Review of Cal Spa Avalon 844L bought last week.

[smokeandsoak]

I wanted to report on this since most of the info regarding Cal Spas (at least that I could find) was negative.

I looked at Master Spas, Sundance Spas (Sweetwater too), Marquis, Bullfrog, and Hot Springs (Tiger River too) before I decided on the Cal Spa.  I wet tested the Bullfrog 552 and the Cal Spa I ended up purchasing.

So far at least I am very happy with the decision.  We got a floor model 2007 A844L for 7790.00 and that included steps, cover and lifter, chemicals, delivery, taxes...everything.  Everything else I considered was shorter on features and longer on price.  We had been quoted about the same for a blemished Bullfrog 552 2006 model, but the newer Avalon had more features that I liked and felt better upon wet testing to me so it was a no brainer in the end.

We wanted a lounger, and while the dual lounger Bullfrog seemed like a great idea, one of the loungers was dissappointing to me with a lack of foot and leg jets.  The power of the bullfrog jets was just ok in comparison to the Cal Spa.   I really like the Cal Spa lounger better...with three powerful leg/foot jets per leg.  Since the leg area is flat, it can function as a nice bench seat when there are more than five bathers in the tub.  You could accomodate 8 or more in this tub in a pinch.  My wife 5'4" and I 6'0" both fit in it comfortably.

The Avalon we bought has 44 jets total  four bucket seats and one lounge seat.  It also has what they call a "Kool seat" which I renamed the "BJ seat."  This seat puts your fanny and legs in the water and allows you five jets worth of hydrotherapy for them, while keeping everything from the waist up out of the water to allow for a cool off (amongst other things.)  It is a very versitile seat and also functions VERY well as an entry step.  The two main bucket seats both have neck jets that are adjustable and very powerful.  They are kind of annoying with others in the water since they are above waterline and splash a lot, but they are the only neck jets I found that had enough velocity to feel good.  The rest I saw were a waste of time in my eyes since they are so weak...including the Bullfrog neck blaster I wet tested.  The good thing is they can be turned off when they arent desired.

The spa comes standard with a variety of SS jets, two 6 hp blowers, dual filters, ozonator and xl heat exchanger (both with lifetime warranties)  Mine also had the "disco" water line led lighting included since it was a floor model.  The other spas we looked at in the same price range didnt have all those features.

One negative thing I heard in particular about this spa was that the 44 jet model was a waste due to the 1 "whirlpool jet" that hits you in a strange place in one of the seats.  First off, this jet can be turned off entirely and it usually will be since power is shut off or reduced in all the other jets when the whirlpool jet is activated.  Second...while this jet will blow you out of the seat next to it and isnt practical most of the time when the tub is full of bathers...it is really nice for a deep tissue massage of sore muscles such as thighs and legs etc.  It is the most powerful jet I have ever felt in any tub and it definitely has its uses.  I turn it on at some point almost everytime Im in the spa and stand in front of it to really work out those sore muscles and it works GREAT for that.

I just got it last week, so I cannot comment on the durability of the spa or components yet, but I feel good about the dealer I purchased from.  I havent tried any of their other models so I cant comment on anything but the Avalon.  I absolutely love this spa and I am so happy with it...I just wanted to share a good experience with anyone who is thinking of buying a Cal Spa.  I will check in from time to time to provide updates as needed.  I say...dont write off Cal Spas before you have tried them...I feel like I got lots of bang for the buck and I am very happy with the purchase.  I know this probably sounds like a commercial, but I do not work in the spa industry at all...I am only a consumer giving my honest opinion to help others who may be looking at this brand or model.

[Chad]

Congratulations!  
I'm glad you're enjoying it. That's really all that matters. Everything else is hoopala.

Maybe I misread something or you simply left something out but either way,
these claims below are easy to make when only wet testing 2 different spas.
''they are the only neck jets I found that had enough velocity to feel good''
"It is the most powerful jet I have ever felt in any tub"

I'm not tryin to pick on you as I could care less if you bought a Jacuzzi. It really makes no difference to me. I just thought these claims were a little over the top.

I hope you get years of enjoyment out of your spa,

Chad

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

You may have noticed that the negative reviews you've seen were from people that owned the spas for some time, had a problem, and reported on the resolution (or lack of) of the problem. I'm quite sure that the majority of posters were quite ecstatic with their spa before the problem(s) surfaced.  

[searchinginfl]

Love your name smoke!

[Zep]

smokeandsoak........

I too have loved my CalSpa I bought almost two years ago.

I have got excellent service and excellent response from my CalSpa dealer.

It's great to hear you love your CalSpa as well.

But be advised....anytime.....and I mean ANYTIME the word CalSpa is mentioned on this message board the "doom & gloomers"...."pee on the parade" crowd comes racing out to throw some negative shot.

