N°01 · Luxury pool builders, Gold Coast
Est. 2009
Gold Coast · Brisbane · Northern Rivers
Pools, built
to be inherited.
Plate 01 · Infinity edge, Mermaid Beach
Retreat designs and builds custom concrete pools for homes on the Gold Coast, in Brisbane and across the Northern Rivers. Drawn to the site, built by our own crew, and made to be handed down.
4.9 / 5 · 126 Google reviews
QBCC licence 0000000
SPASA member since 2011
Lifetime structural warranty
N°02 · Philosophy
Drawing P-02 · Scale 1:1
We believe a pool should look as though the house was built around it. We draw it to the light, the levels and the way you live, then build it in steel and concrete so it is still the best thing about the house in fifty years.
Retreat Pools designs and builds custom concrete pools for homes across the Gold Coast, Brisbane and the Northern Rivers. Every pool starts with a site visit and a set of drawings, and is built by our own crew: excavation, steel, shotcrete, tile, coping and the landscape that frames it.
We take on twelve pools a year so a director is on site every week of every build. It is why most of our clients come by referral, and why each Retreat pool carries a lifetime structural warranty on top of QBCC home warranty insurance.
N°03 · What we build
Pricing guide · 2026
Seven kinds of pool, one standard of build.
Every Retreat pool is custom concrete, designed and built by the same crew. Prices are typical starting points for a finished pool, including coping, equipment and certification.
All pool types
N°04 · Selected pools
Index · 2021 to 2026
Recent pools, coast to hinterland.
A few recent builds across the Gold Coast, Brisbane and the Northern Rivers. Each began with a long look at the site it sits on.
All projects
N°05 · How we build
Six stages, one crew, first sketch to first swim.
Every Retreat pool moves through the same six stages. The order never changes; how long each one takes depends on the site, the approvals and the weather.
01
Consult and survey
Weeks 1 to 2
02
Design and 3D
Weeks 2 to 6
03
Approvals and engineering
Weeks 6 to 10
04
Excavation and steel
Weeks 10 to 13
05
Shell and finish
Weeks 13 to 18
06
Handover and care
Week 20
Phase 01
Weeks 1 to 2
Consult and survey
It starts on your block, not in a showroom. A director walks the site with you and measures levels, access, soil, sun and the view lines from the rooms you use most.
Phase 02
Weeks 2 to 6
Design and 3D
James Whitcombe draws the pool by hand first, then models it in 3D with your house, levels and garden around it.
Phase 03
Weeks 6 to 10
Approvals and engineering
We lodge the building application through a private certifier and commission a structural engineer to design the shell for your soil and slope.
Phase 04
Weeks 10 to 13
Excavation and steel
Our own crew sets out the pool with pegs and string, then digs to the engineer’s levels. Spoil leaves site the same week.
Phase 05
Weeks 13 to 18
Shell and finish
Shotcrete shell, then tile, coping and interior, laid by the same small crew on every Retreat pool and set out from the drawings to the millimetre.
Phase 06
Week 20
Handover and care
We fill the pool, balance the water over a week and book the certifier to inspect the fence before anyone swims. Then a director walks you through every valve.
N°06 · In numbers
Updated 2026
17
Years building pools
Founded on the Gold Coast in 2009 by a concreter and a landscape architect.
180
Pools completed
From a 2.4 metre courtyard plunge pool to a 25 metre infinity edge.
4.9
Google rating
From 126 reviews. We publish every one, including the four-star ones.
12
Pools a year
We cap each year at twelve so a director is on every site, every week.
N°07 · Client words
4.9 from 126 Google reviews
“They drew the pool before they priced it, then built exactly what they drew. Three summers on, it is still the first thing anyone notices about the house.”
Sarah and James Whitford
Sovereign Islands · Infinity edge · 2023
N°08 · Material library
Coping · Interiors · Paving
Honest materials, left to weather.
Six stones and finishes do most of our work. We choose them for how they will look in twenty years, not on handover day.
Explore materials
M.01 · Travertine
M.02 · French limestone
M.03 · Bluestone
M.04 · Glass mosaic
M.05 · Sandstone
M.06 · Granite
M.01 · Travertine
M.02 · French limestone
M.03 · Bluestone
M.04 · Glass mosaic
M.05 · Sandstone
M.06 · Granite
N°09 · Where we build
Within 90 minutes of Burleigh Heads
Three regions, one crew on every site.
We build within ninety minutes of our Burleigh Heads studio so a director can be on site every week. Outside these areas? Ask: we take on a few regional pools each year.
All service areasN°10 · Questions
Before you ask.
Straight answers to the questions we hear most. For anything else, call the studio on 07 5550 3480.
All questionsHow much does a custom concrete pool cost on the Gold Coast?
Most of our custom concrete pools land between $95,000 and $180,000 including coping, interior, equipment and certification. Infinity edges, spas and difficult access add to that. You get a fixed price after the design stage, before anything is dug.
How long does it take to design and build a pool?
Allow around five months from first visit to first swim: six weeks of design, four of approvals and engineering, then ten to twelve weeks on site. Sloping blocks, rock and wet weather add time, and we plan for them in the schedule.
Do you handle council approval, engineering and certification?
Yes. We prepare the drawings, engage the structural engineer and private certifier, lodge any approvals and book the pool safety inspection before handover. You sign the forms; we do the rest.
Can you build on a sloping, small or hard-to-access block?
Most of our pools are on difficult sites: cliff-edge lots, 450 square metre courtyards and blocks with crane-only access. Retaining, piering and craning are drawn and priced at the design stage, not discovered later.
What warranty comes with a Retreat pool?
A lifetime structural warranty on the shell, seven years on workmanship and the manufacturers’ warranties on equipment. Queensland builds are also covered by QBCC Home Warranty Insurance.
Will you work with our architect, builder or landscape designer?
Gladly. About half our pools are designed alongside an architect or landscape designer. We can work from their drawings, or join early and draw the pool with them so levels, drainage and services line up with the house.
N°11 · Journal
Guides · Materials · Design
Notes from the pool deck.
Read the journal
What a custom concrete pool really costs in 2026
Line-by-line pricing from forty recent builds, and the five decisions that move the number most.
8 min read
Travertine, limestone or bluestone: coping that ages well
How each stone weathers in salt air and full sun, and which one we would choose for your pool.
6 min read
Courtyard pools for small blocks
Plunge pools, setbacks and fencing on blocks under 450 square metres, drawn from twelve recent builds.
5 min read