I AM NOT WEALTHY AT ALL, SO READ THIS TO SAVE MONEY. I dealt with every pool contractor in Palm Springs, and with ARCHITECTUAL BLUE, the OWNER made sure that I got what I wanted, but ALWAYS told me ways to spend less money. The outstanding thing includes that within Palm Springs there is no more historical place than Sherman's Deli, and ARCH BLUE created THAT AMAZING OUTDOOR PATIO DINING, with a watering system for the outdoor flowers and that was 100% ARCH BLUE. And it is not just businesses or homes: ARCH BLUE handles the most water design and systems for THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS (when he is at the many mansions throughout the desert.) I wanted a Buddhist/Zen Garden, and the owner took me to a special place hidden behind a hill of desert sand and boulders: I GOT AN OUTDOOR LIVING ROOM WITH MATCHING GRANITE CARVED LOVE SEAT, MASTER CHAIR, FIRE PIT, AND UMBRELLA HOLDER!!!! ALL FROM THE SAME QUARRY SO THEY ALL MATCH PERFECTLY!! THE OUTSIDE ROUGH GRANITE FITS INTO NATURE, AND THE INSIDE POLISHED SURFACE HOLDS THE HEAT WHEN THE NIGHTS ARE COLD, and a gentle cooling surface when the weather is hot. AND THIS IS BETWEEN TWO OF MY PALM TREES THAT HAVE GROWN TWO PER SPACE, and as a retired cop my pension isn't very high for the rising costs. AN OUTDOOR LIVING ROOM is better than the MILLIONAIRES HAVE!!! And it is not the fault of the owner that I went over budget: I fell in love with a CARVED SMOOTH TOP GRANITE LOUNGE CHAIR. And this is a place where the owner knew my income and intervened, because the lounge was so close to matching the granite of the other four, and I am good at talking tough people into going to jail without any injury, but my negotiation skills have saved people wanting to commit suicide, which happens in 44 years of being in uniform, where my training comes from the FBI, along with bomb squad threats, and even the security for the USC/Exposition Park 1984 Olympics working with the Department of Defense (DOD) protecting athletes and overseeing 3,000 Officers! But I hate to shop, and I can't even figure out where my J.J. Newburry underwear is BECAUSE THERE ARE ROWS OF WHITE, but WHERE ARE THE ONES THAT I GREW UP WITH???? Twice I tried Macy's, and twice I had to do returns. The point is that I am TERRIBLE WITH SHOPPING OF ANY KIND. AND ARCH BLUE DID THE NEGOTIATING FOR ME, AND I GOT THE LOUNGE THAT IS ONLY IN DREAMS. I was ripped off BY TWO CONTRACTORS IN A ROW, and then ARCH BLUE and Hal Hall came and rescued me, so that when I retire there will be a place where getting stabbed and shot (and having my spine broken in FIVE PLACES) I have earned many times over. Mr. Hall generously repaired the inside that day laborers had destroyed by a contractor who had his CSLB License removed by the organization and in court, because I work in Los Angeles and couldn't oversee the work while protecting those who protest politely and those who PRETEND to demonstrate and commit burglaries. And Matt, the owner of ARCH BLUE created history with my infinity jacuzzi and a waterfall pool, as well as a giant space for ME TO RAISE MONEY FOR OUR MILITARY VETERANS, which I can now do after retirement, thanks to Matt and Hal Hall. DON'T MAKE THE MISTAKE I MADE TWICE IN A ROW by contractors THAT BOTH HAD THEIR LICENSES REVOKED BY OTHERS BEFORE I COULD RECOVER ONE PENNY. (I was warned by those officers who bought homes to be careful, and I still made mistakes, WITH ONE OF THE CONTRACTORS BEING A FELLOW FIRE FIGHTER.) LEARN from my mistakes, and use ARCHITECTURAL BLUE who did an amazing irrigation (watering) system that is automatic, and A POOL THAT IS A SPECTACLE, because each person who servicing the rich stopped to look at the amazing ENTIRE BACK YARD DESIGNED BY ARCH BLUE. And THAT says it ALL!!!! read more