Like with your post.....all positive......but some can't just let it go and let someone be happy with their spa.....they must run and "pee on the parade" and imply/say things that basically equate to "oh you just wait you bought a piece of junk".

There are "favored brands" that any negatives are greatly underplayed and certain "disfavored brands" that problems are greatly overplayed.

so smokeandsoak.....first realize many of the people in here are extremely biased to what they sell or own......but that does not mean you can't learn alot and get some great free advice in here from people that are really nice and knowledgeable about hot tubs.

[Chad]

smokeandsoak........

I too have loved my CalSpa I bought almost two years ago.

I have got excellent service and excellent response from my CalSpa dealer.

It's great to hear you love your CalSpa as well.

But be advised....anytime.....and I mean ANYTIME the word CalSpa is mentioned on this message board the "doom & gloomers"...."pee on the parade" crowd comes racing out to throw some negative shot.

Like with your post.....all positive......but some can't just let it go and let someone be happy with their spa.....they must run and "pee on the parade" and imply/say things that basically equate to "oh you just wait you bought a piece of junk".

There are "favored brands" that any negatives are greatly underplayed and certain "disfavored brands" that problems are greatly overplayed.

so smokeandsoak.....first realize many of the people in here are extremely biased to what they sell or own......but that does not mean you can't learn alot and get some great free advice in here from people that are really nice and knowledgeable about hot tubs.

I hope this wasn't directed at me Zep as I thought I made it fairly clear that which spa he purchased makes no difference to me. I would have said the same thing if he bought a Hot Springs. I just don't think such broad statments should be made w/o actually wet testing more spas.
On a side note, I think HS is coming out with similar imitation stone skirting as CalSpa. I wish it was available on my Jacuzzi. Looks great!

[smokeandsoak]

Maybe I misread something or you simply left something out but either way,
these claims below are easy to make when only wet testing 2 different spas.
''they are the only neck jets I found that had enough velocity to feel good''
"It is the most powerful jet I have ever felt in any tub"

I'm not tryin to pick on you as I could care less if you bought a Jacuzzi. It really makes no difference to me. I just thought these claims were a little over the top.

I hope you get years of enjoyment out of your spa,

Chad

I didnt know Cal spas had a bad rep here, and overall I found very little review info...but I did read more negative remarks than positive.  Of course I found that there were positive and negative reviews on every brand so I made the decision that I felt comfortable with.  I know only one other Calspa owner in the area (referred me to the dealer I bought from) and he has had no trouble in the 1.5 years he has owned his Cal spa.

I hope to get years of enjoyment from it too...and I certainly hope nagging problems dont surface later.  If they do I will report them honestly here through to any eventual resolution.  As far as the claims above go....I felt the pressure from the neck jets on some of the other spas I considered even if I didnt get in and wet test them and my opinion stands that these were the only ones that had enough pressure/ adjustability to make them worth my while out of the ones I tried.  I also felt as many varieties of jets as I could before I narrowed it down to a few models I wanted to wet test.  I have also sat in quite a few friends hot tubs over the years too and I can honestly say that the one big whirlpool jet in this tub is the most powerful I have ever felt.  As I mentioned...some people hate it for that very reason...but I like it.  Not trying to be over the top...but I stand by my observations.  They are however just my personal opinion and no doubt my experience may be more narrow than others so please take them with a grain of salt...like everything you read on the internet.

Thanks for the advice Zep...love the stone skirts...may have to upgrade to that when mine need replacing.

[Zep]

"I hope this wasn't directed at me Zep"

Chad it really wasn't for the most part.....but I do think every word about
CalSpa is "microscoped to the 10th degree".(and I don't mean by you)

"I just don't think such broad statments should be made w/o actually wet testing more spas."  

Oh I agree, but I just wonder if some excited happy brand new HS owner came on and the regular cheerleaders all clap and say how happy they are for the new owner.....if the new HS owner happily says "gosh this new HS is the most powerful jet I have ever felt in any tub" if you or any of the others would run in and say..."whoaaaa now.....you cant say that about HS until you have wet tested all the other brands".

Come on Chad......you gotta know in your heart of hearts that would not happen.

But again my post was not directed at you....you seem like a fair minded guy.

[smokeandsoak]

After two months...I still love the Calspa I bought.  I have had no problems with it at all.

There is one observation I would like to make.  My electric bill went up BIG TIME.  I keep the spa at 102 and would have expected some increase in power consumption being as it has been a COLD winter here in the Rockies...but our electric consumption almost doubled in comparison to last year at this time.  The spa is "full foam" but if you remove the skirts...you can see its not full of foam.  There is foam insulation, but I guess I imagined the inside of the cabinet "full" of foam.  I havent removed the panels and seen inside any other spa cabinets and this is my fist spa so I have nothing to compare it to.  I just thought it would be fair to post the observation that my spa seems to be an energy hog.  Of course I have been using it a LOT...but still...

