Welcome to our forum.
lots to consider. The one thing with Artic is they offer a nice wood cabinet. this is a plus for some folks (the beatuy of the red wood), but also can be a drawback (keeping the wood in good shape). I think nothing looks better than a nice furniture grade finish on a hot tub, and nothing looks worse than a wood hot tub that hasn't been taken care of. Artic has a good reputation, and I would defnatly take a look at them. Hot springs (made by watkins) is also another large name that has a good variety of hot tubs. They have several sister brands as well; Caldera, Tiger river and Limelight. You would do well to visit a hotsprings dealer if for no other reason thatn to see what they offer. They are the big dog in the industry. (I have had 2 tubs by Watkins and they have been outstanding).My advice is to wet test several different brands at differnt dealers, compare the seating and jetting and go for the tub that offers a good variety of seating/jets. Avoid the steroes and don't upgrade any light packages, but do invest in a good cover lifter, and a stable set of stairs. things that might help you narrow the field might be your price range, as well as your size (are you tall or short?)? Do you have any space limitations on where the tub will be placed?
Just a little clarification on the Arctic cabinet. 1. Arctics come standard with a clear Canadian Cedar cabinet, not redwood. The difference in that is that Cedar doesnt rot.
Cedar doesn't rot? Never? Never never? (careful here, I go through over a half million board feet of cedar annually...and I'm talking about the highest grade of cedar available).
Cedar is beautiful!!! But it will rot in the Pac N,west takes while, but it will!
So, back to the original question, check out Olympic Hot Tubs and AquaQuip, two of the leading dealers not just in the Seattle area, but in the country.