Not a single commitment was kept. They do good work but you'll wait a lifetime to see a finished product. Commitments mean nothing! Take the worse case scenario and double it to estimate your completion date. Pay for nothing in advance! read more

This company has terrible organization and does not provide any service after the work is done. I did a complete pool renovation and replaced 2,000 square feet of concrete decking with them - they used white caulk to seal the top of the tile to the bottom of the concrete - it split almost immediately and looks horrible. Major cracks have formed in the concrete slabs around the pool - a large chunk fell off the slab above the skimmer. I have brought all of these issues up and gotten zero response other than "we will take care of it", but nobody ever does. The work is 9 months old, I brought up the issues 4.5 months ago and regularly ask when things will be repaired and nobody has even come by to look at it. We have only been using this pool since November 1, 2020. Run, don't walk. read more

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So you know where this is going, I don't review things unless they suck and people should be aware that the product or service was a problem. Where to start? First, I am being generous with two stars. It took a year to complete but there were issues that were never satisfactorily resolved and I stopped counting days. MONTHS behind schedule. Delay after delay. The attitude was literally like it or lump it. HORRIBLE communications. No one talked to anyone else. Lots of yelling. And don't get sucked into buying to cool decking. We found out after it was installed that it wicked moisture from the ground and becomes discolored. And this is a product that is installed around a pool! Zero customer service or help rectifying the problem. Does the pool look great? Yes, but after we paid for design services, the original concept that WE submitted was essentially what was built. To be fair, they did eventually throw in a landscape plan. Logan did come up with a couple of tweaks to the pool design that improved it and he is the only part of the equation that was pleasant. The whole rest of the process was almost entirely a pain in the ass. And to the guy who had great service in 2013 and doesn't think the pans are fair, clearly a lot has changed in 10 years. If you want a 5 star rating, you. Have to give 5 star service and stop treating customers like the enemy. read more

Architectural Blue was the contractor that the developer chose for my community when we purchased our newly constructed home. They are absolutely terrible at following up and communications; the pool itself is cracking and they were supposed to fix it (free of charge) and never did; Matt Naylor is always rude and sarcastic when you are able to get him on the phone. The phone app that controls the pool functions/features often does not work and they are rude and unresponsive when it needs to be fixed. I would never recommend this company to anyone. I have no clue how they have anything above 1 star on these reviews - my neighbors have all had the same experience. AB is the absolute worst! read more

The design process was superb. The designer, Logan, was creative and listened well to our requirements, including in the design all that we asked and making it attractive enough that the finished project gets compliments. The actual pool construction seems to be very good. The pool equipment plumbing and installation is far neater and easier to find one's way around for operation and maintenance than that of many other pools I have seen in the area, and a professional home inspector was impressed with the quality of the visible work. But I cannot really rate the quality of the whole project highly because of communication and scheduling problems we experienced. I know it has been quite possible to build a pool in Cathedral City in far fewer than six months from groundbreaking to startup, and in over a year from contract to completion. A neighbor in the same neighborhood had a pool started on almost exactly the same day as ours and their pool was complete and in use in about three months. Ours is a small pool, 13 ft by 28 ft, with a 7 by 7 spa in the pool footprint at the same elevation. And it is a rectangle. Nothing too complicated. No waterfalls. No little grottoes. Just a rectangular hole for water. Probably small stuff for Architectural Blue, but rather expensive from my point of view and a big deal for us. To start, after waiting the time suggested by Architectural Blue that it would take for the permit, and with no news on a permit, I had to do my own follow up with the city. Fortunately city employees were polite and helpful, so I was finally able to get Architectural Blue to engage with the city and get the permit. It still took them two months to start the project once the permit was acquired. Then we were left with a hole in our back yard for two months while all work came to a halt. Nine months gone from signing the contract, with about a month's worth of work done. Communication was terrible until we squawked enough, and then it improved to intermittent. Read and digest the reviews here that say essentially the same thing, going back four and five years. Not sure who you have to be to get the work that rates five stars. And no, I do not suck for giving this review (as one reviewer from 2017 -- 2017! -- said about the bad reviews). It's 2023, and I am saying the same stuff that was said in 2017. read more

