XL Pools has been shortlisted for the 2026 European Pool & Spa Awards, one of the most prestigious accolades in the swimming pool industry. The awards, hosted by the European Union of Swimming Pool and Spa Associations (EUSA), bring together the very best pool projects from across the continent, and being named among the finalists is a significant moment for our team.
The ceremony will take place on Tuesday, 17th November 2026 at the Piscine Global exhibition in Lyon, France. It’s an event that celebrates genuine excellence in the industry, and we’re proud to be representing the UK among finalists from EUSA’s thirteen member countries.
What Are the European Pool & Spa Awards?
The European Pool & Spa Awards exist to recognise the best pool, spa, and hot tub projects across Europe each year. Trophies and certificates are presented across eleven distinct categories, covering everything from domestic indoor and outdoor pools to wellness pools, renovations, and pools fitted with covers or enclosures.
Entries are judged by leading industry professionals from across the continent. EUSA represents an enormous network within the sector, with around 2,500 companies across the supply chain, including manufacturers, artisans, and wholesalers, all contributing to an organisation that sets the benchmark for quality and craftsmanship in European pool building.
Getting to the European stage isn’t straightforward. Companies typically qualify by winning top honours in their own national association’s competition first. For UK businesses, that means success at the British Pool & Hot Tub Awards, run by SPATA, before being put forward for European recognition. It’s a genuinely competitive process, and reaching the shortlist reflects sustained quality across an entire body of work, not just a single standout project.
Our Shortlisted Projects
Three of our recent projects have been put forward for consideration this year, each representing a different side of what we do.
The Hythe Project
Our client came to us with a challenging coastal garden that sloped dramatically towards the English Channel. Rather than treating the slope as an obstacle, we designed a retaining wall and double drop coping stones that give the pool the impression of an infinity edge, framing the sea view beautifully.
The pool itself is a Royale Aqua Technics one-piece model built with nano graphene technology, finished in Platinum. An automatic Bayrol dosing system keeps the water clear with minimal effort from the client, and an air source heat pump provides efficient, comfortable heating year-round. It’s a pool that turned a difficult site into one of its biggest assets, and you can see the full installation gallery for yourself.
The Underriver Project
Some projects are about more than installing the latest technology. The Underriver Project was a renovation of a pool originally built in 1976, one that had been part of our client’s family home for decades and held real sentimental value.
The brief was to bring the pool back to life while staying true to its original character. We retained the pool’s distinctive twin Roman ends and its reinforced concrete shell, preserving the symmetry that made it special in the first place. The tired marbelite finish was replaced with high-quality mosaics in Nebula Turquoise, and a complete technical overhaul, including a new filtration system, heat pump, and automatic Coverseal cover, brought the pool fully up to modern standards as part of our swimming pool restoration service. The result is a pool that feels both familiar and renewed, and the full transformation is worth seeing.
The Petham Project
The Petham Project remains one of the most architecturally distinctive pools we’ve ever built. What was once an empty barn was transformed into a striking indoor pool building, complete with spa, sauna, and indoor kitchen, all set within the grounds of a 12th century Chantry and 16th century manor house.
The pool building features an exceptionally rare hammerhead oak beam, a design not replicated on any other UK property in over 200 years. A deep bore ground source heat pump heats both the pool and the building itself, delivering consistent, efficient performance year-round. We’ve written about this project in more detail in our guide to indoor swimming pools, where it serves as a strong example of what’s achievable when a building and a pool are designed together from the outset.
A Track Record Worth Building On
This isn’t our first time on EUSA’s radar. We picked up a Bronze Award back in 2023, in the Domestic Pools with Automatic Covers category, which was a proud moment for the team.
What stands out about this year’s shortlisting is the spread of work behind it. The Hythe Project was a new build on a tricky coastal site. Underriver was a sensitive renovation of a pool with real family history. Petham was an architecturally ambitious indoor build inside a converted barn. Three completely different briefs, three completely different problems to solve. Getting recognised for all three at once says more about the range of what we can do than any single project ever could.
We’ve also picked up recognition closer to home in recent years, including our Gold win at the 2026 British Pool & Hot Tub Awards, which was itself part of the qualifying path to this European shortlisting.
Why Awards Like This Matter
It’s easy to think of industry awards as a formality, but recognition at this level matters for a genuine reason. The judging process is rigorous, and it’s assessed by people who understand exactly what good pool design and construction involves: structural integrity, water quality systems, energy efficiency, safety, and aesthetic execution all have to come together.
For our clients, it’s a meaningful signal. It means the standard we’re held to isn’t just our own, it’s been benchmarked against the best work happening across an entire continent. Whether you’re planning a new pool, a renovation, or something more architecturally ambitious like an indoor build, that level of external validation should give you confidence in the team you’re working with.
What Happens Next
The winners will be announced at the ceremony in Lyon on Tuesday, 17th November 2026. We’ll be there to represent our work, and we’ll share the outcome as soon as we know it.
In the meantime, we’re enormously proud of the team behind each of these three projects, and grateful to the clients who trusted us to deliver something genuinely exceptional for their homes.
If you’re considering a pool project of your own, whether that’s a new build, a renovation, or something architecturally ambitious, we’d love to talk it through. Get in touch with our team to discuss what’s possible for your property, or browse our completed pool projects to see more of the work we do.
