C is probably a few 100 euros per week. Even less if they have a pool cover for the overnight hours. Why not have a pool where your guests with kids hang out and order lunch, drinks, etc.? Rather than encouraging them to leave the property because your cold swimming pool minimizes play for the kids during the day. And charging to heat the plunge pool? Time to invest in some renewable energy options, like a heat pump or some solar panels.

arlflyer

Interesting thread. I feel bad for the OP, but this is one of those things that's probably going to be difficult to remedy this far removed from the incident.

If there were previous temperature spikes to around 30C where active pool heating was not needed, then a dip back to air temperatures of 25C, then yes it's possible they could have dialed back the heating. But, that being said, if the daytime air temperature and the pool temperature were both at 25C, then the pool was probably being heated, as the air and water temp would not otherwise equilibrate.

Personally, I fall into the camp of the Finn and the New Hampshire person who previously posted - my summers growing up were to Maine, Northern Michigan, etc. Lots of cold water. And even living in Florida, the best treat in the summer is the springs, where the water is always 72F. That being said temperatures around 75 can be tough for swimming - you feel cold both in the water and out of the water.

Unfortunately not sure how far OP is going to get with this one; just strikes me as too much a matter of taste. In my recollection I've had more unenjoyable experiences with hotel pools that are too hot to offer relief in the summer than ones that are too cold to swim in. Seems rather a Goldilocks problem to me...

damon88

I am thankful to this thread for bringing this issue to my attention. As a data point I did hear back from Domes regarding the temperature our pool would be heated to for 100 euros a day:

"Your private pool while heated in October can reach the temperature of 25oC maximum. Kindly note that the maximum water temperature depend on the weather conditions"

This is actually making me reconsider whether I want to switch back to Blue Palace. I am going to email them to ask what temperature the Island Suite pool is heated to.

IMO it is outrageous to charge such a high fee to heat a pool and then only heat to 77 degrees. I looked it up:

According to the American Red Cross and the National Pool and Spa Institute, the recommended minimum swimming pool temperature for most aquatic activities should be between 83 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit. This range allows the body to adjust naturally to physical demands, even the minimal demands required while playfully swimming.

MSPeconomist

mikeef

I think his point is that while, anecdotally, you may have believed the pool to be below 25c (and it very well could have been), there's simply no way to prove that to either Marriott or the hotel.

I believe you when you say it wasn't as warm as they told you that it was. But it's going to be tough at this point to do much about it. I think that the answers that you have gotten here are good ones. Write something on TA (If the water was really bad, you probably won't be the first.), and follow up with both the hotel and Marriott at least once more. After that, you may have to accept it as a losing battle.

Mike

pinniped

Yeah, that's a wee bit on the chilly side.

TomBrady

I feel for the OP, as he shelled out a ton of money only to have a sub par experience. I would be just as pissed. Im also wondering what you are asking for? I have had bad experiences much more trivial than yours, and after a direct conversation with a Marriott employee I've walked away with 25,000 points. Perhaps I missed it, but what exactly are looking for. I bet you would be able to get 30,000 to even 90,000 points if you are forceful enough on the phone. But if your asking for $1200 back, or something like that, then you are probably .... out of luck.

I would also advise against doing the CC dispute. If you never intend on going back to a Marriott property or have no MR points left, than I say go for it, nothing left to lose. However if you have a decent point balance, and some status with MR, by opening up a CC dispute you could be flushing that account down the toilet. There terms and conditions are pretty liberal with their power, and by disputing the charge, they could just blackball you from future stays and close your account. The rental car companies are notorious for doing this.

Also on a side note. The autograph properties, in my experience, often play by their own rules. They are very loosely tied to Marriott, essentially just for the rewards program. Frequently I have issues getting my points and stays to show up into my MR account. Numerous times I've shown up at autograph hotels, and they have no record of my reservation even though I booked at MR.com It does not shock me that you are having this level of trouble with a autograph property, For this reason I often avoid autograph hotels. MR is probably giving you the run around because the hotel is giving them a run around.

All in all, I hope it works out for you, and I at least hope you enjoyed your stay, because the pool being cold should have been a blip not an absolute disaster.