We all strive for happiness, but Ian Fyffe — founder and president of Sparkling Pools/Harbor Hot Tubs — really lives it. And he is passionate about creating and sharing that ultimate happiness factor with his customers.
An award-winning pool and spa designer with numerous certifications and accolades, Fyffe’s life-long love of the water (he’s a longtime competitive swimmer and diver) and his innate sense of what makes people happy, are the driving forces behind his company. The mission: to provide harmony, balance and “outdoor sanctuaries.”
“At our core, we’re in the happiness business,” confirms Fyffe. “We believe there’s nothing more important than giving your body and soul the time and space it needs for moments relaxing, restorative and uplifting.”
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It’s a winning formula. Sparkling Pools/Harbor Hot has been providing Fyffe’s vision of how water + wellness= happiness to his devoted clientele for 42 years.
“We’re passionately dedicated to delivering the highest standard of luxury through thoughtfully designed, high-quality pools, hot tubs, saunas, and spas, plus a seamless purchasing and installation process and responsive, stress-free customer service,” says Fyffe. “We have a laser focused understanding of how to make sure every detail is just right, every question is answered.”
A resident of Sag Harbor, where he has served as a volunteer firefighter and an elder in the Old Whalers Church, Fyffe says he “has been coming out here my whole life” and has “always and only done pools (and saunas and spas) on the East End of Long Island.”
It all started back in college, in 1978, when Fyffe took a summer job in Southampton cleaning pools, in between his freshman and sophomore years at Wharton (where he holds a B.S. degree in accounting). The next summer Fyffe and a friend decided to start their own company. They called it Sparkling Pools, inspired by the essence of what drew them to the business in the first place.
“We realized when we had a pool dialed in right — it sparkled,” recalls Fyffe with a (dare-we-say-it) sparkle in his voice. “So that’s where sparkling pools came from,” says Fyffe. “And when I’m happy and people are happy, they sparkle.” You can’t argue with that.
Since 1981, Sparkling Pools and soon after Harbor Tubs (established 1983) have been setting the standard for custom pool design, high end construction, meticulous installation and carefree maintenance. The company has expanded exponentially over the years, especially with the growing demand in recent years to optimize the outdoor living experience.
Fyffe recently moved the showroom and offices to East Hampton, on Toilsome Lane, affording his company and staff four times the space than their previous locations (seven years in Southampton, 35 years in Sag Harbor), to showcase Sparkling Pools/Harbor Hot Tubs’ stunning products, partnerships and services.
Fyffe is excited about plans to create what he describes as a “truly standout, backyard experience,” noting he is working with lighting designers who have theater backgrounds so “when you come in to the (new) showroom, when we have it tuned up, you’ll feel like you’re at the beach, despite being in your backyard, with a really cool kitchen or your hot tub or swim spa or outdoor sauna.” Fyffe anticipates the new showroom will be completed by late fall of 2022.
In the meantime, the company is busier than ever. “We have stock of saunas and spas,” says Fyffe, “the Bradford spas and pools are out a bit — we have that with some high end products — but we do have an actual timeline on them,” he says.
In terms of trends these days, Fyffe says in the world of hot tubs and spas, it’s all about the swim spa (a self-contained small pool).
“Hydropool is one of the largest manufacturers of swim spas and that is the biggest growth area in the hot water end and of the swimming pool industry,” says Fyffe.
In the pool construction arena, Fyffe is “finding some real high-end stuff (trending), like our stainless steel rooftop pools that we’re working on, which are really cool,” he says
At the end of the day, Fyffe says it’s all about personal and customer satisfaction:
“Our customer is the kind of person that wants high quality and doesn’t really want to worry about their pool or their hot tub; they want it well taken care of — and that makes them happy. And when we can achieve that, it makes us happy as technicians and as business owners … it’s about caring that’s what it’s all about.”
Sparkling Pools/Harbor Hot Tubs is located at 5 Toilsome Lane, East Hampton. Call 631-725-3983. For more info, visit sparklingpools.com, harborhottubs.com.
