As I sit in front of this computer, the temperature outside has passed 80 degrees, which for May in the Berkshires, is early. And probably temporary. It will make our Memorial Day guests ask about our covered pool. Two nights ago, it was 31, so that is not quite fair. However, it is always our goal to have it open by now.
But this year, our pool operator is running behind getting peoples’ pools open. There is a new federal law mandating a pump shutoff function on pool drains. That caught me by surprise, although I do remember now that someone in Congress had pushed this through when his granddaughter had been pinned under the water by a pool drain. Fixing this potential problem is important, although it will cost us $1,000 for the new drain plus labor. The larger issue is that installing these new drains caught us by surprise, and we would have made sure that we were higher in the queue with our pool guy. Now he has to open the pool, wait for the chemicals to make the water safe, and for the pool heater to raise the temperature to a point where he can go underwater to the drain, and make the change. Then he has to wait for the health department to inspect the new system before they will issue the certificate for the pool to open this year. So this weekends’ guests will be disappointed. Unless the temperature goes back down to 30.
Hampton Terrace is one of the few Berkshire or Lenox inns with an outdoor heated pool. We typically keep it open through September.