Tropical Pools is building a pool for a new construction next to our home. On 12 June 2025, someone from Elite Gunite, a sub for Tropical Pools, stopped by my house and requested to be able to use our water to apply the Gunite to the pool if we were paid $100. My first instinct was to decline, but I thought I might be helping out my new neighbors, so I said yes. I told him we are on a well and a reverse osmosis system. He responded they would be using water directly from the well and not the house system. On 13 June 2025, the crew started working and I noticed they were hooked up to the RO system. I told them to disconnect it go straight to the well. They called someone from Elite Gunite and were told to change the hose lines, which they did. About 15-30 minutes later I looked out side and saw that their hose was damaged and water was spraying into the canal behind my house. I went over and showed them the large amount of water coming out of the hose. They changed hoses and continued to work on the pool. I have pictures and videos. Later they came to me and told me there was no water coming out of my well. I told them to unhook it and call their boss. They did, and he told them he would be here in 20 minutes. I told them to stop the job and wait for their boss. He never arrived and they snuck over and reconnected the hose to my irrigation system and finished the job, against my instructions. I called Tropical Pools and left a voicemail. I had no contact information for Elite Gunite and figured since they were the sub, I should talk to TP. No response. I later went to TP's website and sent a message to them. I got a call from Tony. He asked me what happened. As I explained it, he told me to shut up and let him talk. I told him, "I don't work for you and I'll stop when the information is complete." Eventually, we set up an appointment for the companies to come look at the well system on 17 June 2025. At that time David Abraham (EG) and Alex Tiseo (TP) came and determined that the system needed a new valve, which they came and replaced the next day. Still no water. The house system was getting water, but not this particular valve. By the way, when I told David and Alex that whoever called me back needed and attitude adjustment. They asked who I talked to and I told them about the conversation and they IMMEDIATELY said, "Tony." I arranged for my water company to come examine it on 20 June 2025. Luckily, there was no significant damage and all that was needed was the service call. We had already agreed that TP would pay for that service ($125). When it was over I informed both David and Alex that nothing serious had happened and that I would send them the bill. I texted the invoice to David and he asked that I send it to Alex, for payment. He took care of it. Thanks. However, after that I got a very nasty note from Alex accusing me of false information, which was not true and that "before I open my mouth" I should get my facts straight. He accused me of saying they would charge the new owners for a water truck. I actually said, that they should have used a water truck and by paying me $100 they would save the home owners $200-400. I also told them that once I really thought about, I doubted that money would ever make it to the new owners. They informed me they were not going to charge the home owners for water at the 17 June meeting. I took them for their word. I did let the new owners know about the situation. They should know who they are dealing with. I also informed the contractors about how their subs were handling things. The contractor, Porter Contracting, apologized and were not happy with the situation. I never got a thank you for helping them out or an apology for causing problems with the well. So, I will give them a hardy "you're welcome" and thank them for paying the bill (that they actually caused). No good deed goes unpunished. They have a terrible attitude (at least TP does) and the fish stinks from the head down....Tony, to Alex, to the workers on site. I would be leery of both Tropical Pools and Elite Gunite and avoid them. Sorry this is so long. read more

Stay away from Tropical Pools. We used this company for after storm cleaning. Our drain cover in the pool was never secured after the cleaning. Tropical Pools are not willing to do anything about it. They just don't care. We have to hire another company to secure the drain. read more

Bob Foster is fantastic! We had a contract on a house that was contingent on being able to get a pool in the yard. He went ABOVE and BEYOND! He was the only pool contractor that would help us do our due diligence to determine if a pool was even possible. He was in constant contact, talked to Charlotte County Home management to find out setback rules. He went to property, took measurements and even did drawings for us!! Seriously have total faith in their abilities! Unfortunately, due to setbacks required by Charlotte County, there wasn't enough room for the pool. We were able to back out of the contract. But we are still looking for that property! And when I find it, there is no question who I would use to put a pool in!! Thank you Bob Foster! You went above and beyond and saved us from making a terrible financial mishap! Hope to work with you SOON! read more

Unreliable Ralph has still not sent his crew back to finish my pool. There is leaking PVC where it was never glued the waterfall does not work properly the chlorinator is still leaking. I've read other reviews. The owner Ralph makes excuses to cover his mistakes, poor quality and service. Superintendent Alex said they would be back out to finish the work, but no time soon because they were too busy ripping other people off. That was over 2 years ago. Do not trust or hire this company to build your pool. You have been warned. read more

Built a pool for me in 2010 dealing with yearly leaks. Sinking paving stones and failing equipment. Stay far away from these folks.

