The Best Hot Tub Pergola Design Ideas For Privacy and Shelter

A pergola is a fantastic feature for any garden, but is a particularly perfect addition when built over your hot tub: not only does it add an attractive finishing touch to spruce up the area, but a pergola over your hot tub also provides privacy, so you can have peace in mind while enjoying a luxurious soak. 

And, of course, it protects you from the British weather. A hot tub sheltered by a pergola with a roof enables you to use it year-round and really make the most out of it. 

Building a wooden hot tub pergola is a great way to extend the natural theme of a garden and is very versatile to style. Oak is a majestic, hardwearing material that simply makes the best-looking pergolas – and the ones that last. 

There are a host of options when it comes to designing your dream hot tub pergola, from cosy shelters with curtains to stunning, plant-laden trelliswork. Read through our guide for some inspiring ideas to get privacy and shelter for your hot tub with a wooden pergola and all of its available accessories.

Hot Tub Pergola Ideas For Privacy and Weather Protection

Pergolas can be simple structures or more elaborate ones, it all depends on the look you’re going for and your unique requirements for size and purpose. One thing you’re likely to be concerned about is privacy, especially if you have a very open garden that neighbours are easily able to look into. The last thing you want when you’re settling down for a luxurious soak by yourself or with a partner is the feeling that you’re not actually alone.

Fortunately, there are many attractive ways to remedy this with a pergola. Have a look through these hot tub privacy ideas to find one that suits you:

Curtains

One of the many benefits of a pergola is the versatility of the accessorising options. You can easily add curtains to each side of your pergola as needed. Not only does this elevate the décor of your pergola, but it also offers premier privacy and weather protection. Curtains come with the added advantage of allowing you the choice to have them drawn for optimum privacy or hung back to allow for open space and sunshine. A curtain drifting in a summer breeze also adds a dreamy aesthetic to your hot tub area. Make sure to get outdoor curtains made from water-resistant fabric that’s UV-stable.

Plants

Plants are a brilliant method of adding more privacy to your hot tub and pergola area. Many pergolas can come with trelliswork where you can grow creeping vines for an intricate and romantic aesthetic. Hanging a plethora of plants and blooming bouquets of flowers from the rafters of your pergola can make a kind of garden wall, resulting in a sumptuous outdoor hot tub enclosure complete with amazing aromas, a private sanctuary to relax in.

Roof protection

Traditionally, pergolas are wooden structures with a roofing grid of beams and rafters. If you want more privacy and more weather protection, a hot tub pergola with a roof is the ideal solution. Roofing options come in many forms, including:

• Fabric panels: OFabric suitable for the outdoors, like waterproof canvas, stretched over your pergola is a lightweight roofing solution and provides solid shade. Bear in mind that water can easily gather in fabric so it’s a good idea to create a gentle slope or dome with a fabric roof and get gutters installed to collect any rainwater.

• Fixed panels: A plastic roof is a more affordable way to provide some shelter, but bear in mind this isn’t as private as other options, depending on the colour and finish you go for. 

• Awnings: Retractable awnings or canopies are placed on top of the roof structure of your pergola and offer fantastic versatility as you can choose whether you want the roof on or off. 

• Louvred designs: The louvre design refers to slats on your roof which are able to tilt in any direction. Another versatile option, these moveable slats mean you can adjust them to you needs, creating a fully closed look or open look. 

• Thatching: A traditional thatched roof for your pergola gives the sense of a tropical paradise in your garden, and the thick natural material offers a lot of cooling shade.

Hot Tub Deck With Pergola: Design and Decoration Ideas

These hot tub deck ideas will help you make the most out of your pergola and patio area:

Extend the area with a wood deck

A deck design with a hot tub and pergola incorporated into it is one way to create the perfect oasis of calm in your back garden and maximise this gorgeous relaxation area into one defined section away from other parts of your garden.

Hot tub pergola with a bar

Getting a simple bar built into your hot tub pergola or on the decking near your hot tub will really elevate this patio area. Add in a fire pit for use in the evening and colder months and you’ll end up wanting to spend all day and night there!

Lighting

Add garden lights to your pergola to light up the area in the evenings with an enticing, soft glow. 

Soft furnishings

Build a bench under your pergola next to your hot tub and adorn it with soft cushions and blankets to really elevate the comfort and relaxation element of the area. 

Can I Build a Pergola Over My Hot Tub Myself?

As a pergola is essentially an open roof set across posts, you can technically build your own if you can source the right materials. A DIY hot tub pergola will come at a lower cost since you’re only paying for the materials and not the labour. 

However, if you want a wooden pergola that’s made from high-quality oak and has structural integrity you can trust, a pergola frame kit is the best option. This will be made to your specifications and delivered to you (or picked up by you) and, with some rudimentary DIY skills from you, you’ll be able to put it up yourself.