Beautiful final pool, but marred by poor project management and communication…read moreI have a mixed review for Caribbean Pools & Spas. There are two distinct sides to this company: their core pool trades do fantastic work, but their project management, in-house utility work, and overall oversight are highly problematic.
The Positives:
* Excellent Core Trades & Flat Work: The heavy lifting crews--including excavation, steel tying, shotcrete structural application, and the interior plaster finish team--were highly skilled and did excellent work. The concrete flat work was excellent as well.
* Design & Aesthetics: The initial design phase was highly collaborative, and the final aesthetic layout of the backyard looks beautiful.
* Equipment Quality: The core pool filtration, pump, and automation equipment function flawlessly and were installed neatly.
Timeline & Scheduling Issues:
The execution of the project timeline was a major letdown. During the sales phase, our salesman promised a specific completion timeline. Once the contract was signed, the company refused to commit to a formal schedule. We experienced prolonged time gaps where the site sat completely empty with zero progress. Ultimately, the project finished five weeks past what the salesman had promised, as there was no schedule and they refused to provide one even after several requests to do so. To make matters worse, our salesman was fired halfway through construction, leaving us with scattered continuity.
Communication Breakdowns:
Getting updates was incredibly difficult. The office was slow to reply, and the on-site superintendent actively avoided face-to-face contact. He would sneak in and out of our yard without knocking, refusing to speak with me directly. He would only answer questions via email with very short, terse responses, and he completely stonewalled specific questions regarding critical compaction and grading work.
Sales Neglect & Caribbean General Issues:
The original salesman neglected important details in the scope of work, including concrete reinforcement and caulking. I paid extra for concrete reinforcement I believe should have been included, and paid for and performed the caulking myself.
Furthermore, general company oversight and quality control were severely lacking. Workers failed to water-seal the plaster where holes were drilled to mount the equipment panels. Additionally, a backhoe cracked the structural plaster during trenching. Caribbean did not address either of these plaster issues after I brought up the issue in an email, forcing me to step in and fix them myself.
In-House Landscaping Shortcuts:
On top of the general oversight issues, their in-house landscaping department cut major corners:
* They ran a sprinkler line directly through a paver trough drain instead of trenching it properly.
* They installed low-quality, big-box store sprinkler valves instead of commercial-grade parts.
If you use them, you will get a great pool structure, but you must be prepared to heavily project-manage the super, fix unresolved damage yourself, and double-check your contract line items.