After speaking with several friends about recommendations for pool contractors, we decided to go with Swan for our pool, hardscape and landscape project. We initially worked with Jim Eldridge on the budget and design. He played a big role in working around our objectives and helped create a pool that is both functional and met our budget. As a bit of wisdom, prior to signing the contract, validate the finish details (tile, concrete, landscape) so they are within your expectations. You might want to consider hiring a professional designer to assemble the look you desire. Our project manager, Sal Grasso, was responsive and collaborative along the way. He played a significant intermediary role when we ran into an issue with the County to meet 5 foot wall height requirements. He worked with the County and our pool safety fence vendor to get our fence approved to meet requirements. Be prepared to work closely with the project manager to ensure the details are completed to your liking. Overall, we are pleased with the result and craftsmanship. We did experience delays along the way, mostly due to our HOA and the County, but Swan stayed engaged in the process. If I can offer any advice to people taking on home renovation projects would be to expect unforeseen delays, review design details during contracting, and have some patience when it comes to HOA's and County approvals. We would recommend Swan Pools.

The designer Jim Eldgridge  was amazing. He was very personable and timely on his end of the deal. He did a beautiful drawing and was very quick to respond or return our calls. I would highly recommend Jim Eldgridge. 
The negative part was working with James and the rest of the crew they would higher out to. I was very disappointed on the punctuality of the crew etc. We went days in-between having anyone show up at the house. There was terrible communication in what and who was coming to my house. It was a guessing game everyday if someone was going to show up at the house and what time. They weren't quick to return calls etc. In the end when the product was finished the cement surrounding the pool had watermarks in it. They kept insisting that this was normal. The owner finally came out and said that he hadn't seen this before but still was proud of the work. So we payed them the $5,000 we still owed them. We felt it wasn't worth going into arbitration over $5,00 but were very disappointed in their idea of what is quality and what they are proud as an end result.
DON'T HIRE SWAN POOLS we went with a big company knowing they wouldn't go under etc and would be around. But I will say that I wouldn't do it again no way!!

Danger !!! Stay away from these guys.  
To start, their sales guy Jim is a liar
He gave us brochures of products we never received.  I asked if we were getting a variable speed pump that saves enegry , he said yes (lie- we got a two speed pump - that wastes energy- I would have paid extra for better pump )
He told us to put equipment near spa because you would n't hear the pump and heater because "the new ones are so quiet" (lie - he just recommend that to save money on the piping and labor), 
He showed us these nice stainless steel jets for our spa (lie- we have cheap plastic ones that keep breaking and poping out)
He was late to every meeting
When pool was being built I would ask one their subcontacts (another lie - Jim says they don't sub out any of their work) about something that didn't seem right , then Swans project manager would come over and say "well it isn't in the contract"   
You really have to read the contract throughly because they will say one thing and then right something else in contract 
As far as the pool went....
They did not dig it deep enough
The decking turned pink with grey polk dots - I had to fight with them for 2 1/2 months to fix/paint over deck with epoxy
The pool project started in May finished early October
Follow up service is terrible - When thing break they never return messages and hang up on you when you point out their mistakes

I originally sought an estimate for an already designed oasis.  I did so without any intention of putting in the pool and spa while my husband is deployed in Afghanistan.  However the estimate came back a lot lower than we thought it would.  The salesman Jim estimated that this "cost could increase 5-10% if we waited" for later in the year and somehow convinced me it would be an easy and low stress process.  This couldn't be further from the truth.  Although I was originally very pleased with the level of customer service in the beginning, it really was just a show.  Jim really deserves an academy award for his salesmanship.  In combination with their years in business and BBB standing, I thought we chose the right company.  Once the contract was signed however and the work started, it was a nightmare from start to painful finish.
My first warning sign was when the surveyor tried to solicit me for his friend who sells long term care insurance.  
It went down hill from there.  At some point between excavation and the plumbing, I had a 7ft fence post magically disappear.  After the plumbers came out I had a brand new rain gutter look like someone took a golf club to it and my beautiful brand new polished cement with imbedded glass capped planter wall had 6 chunks taken out of it.  Although they did eventually repair all the damage of the desecration to my property and did reimburse us for the fence post.  
The drawing that they had me sign off was incorrect so of course I didn't realize they had the pool equipment 2mm from the walkway and the monstrosity was visible from every relaxing point in the  back yard and ruined the entire chi of the design.  So Carl comes out and rubs it in my face that I signed off on the drawing, even though their drawing was inaccurate which let me to believe the equipment was right where I wanted it.  At first he quoted me $300 to move it but then it changed to $400.  
I was concerned about work being done while I was out of town but both Carl and the mason assured me that there would be no issue with putting in the stone coping.  When I returned they had installed two different colored stones; the mason, Carl and Cecil all tried to convince me that it was "natural stone variation".  I know about stone variation and this was not; even the clerk at stone yard agreed with my assessment.  Swan Pools agreed to replace the stone and then as a result, two weeks went by with NO work being done on our pool.
When the county inspector came out for the inspection prior to the water placement, we FAILED the inspection!  There was a laundry list of corrections including: installation of the wrong (and cheaper) valve on the pool filler, less than the required 10 feet between the power lines and pool level and the icing on the disaster cake is the pool equipment location made the required fence barrier climbable!  The inspector stated "they should've known better than to place it there".  By this time I had already filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and refused to pay the $400 for the equipment move, which they didn't end up charging me anyway after the failed inspection.  So Carl stated that he thought the outer fence was going to be the code.  Little late for that, not to mention I explained this to Jim when he first surveyed the property.  So both Carl and the plumbers comment that we got the hard nosed inspector- to the contrary I was glad that the inspector did his job and was frustrated, yet again, with Swan Pools that they tried to skirt code issues.
The contract stated that the pool would be completed "approximately 8 weeks from the dig". Jim explained that this would allow for things out of their control, e.g. weather.  He didn't bother to warn me that it would actually take 17 weeks because of their lack of communication, shoddy work and ineptitude.  The pool looks nice and my husband is enjoying it upon his return but stress of this process was not worth it.  I'm not sure how this company gets even a decent rating.

