Pool and spa show makes a splash in Dubai

Dubai: Custom spas and safety kits for UAE homes are making waves at the Middle East Pool & Spa show at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Among the exhibits is a stand-alone barrel sauna that fits in your backyard. Made from Canadian red cedar, a standard model from the Almost Heaven line seats four people and is fitted with a tempered and tinted glass door.

A Dubai interior designer bought the bucket-shaped sauna for her Jumeirah villa and readily admitted that she is planning to transform the garden into an open-air spa resort.

The sauna costs about $5,000 (Dh18,360) and the company is looking for a UAE distributor.

The Insta-Test kit is also targeted at homeowners and reveals your pool’s health in just two seconds. It includes colour-coded test strips that are dipped into the water and then matched against a coloured chart on the bottle. The intensity of the colours show levels of chlorine, acid, hardness and pH levels in the water.

Results from the strips, which cost about €10 (around Dh47) for a pack of 50, can even be entered into some smartphones for instant recommendations, effectively turning the device into a scanner.

Also on display were plug-and-play pools, underwater sound systems and custom spa mosaics. According to show organisers, investment in the industry is set to swell more than eight per cent in 2012.