People SUCK for giving you a bad review, totally undeserved!!! I hired your firm in 2012/2103 and spent over $130,000 with your company. You guys did an EXCELLENT job on my pool and all the hardscape design. I could not be happier !!!! Then 3 1/2 years later when a $3,500 pool circuit board failed and was outside the warranty, Matt from AB stepped in and contacted the manufacturer on my behalf, and suddenly it was being replaced at no cost to me!!!! Ignore fake Yelp reviews. People suck, and post inaccurate reviews just to be petty. I for one am thrilled with your work and I have done and will continue to recommend AB to anyone and everyone !!!! Just saying !!! read more

I could not be happier with Matt and his entire team. I had a vision of what I wanted my pool and landscape to look like and never in my wildest dreams did I think it would turn out better! From the first phone call, Matt and his team were patient and helpful with me. The communication was great, and they answered all of my questions and never got annoyed with me. Pricing was very fair, and Matt explained everything to me very clearly. I can now sit in my backyard and feel complete happiness looking at my beautiful pool and the flowers and plants. I definitely recommend Matt and thank him from the bottom of my heart. read more

I've spoken with a few different companies and contractors and this one has definitely been the best. The woman in the office returned my call really quick, and was so nice. She said they would work up a proposal for me and be back in touch. I emailed her some pictures of what I want and she replied quickly and even sent me pictures. Few hours later I had a proposal, and couldnt be happier with the very fair pricing. Thank you Architectural Blue for your professionalism, and help! read more

Good crew, when they show up. I hired AB to install a new spa adjacent to pool. Weeks will go by without a crew showing up in our yard. What should have taken 5 to 8 weeks took 10 months. Email and phone calls were unreturned. When they responded they said "we will be there". They weren't. When the work was finally completed, failed city inspection. "We will take care of it". They never did. They stopped returning phone calls. It's been months. I can understand some pandemic related delays in a project. There is no excuse for ignoring your customers, or for failing to show up when you say you will. read more

Called them out for an estimate. I guess our job was too small. He bragged about doing casinos and hotels. He did promise to help us because the industry was full of bad apples. But, appears he's just like the others - no follow up or follow thru. But, you have remember that some people try contractors out on smaller jobs to see how they perform. read more

I would agree with the other one star review. Very hard to get in touch with. Their office phone doesn't have any numbers on the phone tree that work. If you have the cell numbers sometimes you get answers. The only people that can give somewhat of an answer to any questions are the crew leaders or Foreman. Often we were told "no problem I will take care of that". Only to find out later that it was not taken care of. The crew knows nothing about it and you can tell they're working to make sure they take care of the problem. The pool and the quality of workmanship is great, but being left out in the dark most of the time is very very frustrating. I would not recommend this contractor unless you have deep pockets and don't want to be involved in the design and build of your pool. After three months we are finally getting this job done. I feel the only reason is $$$. The office lady sent me an email, oh I forgot to send you the final bill. The job isn't done and they're sending me a final bill. Talk about the right hand not knowing what the left is doing!! I emailed back that I would be happy to pay when the job is done. Two days later we have some action. I had to complete part of the electrical conduit so I could landscape around our pool. So, RUN don't walk to another pool contractor. Save yourself the headache. read more

Matt and his team redesigned and redid our pool and patio. He was professional and thoughtful in guiding us through the process while we were out of state. We did not worry about the quality of the work. He was also terrific about keeping the project on time and within our budget. Great job, great people, great experience! read more

We recently purchased a new home in Palm Springs that included a pool package. As we chose to upgrade the features/size and options. We worked closely with Mark Tunkel and Matt Naylor at Architectural Blue and very pleased with the workmanship and by far, the invaluable advice and suggestions made but their team during the design process. They were a dream to work with and after delivery, their staff was a phone call away to address any concerns and questions. Months later, after a little wear and tear, their team is available and addressed landscape concerns, no questions asked. We could not be more pleased. read more

