The idea that a swimming pool is more expensive than a real home seems almost ridiculous. When you look at how celebrities construct their indoor pools, the numbers stop making sense in a way that feels intentional. It’s not a studio apartment in a dubious postcode, but rather a proper, three-bedroom, garden-and-garage kind of house. These aren’t swimming pools. Carved into basements and wrapped in Italian marble, these statements subtly declare that the owner’s wealth exceeds that of most neighborhoods put together.
Consider Robbie Williams and his Holland Park mansion, which gained notoriety for its enormous indoor swimming pool installation which led to a five-year legal dispute with neighbor Jimmy Page rather than for its 47 rooms or £17.5 million price tag. According to reports, the construction involved excavating far below the property, strengthening foundations creating something more akin to an underground recreation complex than anything you’d recognize from your neighborhood council center.
According to renovation estimates and planning documents, the pool alone probably cost seven figures. In the meantime, the average cost of a home in the UK is approximately £290,000. It’s difficult to avoid doing the math and getting a little lightheaded.
Then there is The Weeknd’s 33,000-square-foot Bel Air mansion, which he bought for about $70 million. It has an indoor and outdoor pool, a recording studio a home theater. It’s safe to say that the indoor pool occupies its own wing. There’s a feeling that these areas aren’t really designed for swimming at all, but rather for the concept of swimming and the beauty of water and light passing thru glass at midnight. It’s another matter entirely whether anyone actually does laps.
A slightly different taste of excess can be found in Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s in Correns, France. Their expansive estate, which is estimated to be worth $80 million, has almost thirty rooms and an indoor pool that falls somewhere between Hollywood extravagance and old-world grandeur.
The fact that neither of them has given up ownership of the property even after their split may speak more about the pool than about their feelings. Finding a buyer who can afford the home and the lifestyle it requires is essential when selling a property with a pool like that. That significantly reduces the field.
Back in London, the Beckham compound in Holland Park, which is estimated to be worth £31.5 million following an £8 million renovation, has the kind of interior amenities that cause real estate brokers to lose their cool.
A £2,500 coffee maker garnered media attention, the larger makeover featured wellness amenities on par with boutique hotels. Given that the average house price in Holland Park is approximately £3.45 million, the Beckhams’ renovation budget could have bought two complete homes on the same street. Their bathroom tiles might be more expensive than a deposit.
The spa, wellness center pool facilities at Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s $88 million Bel Air home complete the picture, blurring the boundaries between a private resort and a home. It seems that even cars require their own mansion, which is why the estate has a 15-car garage.
These properties have a subtle conflict between the desire for privacy and creating something so ostentatious that it almost demands attention. Oprah’s $101 million Montecito mansion functions similarly, with horse stables, orchards enough beautifully landscaped space that the pool seems almost insignificant in contrast.
Not only are all of these houses wealthy, but they also share a certain perspective on water and space. It is not convenient for a celebrity to have an indoor pool in their home. Its architecture is intended to wow those who might never see it. Non-disclosure agreements are frequently signed by the contractors who construct them.
Finished product, glowing turquoise under coffered ceilings, is likely used twice a month. The designers travel from Milan or Tokyo. Perhaps. Whether it inspires admiration or mild horror depends on your own mortgage situation, but there’s something beautifully wasteful about that. The local recreation center opens at seven for the rest of us. No NDA is necessary.