 

[Pathfinder]

There are 2 options from Cal 1st Partial foam where its just the shell sprayed and thats it. 2nd is full foam the entire cavity except for the equipment area is foamed and that will go to the perimeter structure.  It seems your tub has the partial foam  check your invoice to see if you payed extra for full foam.  Have you had any problems with your neck jets not shutting off.

[Josh]

After two months...I still love the Calspa I bought.  I have had no problems with it at all.

There is one observation I would like to make.  My electric bill went up BIG TIME.  I keep the spa at 102 and would have expected some increase in power consumption being as it has been a COLD winter here in the Rockies...but our electric consumption almost doubled in comparison to last year at this time.  The spa is "full foam" but if you remove the skirts...you can see its not full of foam.  There is foam insulation, but I guess I imagined the inside of the cabinet "full" of foam.  I havent removed the panels and seen inside any other spa cabinets and this is my fist spa so I have nothing to compare it to.  I just thought it would be fair to post the observation that my spa seems to be an energy hog.  Of course I have been using it a LOT...but still...

 

When you say your electric bill doubled.....I'm curious, what was the cost of a normal electric bill before the spa?
  
A normal utility for me is upwards of 200 bucks (electric and gas)....so I'm sure hoping yours is a lot less.  I can't imagine a tub that makes your costs double, unless you generally have an incredibly cheap bill.

BTW...I looked at Cal Spas. They didn't have any of their higher end models in the showroom here, so I never ended up going back after one visit.  Which model did you get?

[ndabunka]

After two months...I still love the Calspa I bought.  I have had no problems with it at all.

There is one observation I would like to make.  My electric bill went up BIG TIME.  I keep the spa at 102 and would have expected some increase in power consumption being as it has been a COLD winter here in the Rockies...but our electric consumption almost doubled in comparison to last year at this time.  The spa is "full foam" but if you remove the skirts...you can see its not full of foam.  There is foam insulation, but I guess I imagined the inside of the cabinet "full" of foam.  I havent removed the panels and seen inside any other spa cabinets and this is my fist spa so I have nothing to compare it to.  I just thought it would be fair to post the observation that my spa seems to be an energy hog.  Of course I have been using it a LOT...but still...

 

Sounds like a nice comfortable tub.  Full Foam is full of foam everywhere but where the motors are. In the case of my Jacuzzi, that means that I have foam from the top to the bottom and from the shell to the skirting in three of the four walls.  In the motor area, it still has a fair amount of foam but still allows a bit of space for the motors.  Cal Spa had a LOT of problems in the past with it's management and honoring paying their dealers for the "warranty" services that they had performed.  I think it's gotten better and there may even be new ownership of the company.  My dad had a Cal and did have a number of problems with it after 4 or 5 years.  After 8 it was basically a planter and he had it destroyed when he replaced it with an @ Home unit.  So, yea you will hear horror stories but that doesn't mean your has to be one of them.  

I live in NC and the weather here is fairly mild but our monthly electric bill only went up about $20/month from $135 to $155/month and has stayed there the whole 5 years we have owned it (I also have a separate $80/month gas bill for heat, dryer, fireplace, water heater, etc).  I would agree with the others on here who say to check your invoice to verify you got what you thought you were getting.  Could there be other reasons that the numbers might be higher?  Do you have the circuit wired to 50amps and the tub is set to 60amps?  I'm not an electrician but I thought I read someone else on here had done that (with a different mfg tub) and had a huge bill as a result.

[wmccall]

I hope you stick around for years to come.  Oddly enough, here in my town, The number one dealer of spas sells both Hot Springs and Cal Spas and have a good reputation with both.   I hope you have a long happy relationship with your tub and you quit smoking so you can enjoy it longer.  



What color/skirt did you get?  I've liked the looks of the Red ones in my dealers show room.

[Chas]

I think a good dealer can make the ownership of just about any brand turn out to be good or bad. In this area Cal spa has been through one factory store and two dealers in the time I have been in business.

There has been at least one Cal dealer who has posted on this or other boards who reported that their family-owned Cal dealership was exemplary, and I have no reason not to believe it.

The biggest complaint with Cal seems to stem from service, so once again, a good dealer can make that problem go away.

 8-)

[Mendocino101]

The biggest complaint with Cal seems to stem from service, so once again, a good dealer can make that problem go away.

 8-)

I think this holds true with just about any product and if a person does have a problem and if it is handled in manner that pleases them, than people tend to focus on how well they were taken care of and not the issue and actually many times brag about what a great product they have and how well they are cared for if they ever have an issue.