Why do most spa owners hate thermospa

[benalexe]

Does thermospa just have a bad rap or does the tub suck that bad?

[drewstar]

I don't own a Thermospa and have not delt with them. However the general concensus from those who have delt with them apper to have common themes of Thermo spa having  a very bad reputation for very agressive, and sometimes sleezy sales tatics and salespeople.  They make used car salespeople and vinly repacement window sales people look like saints.

Thier prices appear signifcantly higher that others.   You cannot wet test the spas.  There is no local spa store to deal with and service is questionable.

There are a few folks who fequent this board and say they are very happy with thermo spas.   However it seems when compared with otehr spas, T Spas really doens't offer anything superior to the other brands, and given the price, sales tatics and wet test issue, they don't share a very good rep.

[drewstar]

Ben

I understand now that you are getting a free T-spa from your brother.    that's great.

But if you were Buying a new spa, I would recomed that you do some research (Google is your friend) and you'd find stories such as:

http://www.thermospa-scam-complaints.com/

or

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/095/ripoff0095175.htm

or

http://thermospa.pissedconsumer.com/

or simpley google thermospa problems.....

[Bonibelle]

So for the most part the aggressive sales tactics and inflated prices are the issues. You are getting a free spa. If you have found someone to service it, which seems to sometimes be an issue, you are halfway there.  Just realize that just like any of us, you will incur costs along the way. I don't think there are enough Thermospa owners on this forum to get a reliable consensus of the things that are good or bad. Everyone likes to think they made the best decision when they bought their tub so you are going to continually hear why they didn't consider Thermospa...it doesn't necessarily mean you will have a bad experience. Take the good information here (and there is plenty) but don't use the negative about Thermospas to make this decision a lot tougher. Just go into this project with your eyes open and realize it could cost you a little bit of money

[benalexe]

It is interesting.... the Thermospas Manhattan that I am getting seems like a really great tub.  It has 3 pumps plus a separate blower. 1pump controls the left side one the right side and one for the 2 seater lounge.   Each pump has 2 speeds.   104 JETS...  I understand that more is not necessiraly better but I can't help but try and figure out why people love to hate this brand.    I have seen the web site where someone had a lot of problems with it, but you can also buy a toyota and get a lemon.

The spa has a great warantee and seems to have nice features.  I like the shoulder jets and the jet pillows.  All really cool stuff.  The spa also has several adjustments on the jets.

So what am I missing?

[Hillbilly Hot Tub]

Your getting it free, should have no complaints. What people ar saying is if you were purchasing it new, there are much better quality tubs out there for less money. How many 20 plus year old thermospas do you see....I have not seen any. We work on many thermospas since we are in the North east and as a service company see many issues that could be addressed/done differntly, specially for the cost of the tub.

This does not mean your tub is going to be "bad", you got the best deal anyone can.

[Chas]

You are 'brochure shopping.'

A lot of people do that - they end up buying the product which has the best-looking brochure or the brochure with the biggest numbers. Except price, of course.

Therein lies the problem- your tub, for example, doesn't actually have 104 jets. Many of the 'jets' are air injectors. But the number obviously impressed you, you quoted it here. And of the jets which actually are hydro-massage jets, how many are large, adjustable jets or jets which can go from straight to rotary? Are they mostly just small jet? Because small jets have to be done very carefully to not be more pain than pleasure. If the goal is simply a large number on the brochure, you can put in the most painfully small jets in large quantities and save a fortune. The big players tend to invest in special jet design, and put as many larger jets as small - using the small jets to augment the massage given by the large ones, or they will put in a seat full of small jets but run large orifices in the jets so there is less "point" to the jet.

The tub has three pumps and an air blower - so do most of the top-line HotSpring and other major brand-name tubs. BUT, many of those tubs have a pair of jet pumps and a smaller circ pump. The feedback I get from my long-term owners is this: I have more than enough power in my spa, and I end up using about half of what I have over the long term. So let me ask you this question-

If you could buy a brand-name tub which gives you an awesome massage, makes you feel better, and eases muscle strains and pains - AND did it all with fewer parts, fewer holes in the shell, less power-hungry pumps, and a much better reputation in the marketplace, why wouldn't you?

Now, of course, in your case the spa is free, and you sure can't beat that! Enjoy the thing - tell us how the move and install go, and let us help you answer questions about running the thing once it is part of your lives.

 8-)

[benalexe]

The water jets is 88 and the air jets is 16.

I understand your point and more is not always better. Makes sense to me.  My father in lws porsche has 6 cylinders and can blow the doors off of most cars on the road.

Free is free and I get that. My brother is a top of the line kind of guy and usually buys the best so I am more questioning what his deal was that he purchased what people here seem to think of as trash.

I am not trying to defend thermospas because I don't care that much just trying to understand peoples logic out there.

IN terms of the 104 jets, on another post I had a lot of people seemed impressed by the number of jets it has.  I have also beeen looking around at some of the "better brands" and it seems that the higher end models do tend to have more.

But... I digress.

Thanks for offering help when I get it running. I really can't wait for it.  

I wish my wife was excited about it too...  

[Chubby Johnson]

I was talking to a D-1 dealer recently about all the brands sold in the local area. When Thermospas came up he made a good point. He said that Tspas has never made a big effort to set up shop in the area but year after year they have maintained a 1-800 number in the yellow pages.  

Hope you have good luck with any warranty work that might have to be performed. No sarcasm intended.

[Spatech_tuo]

The spa has a great warantee and seems to have nice features.  I like the shoulder jets and the jet pillows.  All really cool stuff.  The spa also has several adjustments on the jets.

So what am I missing?

You got your spa used and at the best possible price so you can't go wrong. If you someday replace it realize one thing about warranties, great ones are based both on how they are written and how well they are backed (time to fix, ease of getting help, fully covered versus prorated, etc.) . Thermospas may have a great warranty on paper but its the other parts where you'll find better luck with other spa makers.

Good luck on yours. Let us know how it goes.

[Swell-Tub]

I have never heard of ThemoSpa and them BAM!!! there they are with a nice ad on TV. The ad says you get a lot of quality for a fair price.

[benalexe]

Once again not to defend them but I think it is just their go to market strategy.

I don't know what is considered too expensive but the tub I am getting was purchased for $8,823 back in October of 2003. That seems reasonable no??

[Spatech_tuo]

Once again not to defend them but I think it is just their go to market strategy.

Those of us who know then can attest to the fact that they've earned their reputation!!