The Country Club Pool Is Closed Until July. Is Venetian Pool Really the Backup This Winter?

The Athletic Club pool at the Coral Gables Country Club, 997 N. Greenway Dr., closed on Nov. 9. The first-floor cardio deck closed with it. Both are part of a renovation the club says is scheduled to be finished in July 2027. In the meantime, the club gives active members free admission to Venetian Pool on De Soto Boulevard.

The free admission suits an afternoon swim. A swimmer whose week was built around the club's 6:30 a.m. lap lanes will have a harder time with it. Venetian Pool runs on a different schedule, and its usual winter calendar has a gap right at the start of the season. If you swim laps before work, your closest real option this winter is probably a county or City of Miami pool a few miles away.

Two pools, two different schedules

Here is the club's posted fall and winter lap-lane schedule next to the Venetian Pool hours the club gave members in its renovation Q&A.

The two schedules barely overlap. The only weekday time in both columns is Tuesday through Thursday from 4 to 5:30 p.m. On Saturday the overlap is 30 minutes, from 10 to 10:30 a.m. The City's own Venetian Pool page lists Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Check the posted hours before you go, but on either schedule the pool opens no earlier than 10 a.m. and is closed Mondays.

Venetian Pool is also a different kind of pool. It is the city's 1924 coral rock lagoon, with waterfalls and cave-like grottos, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It fills with spring water from the Biscayne Aquifer. The Venetian Pool FAQ says the pool is drained every night during the summer months. The City's Venetian Pool programs page lists Saturday adult swim lessons and children's American Red Cross lessons taught by Venetian Aquatic Club volunteers. Neither page lists a lap-lane schedule.

The December question

The City's Venetian Pool FAQ answers the winter question in one line: "We are closed to the public for annual maintenance and renovations from December to January."

That closure did not happen last winter. Venetian Pool closed in October 2024 for a $6 million renovation that replaced old pump equipment, restored the "Venetian Poles" and added the pool's first water recirculation system. It reopened on Dec. 9, 2025. The Miami Herald reported that because of the long closure, the pool was expected to stay open into late 2026. That word came from Fred Couceyro, the city's community recreation director.

"The city has traditionally closed the pool, which is one of the city's most popular attractions, every December and January for annual maintenance."

Miami Herald, Nov. 22, 2025

Late 2026 is now. The Athletic Club's renovation runs into July 2027, so it covers this December and January. If the traditional maintenance window comes back this winter, members will lose their stand-in pool for part of the season. The quickest way to plan is the City's online ticket calendar. It shows which dates are open for admission.

The same FAQ explains how getting in works. Tickets bought online in advance guarantee admission, but you cannot buy them online on the day of your visit. At the gate, tickets are first-come, first-served until the pool reaches capacity. Athletic Club members have a separate process. The club asks members to contact its staff for admission instructions before their first visit.

What your membership can do this winter

Your choice here affects the Venetian Pool access, so it helps to read the club's options together. According to the club's renovation Q&A and the City's park projects page, members can:

1. Keep the membership active. You keep the upstairs gym, the Kids Club, fitness classes, the monthly member mixers and free Venetian Pool admission. The club's venue and Le Parc Bonjour Café stay open too.
2. Suspend it. Call 305-722-8784. When you reactivate, you get credit for the full unused months left on your annual membership. Partial months don't count. A membership on hold has no access to the club, and the free Venetian Pool admission does not apply. You can still visit Venetian Pool by paying public admission.
3. Cancel it. You receive a prorated refund under city procedures.

Public admission at Venetian Pool is modest for residents. The City's FY27 fee schedule sets winter rates, November through March, at $7 for resident adults and $6 for resident children ages 3 to 12. Nonresidents pay $18 and $12. To get the resident rate, log in to a verified resident account, as the City's ticket purchasing guide explains, and bring ID. For scale, the same fee schedule lists a resident Single Fitness membership at $1,050 a year and Family Platinum at $3,150. For questions about your own account, the club's front desk is at 305-722-8784 and [email protected]. This is general information, not legal or financial advice, so confirm the terms of your own membership directly with the club before you decide.

Where the 6 a.m. lanes are this winter

The City's capital plan calls Venetian Pool the only public swimming pool in Coral Gables. For early-morning lap swimming, you'll need to leave the city. The City of Miami has three pools with early weekday lanes on schedules that run through spring 2027. Miami-Dade County runs a fourth pool just west of the Gables.

Shenandoah's Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning sessions are the only option on the list that covers Mondays, the day Venetian Pool is always closed. At Virrick Park, the City notes that facility permits limit the lanes available from 6 to 8 a.m. on weekdays. The City of Miami pages give average water temperatures of 81 to 83 degrees at all three of its pools. General admission at City of Miami pools is $3 for adults and $1 for seniors 55 and older. Swimmers 17 and under and veterans swim free. The City also notes that lanes and programs can change with staffing and operational needs.

A.D. Barnes Park is the closest of the four to the western Gables. Admission is $3 for children and adults and $2 for seniors. One version of the County's schedule says lap swimming is offered on request, so call ahead before you plan a Tuesday at 6:45 a.m. there.

One more change is happening close to the club. Construction of nine rain shelters at Granada Golf Course began Nov. 2 and is moving in phases. The course stays open throughout, and the pro shop has construction information at check-in.

At Jordan Casanas, we follow how our own neighborhood amenities change, including which pool is open, which lanes run at dawn and what that means for a family's week. If a renovation like this one has you rethinking how your Coral Gables home fits your routine, we're happy to walk through it with you, in English or Spanish.