We have built 2 new pools and completed one total pool remodel in the past in the LA area so we knew what questions to ask this time. After purchasing a new home in the Springs CC of Rancho Mirage, we contacted a number of pool companies to bid on a complete pool remodel and patio project and all said they were able to do what we asked. What set A/B apart was the suggestions and recommendations Matt and his team made up front and along the way. While A/B appeared significantly more expensive at first, when I gave all the bidders a spreadsheet with the exact specifications of what I wanted, down to model numbers of the Pentair equipment and a Pebble Sheen finish rather than StoneScape, A/B's bid stayed the same while the others increased so much that A/B's bid was only slightly higher. Finally, while most of the other companies admitted they hire subcontractors for much of the work, A/B's own employees did everything except the Pebble Sheen, and they were the only contractor whose employees could do both the pool remodel and the patio decking - so no finger-pointing down the road about whose fault anything was. In summary, this was the best experience we've had with a pool company. It may have taken a bit longer than originally planned but the end results are stunning. We don't just have a new pool, we have our own private resort-like oasis! Thank you Matt, Mark, Adrienne, Alex, Juan, Checo, Diego, and all the other guys who worked to make our vision a reality beyond our expectations. read more

Architectural Blue - Much Better Than Expected! - General Contractors Near Me

I want to be certain that I am factually completely accurate. If I could rate this firm any lower I would. To quote another Yelp review " run. Don't walk." I signed a contract in late October for a $120,000 pool remodel. Delivered a deposit of $20,000. and paid draws before I was even asked. The demo of the existing pool, jacuzzi and all hardscape is photographed on Nov 10th. The owner signed a contract representing a finished project in 75-90 days. Tonight I am approaching eight months without nearing completion. I live in a gated community. Vehicles are recorded as they enter and leave. I have more than one span of a solid month without a single workmen. Not one. I have over 100 photographs to support my comments. Broken irrigation lines never mentioned. Floods never corrected. Communication is either total fabrication ( I have a solid email Tree ) or plain misrepresentation. The Public records in the City of RM are interesting. Seems one permit was pulled from Nov to March 15th. Since I had an empty pool and no hardscape I guess none was required. My footings rejected twice by the City. Tonight I have about six figures in the most disgusting chapter a person can experience. Eight months of lies, half truth, no communication and more lies. I have owned a significant Real Estate Company in Southern California. In my 40 year career I can not recall anyone having as unprofessional experience with any contractor as I have experienced and will pursue. I am relatively sophisticated in business. This guy is a flake, a con and not to be trusted for a thing. Oh, as of this date according to public records online via the State Lic Board his Bond has expired. No surprise. read more

I have known and referred the owner of Architectural Blue for the last eight years of contracting business in Palm Springs. I am a Real Estate Broker and own my a Vacation Rental business. My success depends on referring competent people who align with my same business philosophy, honesty & integrity. Architectural Blue is a high-end Pool Contractor that has innovative design and brings their vision to fruition. I highly recommend their work, especially to clients who demand professionalism and cutting edge pool design. Mr. Naylor stands behind his work. read more

Architectural Blue was the contractor our developer chose for our community when we purchased our newly constructed home. They were terrible at follow ups, did not give us options willingly, and when asked about pricing that wasn't for the most expensive option we were told they would have to get back to us only to force us to keep asking for a new quote. They were also uncooperative when it came to needing information on ordering materials they use on a regular basis. For the high prices they charge, I thought we would have been treated better and with a little more respect. I would never recommend this company to anyone. If money is no object to you and you don't want to vary from cookie cutter design, I am sure they will work out for you. read more

When we decided it was time to finally build a pool, which was long over due. We contacted many contractors and received many quotes. From the moment the owner of Architectural Blue walked into my front door I felt he was honest with us and treated us with respect. Throughout the entire process him and his crew walked me through the construction phase step by step and always answered my concerns. They had a fair and competitive quote and at the end of the our beautiful pool being finished our final invoice was billed in the exact amount as our quote. So nice to work with a contractor that is true to his word. read more

They transformed my entire backyard into an outdoor space that is livable and lovely!!!!!

AB did a fabulous renovation to our 1950's back yard in the summer of 2016. Matt completed the project a week ahead of schedule (seven weeks), no hidden costs and he even included a few extras that were needed as we went through the project. I would recommend AB to anyone that wants a project done RIGHT. read more