We contacted Swan Pools for a quote.  The sales representative was very informative and helpful in figuring out what we wanted.  The pricing was a little high initially, but we were able to get it down some.  When we signed the agreement we had a deal that the payments would be put on a credit card and no fee would be charged for the credit card.  When it came time to make a payment, the accounting person made a huge fuss about us paying a fee for using a credit card.  Once she was told that the sales person agreed to no fee, she then told us we could only use a credit card if we came down to their office and she swiped the card.  She would not take the card over the phone.  She was so rude and nasty that I contemplated going with another company.  Then, the owner called me and assured me we would not have to deal with her and that he would make sure everything went smoothly.  However, he then did things like schedule the inspection and tell us we did not need to be there, when the inspector required us there.  Then failed to have the right equipment on site for the inspector.  Then let empty pool fill up with back flow and sit there.  When we asked if the inspector would sign off on it he said yes.  The inspector refused to put his hand in the water and couldn't make a visual inspection because of the water.  So the inspection had to be rescheduled again.  The pool alarms we got were approved by Swan pools, but rejected by the inspector.  Needless to say, this ended up being a very frustrating experience.  The subcontractors they used rinsed off there tools in our yard and got plaster in the plants and on areas of the fence.  The tile came out nicely, but the plaster is spotty.  We went with a blue grey and there are spots of black and white here and there.  It appears that they may not have mixed the color well enough before pouring it in the pool.  I would not use them again.  Working with contractors can be difficult, this experience went just beyond difficult. 

Sales experience was great, although there was no flexibility or negotiation of price.
Design was great.
Project was initially under engineered, which cost me additional.
Workmanship was impeccable. 
Milestone payments were fair.
Work was performed timely.
Company was fair, ethical and honorable.

Don came over, we discussed what I wanted to do and he did some
measurements. He said he would get back to me about meeting again with
his model of how he thought my backyard should look. He called me back
about a week later and we scheduled to meet about a month after we
originally met. He never showed up and I never got an estimate or a
call. Very unprofessional.

The salesman we met with a couple of times, both times he was late, with one last minute cancellation in between.  Once he arrived, he went into detail about lack of daycare and his divorce issues.  We signed paper work in mid-September, job was supposed to start mid-October, didn't start until February, with no explanation.  Once ground broke, things went pretty smooth.  We hand delivered every payment to keep things goings.  There were things during the signing of contract that we were told we would get, but didn't, such as an indoor board to operate jacuzzi, which we were told would heat up to desired temp. in 15 minutes, doesn't happen.  We were also charged for decorative tiles that we didn't get, when called and asked for money owed to us on that, given the "We'll get back to you.". The heater went out the following year, twice, the salt system (Jandy) (which the salesman pushed on us because it was the best) went out two years after, don't make that cell any longer so needs re-plumbing done to add a new one, the motor literally blew up, pool guy says he never saw one do that before, discovered it was never installed properly, was missing some bolt or something (can't remember what he said), but he had always noted that it ran loud for a new motor.  Some bricks around pool started lifting the following year of installation, of course, warranties had all expired by this time.

Swan Pools made the pool smaller than it was supposed to be.

Designer/estimator showed up on time.  He spent two hours with me and drew up a conceptual plan.  Quote was well presented, and was close to quotes we received from two other contractors that missed appointments and didn't bother to provide us with a plan.  Before we made the final decision Swan provided us a nice color rendering of the yard.

The construction went very well.  We didn't have to complain about anything to get it the way we wanted it. We weren't bothered by anyone, other than a few questions about our preferences on a couple things.  Before the job started, a surveyor with electronic surveying equipment spent two days on our lot taking every measurement.  They worked from detailed construction drawings, which was good because our lot has several elevations and intricate stone work.  Our experience was great.  We were dreading the whole process but it wasn't bad at all.  Our friends who are general contractors have all said great things about the quality of the workmanship.  We recommended Swan to our daughter and son in law.

BTW, we tried Silver Springs and Mission Pools, who are close by (Laguna Hills).  Silver Springs gave us a quote that omitted items, and they didn't even provide so much as a sketch to show what the bid was for.  Mission Pools couldn't be bothered to give us a bid on time.  We waited for them, and finally called.  The owner responded that since we were in such a big hurry he would work on the bid over the weekend.  We told him not to bother.

I can't believe Swan had an F rating.  We weren't members of Angie's list then, or we wouldn't have used them.  We're glad we had them do the job.  Also, their designer stayed involved in the job the whole way through.  He took us to stone yards to look at different kinds of stone, and helped us get furniture and other finishing items for our yard.

We talked to various pool companies and none of them worked out. We signed a contact with Swan Pools. They then tried to review the contract for 5000 dollars before they had even done any work. We decided to not go ahead with the project.

The work was not very good. They were not very responsive. They had not cleaned up their mess when they were done.