We went with a pool place with a better price but we absolutely loved the time we spent with Tess. She was attentive and did a nice job with our design. It was a tough choice but in the end we just couldn't justify the higher price. read more

They installed a concrete pool in 2017. I have had nothing but problems with the pool . Water leeks etc... pavers collapsing. The problems started back in late 2019. I finally called Tropical Pool after my pool service company told me that i shouldn't be having theses problems so soon I was told its out of warranty and they can suggest someone to come out and fix the problem.. Beware of this company. They do terrible work read more

Ralph & John did a very good job on our pool! It took some time to complete the Pool but John & Ralph came through. There prices are very good compared to the others in the area. If you have a problem just call Ralph! He will do what he can to help you! Thanks Glen read more

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You want to talk about a company that does not stand by their pools. Tropical pools over promised on many aspects and did not deliver. It took 10 months to build an in ground pool. Issue after issue with installation. From the dimensions of the sun shelf being incorrect to mismatched tile grout colors as well as cracked tile. Was promised superscreen and payed $800 extra for it and received a knock off brand that is not superscreen. Now tropical will not honor what they told us. I have a cracked arc waterfall that tropical will not take responsibility for that has been that way since install. Frank the owners son says well it was not like that when we installed it. Never have I seen him here looking at the work. Told Jason who handles pool school for jandy (He does not work for tropical) equipment and he said he would handle it. They never got back to him about that. Had to have brick coping replaced because it got damaged when the deck got acid washed. A lot of miscommunication from the top. What sold me on tropical was Bobby Foster. I feel bad for the other customers that have issues not being handled. We were told nylon screws for the pool cage were extra meanwhile our neighbors got a pool installed at the same time by tropical and they did not pay extra for the same screws. What a way to treat a customer that spent way too much for a pool. Once they got all of our money they don't care. If you want to get treated poorly and over pay for a sub par pool tropical is the way to go. I would not recommend them to my worst enemy. I have lived here for over 15 years and know alot of people in the community. I will be sure to tell everyone about my experience. read more

Tropical pools finished our pool for us. We chose a pool Builder named Above and Beyond pools of Port Charlotte and trust me do NOT use Above and Beyond pools! Above and Beyond pools abandoned our pool and left us with unfinished work. Above and Beyond pools are Liars they have no crews working for them they outsource everything and took well over a year before abandoning our pool. Tropical pools came in to finish our pool and Ralph DiCarlo the owner of Tropical pools made sure they did an outstanding job. Got us a pool cage when the waiting list was 6 months within one month. They absolutely did do what Ralph said they would. I would recommend Tropical Pools for any pool project that you have going on in your life. We are very pleased with how Tropical pools took care of us. They didn't have to do this, they did it because they are a very good Pool company! Choose wisely when building a pool that would be my warning to anyone reading this. If I were to build another pool, I would choose Tropical pools from start to finish. Dan Steffens read more

If you like being lied to , shoddy work and never having your phone calls returned this is the company for you. I signed the contract February 26 2021. Bill the sales men was a really nice guy he drew up our pool plans and said we would be swimming by July. They broke ground 5 weeks later things went fairly fast . They hole was dug and concreted and the plumbing and deck was done all in about 5 weeks. That's when this turned into a living he'll. 5 weeks went by and nobody shows up to do anything. I got on the county permit website and got the shock of my life the permits for the pool cage were denied because they built the pool in the county setbacks. It said a variance would have to applied for . This is when I found out Bill the salesmen was just that a salesmen. He told me that I would have to apply for a variance and it would cost me 860 dollars. I couldn't believe he said I was responsible. I talk to Ralph he said I shouldn't have bought a lot that was shaped like that.after a heated discussion he agreed to take care of it. Not long after the pool cage was completed and they wanted the rest of there money. I still had no pool equipment and the pebble tec hasn't been applied. So no money no more work so I paid them. After the screen was done I looked at the permit site still no permit for the screen enclosure, so they built the cage with no permit. The pool was completed November 2. The caged permit has now expired and no one will return my calls. The people who gave this company good reviews probably didn't have any issues during construction the minute something goes wrong these people will abandoned you. Please save yourself from a living nightmare don't used these people you will regret it. My next step is to hire a lawyer from what I read the expired permit could become my problem. The pool cage might have to be torn down. read more

We contracted them for a pool and cage. Pros: Knowledgeable salesman (Dave K). Good design. Good pricing. Good workmanship. Good finished product. Cons: Extremely long waits between different tradesmen showing up. From first day on site to completion lasted 5 mos. And that's after waiting 3 mos from date we signed contract, so 8 mos total. Other pool contractors (AquaTech, Fox) working in our neighborhood were completing identical projects in 2 months. Most of the work was subbed out. Owner (Ralph) and his office mgr (Eileen) had no clue (or didn't care) about the scheduling of work by the subs. All in all, not a customer-friendly operation. read more

