We just bought two pairs of Speedo water shoes at Costco this weekend for our summer place. They were $19.99 and very nice.
They have a tougher top to protect the toes, and a cushioned
insole that is removable for drying.
This is a picture of them.

But with swimming pool rules, they may not let them in. Germs/dirt and all that? If you had a pair just for that pool, and kept them there, they might let you do it.

I bought the men's in a smaller size, because they are wider, and I now need the wider toe box. The men's are black and gray only, no pink for them!

Our summer place has only rocks, and very little sand. So we need foot protection. These are the nicest ever..that I have found. In the old days we just wore old tennies, and those were not great, and never dried out well.

This link is for the picture only...as an example:
http://stores.mailcar.net/catalog/in...ALS%208%20Pink

Amazon has these along with reviews by people who have bought them. Some say they wore them in water aerobics (one person said the water aerobics hurt his feet without them).

Interesting... they seem to only care if you try to wear sneakers or high heels in... something not meant to be in water... I'm thinking I might experiment with gel cushions... is this a bad idea in water?

The Speedo's have a cushion in them already. I thought they they were pretty comfy. I have broken sesamoids, and I appreciate some cushion + support. The foot doctor told me to watch for extremes, so the bone fragments don't move around. I suppose you could take the Speedo one out and put in a gel cushion. I think the gel cushions are sealed.

Go look at the reviews at Amazon. Some people there used them in pools.

I'm actually thinking extra cushioning... like on top of my cushions in my Lands End shoes (which claim to have the same cushioning as in their sneakers...so I can't imagine how comfortable they actually are...