Lagoon pools and beach entries — design and build
A shallow entrance changes how a pool is used: people sit, lie and play in the water rather than at its edge. We design and build lagoon pools and beach entries for villas and resorts in Phuket and southern Thailand.
Upgrades & repairs for hotels and villas · Water features
Shallow entrances and beach entries
A beach entry slopes gently into the pool, like a shore. A shallow entrance or ledge is a wide area of low water at one side. Both suit children, older guests and anyone who wants to lie in the water.
We plan where the shallows go in relation to the sun, the shade, the terrace and the view, and how they meet the deeper swimming water.
Skimmer lagoon or overflow lagoon
This is the main decision, and it shapes the whole design.
We weigh both options against your site, the architecture and how the pool will be used, and help you choose.
- Skimmer lagoon: the water sits a little below the surround and is drawn off through skimmers. It is simpler to design and build, but a waterline stays visible on the slope.
- Overflow lagoon: the water sits level with the beach and spills into a channel, then into a balance tank. This gives the real lagoon effect, where water and beach meet with no visible edge. It is more involved, with the channel, the tank, more pipework and room for the equipment.
Finish, colour and seating in the shallows
In shallow water the finish is seen up close and felt underfoot, so colour and texture matter more than in deep water. Light, sand-toned PebbleCrete finishes give the look of a beach, and the deeper zones can move to blue.
The cases below are published projects. On all of them our part was the finish or renovation work rather than the design, and each case says what we did.
- Colour zones from the beach entry to the deeper water
- Finish on shallow areas, steps and ledges, chosen from samples set out on site
- Built-in seating and loungers in the shallows
- Sunken seating areas and jacuzzi zones beside the lagoon
What to send for a first discussion
Send us these details and we can talk through the options.
- Drawings or a site plan, or photos if the pool already exists
- The location, and the approximate size of the pool and the area for the shallows
- Whether you lean towards a skimmer or an overflow lagoon, if you know
- Whether you want us to design and build, or to work with your builder
Where we have done this
- The Talay — A new pool with a curved form and a shallow entrance. Starting from the client's bare concrete shell, we set the embedded fittings, applied the render and installed the PebbleCrete finish.
- Mai Khao Dream Villa Resort — As part of mosaic, coping and finish work across the resort's pools, we finished one jacuzzi and the shallow entrance in white PebbleCrete.
- Title Serenity, Nai Yang — A free-form condominium pool. Our part was the finish, laid in zones in custom PebbleCrete colours: sand at the beach entry and blue across the deeper water. We also finished the main pool steps and seating.
- Sugar Marina Lagoon Splash Park — A splash park where the main contractor cast the concrete. We laid the PebbleCrete finish on the shallow pads, the sunken seating, the steps, the round pool and the walkway.
- Five-Villa Lagoon Pool — A shared lagoon pool serving five villas. After its pump room flooded, we rebuilt the pump room and the jacuzzi, fitted new lighting, raised the pool edge, and laid the new finish and the terrace.
CompletedThe Talay
- Scope
- New pool finish from the bare shell, with the embedded fittings set by us
- Material
- PebbleCrete Classic · Pearl White
- Applied by
- Pebble Pools
- Completed
- 2025
CompletedMai Khao Dream Villa Resort
- Scope
- Mosaic fixing, grouting and lamination; copings and overflow on the rooftop pools; main pool coping; jacuzzi and shallow entrance; the main pool jacuzzi system brought back into service
- Material
- PebbleCrete Classic Black Granite on the copings and overflow · PebbleCrete Classic Polar White on the jacuzzi and shallow entrance · PebbleCrete Glass Carbon Black on the jacuzzis
- Applied by
- Pebble Pools
- Completed
- 2025
CompletedTitle Serenity, Nai Yang
- Scope
- New pool finish across the splash pool, and the main pool steps and seating
- Material
- Custom PebbleCrete colours in the splash pool · PebbleCrete Classic French Grey on the main pool steps and seating
- Applied by
- Pebble Pools
- Completed
- 2026
custom blend
CompletedSugar Marina Lagoon Splash Park
- Scope
- Full finish installation in new pool areas
- Material
- PebbleCrete Classic Beach Ice and Greenland Ice on the steps · Alaska Ice beside the steps · Polar White on the splash pad and in the sunken seating
- Applied by
- Pebble Pools
- Completed
- 2024
CompletedFive-Villa Lagoon Pool
- Scope
- Deep renovation after a flooded pump room: new pump room and system, rebuilt jacuzzi, new lighting, the finish and the terrace
- Material
- PebbleCrete Classic Cool Blue · Sandy Beach on the terrace
- Applied by
- Pebble Pools
- Completed
- 2025
Questions we are asked
Can an existing pool be given a beach entry?
It depends on the shell, the levels and the space around the pool. The pool has to be drained for the work. We look at the site before suggesting anything.
Why choose an overflow lagoon if a skimmer lagoon is simpler?
With an overflow lagoon, the water meets the beach at the same level and there is no visible waterline. If that look matters to you, the channel and balance tank become part of the design.
Did you design the lagoons shown in the cases?
No. These are published projects where we finished, renovated or fitted parts of the pool. Each case says what our part was.