I had my pool installed by Tropical Pools. I have been so pleased with my pool! Customer service was quick, Ralph was great about returning my calls. I had a warranty issue, the Saltinator was defective. A representative was out within days to replace. Anything I have asked Tropical pools for, they were quick to get back to me and have taken good care of me. My pool is beautiful! Everything was installed to my specifications. The pool runs perfectly! NOTE....Someone stole my pool cleaning kit that came with my pool, not Tropical Pools fault, they still had a rep go out to the closest pool store and replace my kit. I was so appreciative of their kind gesture. Thanks Ralph and Dave, we are very happy with our pool! Dee Dee Cape Coral Florida read more

My uncle recommended them to me and They came out gave me an estimate to finish my spa and deck and cage and when I agreed to the project and picked out my pavers owner John told me he would order it and be out to start work and than never showed up nor did he order the pavers and stopped answering and returning my calls. Very unprofessional company and would not recommend them to anyone. I have a written contract and they decided not to do the work I guess. Which is fine but at least be professional enough to tell me you aren't interested anymore. 0 star rating!!! read more

Was so happy with the service I received when I got my pool installed. Tess went above and beyond and was so easy to work with.

Very unprofessional company! They treat their customers and employees like complete crap. Various jobsite violations constantly. Like expecting employees to build various pool cages without safety equipment! And at all heights. No lanyards and absolutely no fall protection. Their paver decks sink! Pools crack! They act like entitled little babies if you catch them making a mistake or ripping you off! Please take these bad reviews seriously as these people are scam artists. I had a bad car accident in 2014 and I worked their at the time. Car accident was on my time,, and I sustained a serious brain injury, and almost lost my life. I have kids and had to make a quick recovery and get back to work to support my family. Upon coming back to work 30 days after accident this company and its employees choose to take advantage of me. Asking me to do various jobs and repairs of cages that were built while I was away. The issue I had was the refusal to pay me for the work that I did for them! And the fact that they also changed my rate of pay when I came back. Checks would be for what they felt like paying that week, and not for the work that I provided at the amount that was agreed upon. Then when I confronted management about the problems I was terminated! They also terminated multiple other employees on my crew the day after my accident simply because they came to the hospital to see how I was doing instead of showing up to work. Like I said they act like the entitled aholes! If it's not Ralph's way get out of the way, you'll be fired to! Not a place that anyone should consider a career at, as that they are not an equal opportunity work place, or that they follow any kind of anti discrimination laws for the employees that they hire. read more

Tropical Pools has the worst Customer Service in the Business. Our home was originally started by HD Custom Homes, Tropical used to contract directly through HD but did not get paid. So, by the time we came along we had to contract separately and did contract separately (no connection to HD)with Tropical.That turned out to be a bad decision. While my house was being built I met initially with Alex their Construction or Project Manager. Alex assured me they would get the pool done in a timely fashion. That did not happen and it took them almost 5 months to get it done. After that we had sinking pavers. I called the office the first time and Lori (or Laurie) answered the phone took my name and I did not hear from them for two weeks. When I called her back she laid the blame on the Sub Contractor. Apparently this was common but should not be my issue. Everything was OK for awhile but then the Pavers Sank again and I called Tropical - two months went by with no word and nothing being done. Finally, they came and the Sub-Contractor told me Ralph told him we were out of warranty (not true) and he was not paying for anymore HD Home work. I reminded them that even though my home was an HD Home - the contract for my pool had NOTHING to do with HD. We contracted separately and I paid them cash in full on time always. Ralph was supposed to call me back - that never happened! I paid the Sub Contractor myself. Tropical is neither efficient nor honest and the Customer service is awful. Buyer beware. I would not recommend them. read more

Wow!! What a great job. This pool is stunning. Tess is best - communicative, attentive and easy to work with! Looks awesome!

