Hey Jeff,
not only in Qatar, but also on Sansibar, the resort where I stayed in 2007 also had a cooled swimming pool. This was an island that suffered power cuts on a regular basis as all it's power comes from a hydro plant in Tansania on the main land. Not enough power on the mainland and they cut the island of first. First the beer gets warm and then the pool gets warm.

Funny how westerners go to tropical islands to spend all day in an air conditioned room - pool - resturant.

Exactly some of the nicest resorts in the world started life as a malaria mosquito infested swamp, and without not just energy but very cheap energy will rapidly degenerate back.

I would use the term regenerate, not degenerate.