We called Tropical Pools and Spas today becase our pool pump quit working and they're the ones who installed it along with the pool 5 years ago. They were absolutely no help and in fact, told me they couldn't help, they didn't know anything about it. I told them I wasn't very impressed with their customer support since they were the ones who installed the pump and pool and she got huffy with me and told me that wasn't a very nice thing to say. She said I should just call Pinch A Penny. I told her I would write a yelp review telling everyone not to expect much in the way of support after the fact and she was terribly offended that I would do that but still said she couldn't help because she didn't know anything about it and there was no one there who did. Seriously? What kind of company doesn't know the products they install? That makes no sense. read more

Ralph and his team did a great job through this extremely rainy season! We absolutely LOVE the Pool, the design material and workmanship is exemplary... I highly recommend Tropical to anyone in need of a pool and/or spa. Thanks to Ralph, Bob and all the team at Tropical, you guys are awesome! Bob & Peggy read more

Our pool has just been completed by Tropical Pools. They did an outstanding job for us. From Larry our sales person who always returned phone calls within 24 hours, to Eileen who helped pick out tiles and colors with us, to Nick who poured our concrete pool slab. He did such a good job we hired him to do our driveways. As with any build there were some bumps in the road ( We had previously built a pool in Bradenton, we weren't newbies), when a problem arose Tropical quickly moved to solve it for us. Anyone who has expectations of a pool being finished within 30 to 60 days are unrealistic. That generally is just not going to happen. We found Tropical's workmanship and workers to be top-notch. We had interviewed two other pool companies before we decided to go with Tropical and we're glad we did. Good job folks and Thank you! The Whitney's read more

Tropical was flexible to work with an ultimately created quite a statement pool with all the latest features, automation and unique design features/finishes that we wanted. They did a great job! read more

This was the most stressful contract that my wife and I have been involved in. It took over 12 months and many calls. I finally had to threaten Ralf with going to several different authorities with photos of the many jobsite violations. Once the pool was in more calling had to be done to get the granite spillway for the spa. Ah done !!!? Nope pool leaked, more calling, we are going on 24 months now and I am still waiting for the pool to get fixed!!!! My advice would be do your research.... read more

The most unprofessional company I've ever dealt with. I wish I could give them zero stars and a hearty complaint sent to the better business bureau. I'm at a loss for words for a company that takes a job, completely screws up, damages my pool and best of all, splits out while claiming zero responsibility. My advice to anyone considering them is simple: avoid them at all costs. Hire a friend, get a family member, call around and look for someone to help, but don't under any circumstance hire AAA tropical pools. Complete scam, no accountability, not worth anyone else's aggravation. I wouldn't wish these guys on my worst enemy. I feel sorry for anyone who falls into their trap. No if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to dealing with this green smog in my pool compliments of AAA Tropical pools. Just a glorified check cashing shop, nothing more. One last tidbit. They advertise to speak multiple languages but when confronted, they claimed they didn't know enough English to resolve the problem read more

I was really hoping that I would be able to give them a great review. But sadly no with in 3 months of our pool being finished the patio started to crack and not one small crack cracks all over the place from one end to the other we had to call several times and still no response sent a letter and finally someone came out and he painted the cracks which did nothing at all it actually made them stand out even more. We are also having issues with water puddling up all over. We sent another letter and no response read more

This company built the pool we have now as second owners of the house. The salt water chlorine generator has never worked very well. Our neighbors, who had the same system received a free upgrade to a better system. When I contacted the company, knowing that the warranty was no longer good because we are not the original owners, I asked if they could at least give me a deal on an upgrade. The "deal" was $1400 dollars, or nearly twice the cost of the same system online. I could not believe it and ended up buying an upgraded system for $479 and installing it myself in about an hour and one trip to Home Depot for some PVC fittings. Because of this, I would go anywhere but to this company for any work in the future. read more

I just wanted to let everyone know the companyamazing experience we had with Tropical pools and spa. I dealt with kim and the only company who took us to see their work. Amazing comunication. Felt like i have known her my whole life. Only company got back to us immediately and came out same day. Only company that could come to our cost range and deliver an entire cage cover for the back of the house. We wanted something simple no water features just concrete to lower the price. They were able to throw in pavers and water features. We were shocked!. The pool we have would have been in the 70s++ with everyone else. Ours was no where near that price. Tropical pools came to our needs. Kim is amazing!! The other companys couldnt get to what we wanted with even cutting the cage down and just concrete; not to mention other companies had pour communication or no calls back. They started after the holidays in january and Fiinished today.. 3-14-2019. Took 2 days to fill up. Quality is fabulous. We have experienced this process before with a awful company. tropical is amazing no clean up. They were so great with the clean up afterwards. If anyone wants to see or interested in tropical You are welcome to look at our pool. Highly recommended Love them 1 941-809-8594 kims number Wish i could share the video and picture. Donna couture 239 940 6722 Im in burnt store lakes , punta gorda read more

Very lengthy process! We signed the contract for our pool build in August 2015 and it was not finished until January 2016. One year later, the concrete deck is cracking. We started calling about it in December 2016 and now it is March and no fix. Ralph, (the owner) was out, he sent a workman to inspect and still nothing. We stopped by the office to see Ralph, but he was not available, so we left information with Eileen,( secretary?). We are about to have family visit and wanted it fixed before they arrive. I guess that is too much to ask. The checks sure got cashed quickly though. Other than the cracked deck, our pool is as ordered. The customer service is terrible! read more

My husband and I have used Tropical Pool and Spa on 4 different homes we have owned and each time we were amazed how easy and fast the process was! They sit down with you and help you design the pool you want and the finished product is beautiful! We have also recommended them to lots of friends and family and everyone has been delighted with the product and service. I would not hesitate to recommend them in the future! read more

Totally agree with Cherie S. Ralph and Eileen are bordering on downright rude. They don't give a damn once they have your money. They left our pool/lanai in a terrible mess and never came back to clear it up. Work was never scheduled on time. Sometimes they would turn up, others days, nothing! DO NOT USE THEM. THEY ARE ABSOLUTE RUBBISH. read more

We have only had good experiences with the people at Tropical Pools. Dave, the salesperson, was a pleasure to work with, and had a can-do attitude. Tony did a great job with the tile edging and finish prep. The cage builders were very polite and did a great job. Ralph, the owner, even came out and treated our new pool after hours on a weekend. Even though our builder had lots of delays, Tropical was very flexible, and came out immediately when we called. These people really care about customer satisfaction. read more

Please be very aware when you chose this company to build your pool. Although they have a reputation for building a nice pool, they are extremely lacking in customer service, professionalism, timely completion of the pool and maintaining a competent relationship with the client. The people in the office are clueless onto how to talk to the client. They are not forthcoming in keeping you up to date on the progress of your pool but they are threatening when it comes to being paid. It is totally unfair to expect one to pay in full for a product that has not been delivered. When you build a house, you put a percentage down and pay for the home at closing. If one pays in full for a product prior to completion, they are now at the mercy of the owner/ staff and I am sure that if the situation were reversed, this individual would feel they same way. That being said, I would never recommend this company, as they say, hindsight is twenty twenty. Keep your money and go elsewhere, use a company that has people skills and your best interest in mind. read more

Pamela K. Tropical Pools & Spa installed a pool here at our residence less than a year ago (September 2015).....we noticed in early June 2016 that it was leaking. Our pool level drops 4 to 6 inches a week, and THIS IS THE RAINY SEASON. I called John 2+ weeks ago......got voice mail and left message. Called again several times and left voice mails.....finally got a call back from John. He said that he would send Edgar out in a couple of days to locate our leak. Here we are over a week later and no Edgar....my husband and I both have left voice mails for John but STILL have not received a call back and NO EDGAR!! I am just wondering what kind of business they are running.....they certainly have very poor business skills/practices. Business 101: Be pleasant and please the customer within reason because a LOT of your business will be word-of-mouth......at this point, I would NEVER recommend this company to ANYONE. OUR POOL IS ONLY 9 MONTHS OLD AND LEAKING.......and WE CAN'T GET THIS COMPANY TO RETURN OUR PHONE CALLS!!! Next step is BBB. As for the Star Rating..... I ONLY gave it a star because I had to in order to submit this.....right now my Star Rating for this company would be a big fat ZERO!!!!!!!!! UPDATE: Wow!!! It is truly amazing how quickly a person can get a response from a company when they post an unhappy experience online!!! As you can see from Ralph's response below, he and his company have NO intentions of standing behind their work in this case. HOWEVER, JUST FOOD FOR THOUGHT FOR ANYONE ENTERTAINING THE IDEA OF HIRING TROPICAL POOLS & SPA TO INSTALL A POOL......HERE ARE THE FACTS.....THE POOL THAT THEY INSTALLED HERE IS LESS THAN A YEAR OLD AND IT LEAKS (HMMMMM).....YES, THE PREVIOUS OWNERS VERY WELL MAY HAVE GOTTEN A NON-TRANSFERRABLE WARRANTY WHEN THEY HAD IT INSTALLED........ BUT THE FACT REMAINS THAT THIS POOL IS LESS THAN ONE YEAR OLD (9 MONTHS OLD WHEN WE MOVED IN AND DISCOVERED THE LEAK), AND IT LEAKS! A NON-TRANSFERRABLE WARRANTY DOES NOT TAKE AWAY FROM THE FACT THAT THE POOL THEY INSTALLED LEAKS WITHIN A YEAR!!!! HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO ASK YOURSELF BEFORE HIRING THIS COMPANY....... "Will MY pool leak too?" "Is this company notorious for doing the right thing or the wrong thing?" You be the judge......and don't just read MY review.....read other reviews as well. read more