Considering: HotSpring, Sundance, or Catalina Spa

[grunt66]

Hi,

My wife and I have been looking at Spa’s for the past several months. We have narrowed it down to a Sundance Cameo, Hotsprings Sovereign, and the Catalina XL26000.

I have wet tested the Cameo and Sovereign unfortunately not on the same day. My wife likes the Cameo because it has more bells and whistles (more jets).  Later this week I will be wet testing the Catalina XL26000 (they have to fill it with water). I was able to wet test the Catalina Montreal. I will say that the Catalina spa has the strongest spraying jets. The salesman said that the pumps produce 7-brake horsepower.

I have done a search on the forum and found no information on the Catalina Spa brand and very little on Cameo or Sovereign.

If anybody has any information on these three brands it would be greatly appreciated.

I have lower back pain and I am looking for a spa with water therapy. I like the Hotspring Sovereign but my wife likes the Cameo (more jets).

As far as prices go, I can get the Sovereign for $6,950.00, Cameo (2007 floor model) for $8,850.00 no stereo, and the XL 26000 (2007 floor model) with stereo for $8,000.00. All three spas come with steps, and cover.

Thanks in advance

[96SC]

Hi,

My wife and I have been looking at Spa’s for the past several months. We have narrowed it down to a Sundance Cameo, Hotsprings Sovereign, and the Catalina XL26000.

 [glow]My wife likes the Cameo because it has more bells and whistles [/glow](more jets).


 I like the Hotspring Sovereign but [glow]my wife likes the Cameo [/glow](more jets).


Thanks in advance

Welcome to the forum.

I'm afraid your mind has been made up for you.

We have a Hot Spring spa, not a Sovereign, that has the double back massager (Moto-Massage) that feels great when our backs get tight.  I have no info on the other two spas you've looked at but I am sure someone will speak up on their behalf.

Hopefully your wife is wet testing with you and she likes the 'more jets' because they feel better not simply because there are more of them.  Quality not quantity.

Good luck with your search.

[Too Tense]

If there are any dealers close by you, you sured take a look  at the Arctic, and Clearwater lines, both have great tubs.

[Spatech_tuo]

As far as prices go, I can get the Sovereign for $6,950.00, Cameo (2007 floor model) for $8,850.00 no stereo, and the XL 26000 (2007 floor model) with stereo for $8,000.00. All three spas come with steps, and cover.

Thanks in advance

I think Hot Spring and Sundance are two of the better options out there but wonder why you're not looking at a comparably priced Hot Spring to the $8k plus spas from Catalina and Sundance.

[Tailhooker]

I think Hot Spring and Sundance are two of the better options out there but wonder why you're not looking at a comparably priced Hot Spring to the $8k plus spas from Catalina and Sundance.

Look at the Envoy or Vista or maybe the Aria too they have double the amount of jets as the Sovereign model.  Otherwise you are comparing an entry model vs the top of the line.  I tried the Envoy and the Cameo and even though I wanted to like the Cameo more, I ended up liking the Envoy much better.  Had I tried the Cameo and the Sovereign in the same day I would have liked the Cameo... they aren't the same class of tub.  See if the dealer can fill one of the ones I mentioned above and see if the wife might like one those compared to the Cameo.

[Shaamus]

Read the Catalina warranty carefully.  In the past, they've been very tricky with some of the details.  I remember years ago, Catalina was starting the warranty clock when the dealer purchased the spa instead of when the end user actually purchased it.  They may have changed it by now though.

[Tailhooker]

Read the Catalina warranty carefully.  In the past, they've been very tricky with some of the details.  I remember years ago, Catalina was starting the warranty clock when the dealer purchased the spa instead of when the end user actually purchased it.  They may have changed it by now though.

That's ridiculous!

[Brothersean]

Hi Grunt66,

  I think that 96sc made a couple of very good points. Most important is the fact that your wife really likes the Sundance Cameo

  Second is the jet count thing.  He is right, QUALITY is far more important than quantity here.

  My wife and I chose the Sundance Cameo after looking for about a year and wet and dry testing about 25 spas.

  We absolutely love the Cameo and after over four months of ownership still use it 1-3 times a day for about 1-2 hours at a clip!!!

  I popped in for about an hour this afternoon before work (night shift as a firefighter) after working most of the day lifting 85 lb. interlocking blocks for our retaining wall.

  I stayed pretty much in the same spot letting a "Whirlpool" jet hammer my lower back. When I got out I was good as new!!!


  Good luck and have fun in your search...................Sean

[wewannahottub]

If there are any dealers close by you, you sured take a look  at the Arctic, and Clearwater lines, both have great tubs.

I agree.  It is funny, when I started posting here, no one heard of Clearwater.  Seems to be a recently popular name??!!

Whatever you do, buy what you and the wife want now, since, I would figure, this would be your only spa for a few years to come.  

Now, if I was so demanding on what I want, we'd have had an Arctic by now!!    But, I want hubby to be happy too.  

Brothersean, you go wit' yer bad self, fighting fires and all!!  Thanks for keeping us safe at night!    (Same goes to anyone out there protecting the peace and our homes and families   )

[Spiderman]

The price quoted for the Sovereign, was that 220V or 110V?  Make sure you know what you're getting.  The Sovereign is a great spa and most definitely a premium one at that.  The Moto Massage DX jet is one of the things that sold me on HotSpring.  There's no other jet out there like it.  

It's tough when spouses like different brands of tubs.  You guys are doing it right by wet testing and hopefully you will find a spa you can both agree on  

[Mr._Bubbles]

That’s either a really good price for the Sovereign or the dealer in my area is out of control high.

[grunt66]

I appreciate all the replies.

The Sovereign that we are looking at is 220V. When I went in the Hotsprings store the salesman / owner asked me what I was looking for in a Spa. I told him I have lower back pain and that was one of the reasons that I was looking at Spas. After spending 20 years in the Marine Corps and now I spend 10 plus hours a day wearing a duty belt as a Police Officer my back gets sore.  He directed me to the Sovereign and I spent 10 minutes in each seat. After the session I was completely relaxed and ready to go to sleep. I tried another Hotspring Spa (forgot which model) that had more jets. The owner told me that I would not be as comfortable in the lounger and he was right. I am 5’10” tall. He told me that he would sell me any Spa in the store but he said that the Sovereign would be the right fit for me.

The biggest problem is that my wife will not wet test any of the Spas. She is relying on my evaluation of the Spa and for me to make the decision.

I think that I will go back to Hotsprings and try some of the other Spas and try to talk my wife into wet testing the Spa.

[Gomboman]

Grunt, have you looked at the HS Envoy? The Envoy is a closer match to the Cameo. I tried both out and liked the Envoy better but your mileage may vary. Good luck with your search........

[Vanguard]

The biggest problem is that my wife will not wet test any of the Spas. She is relying on my evaluation of the Spa and for me to make the decision.

I think that I will go back to Hotsprings and try some of the other Spas and try to talk my wife into wet testing the Spa.

I had the exact same problem.  I really wanted the Envoy over the Vanguard, but I couldn't get my 5'2" wife to sit in the spa.  I was afraid she'd drown in it.  I wanted something a bit bigger than the Sovereign, so I went with the Vanguard.  It has two Moto Massage jets where the Sovereign had one.  

I have been extremely happy with the Vanguard.  Maybe even happier than I would have been in the Envoy since my wife probably wouldn't have fit very well.

If you like the Sovereign for the Moto, try the Vanguard.  You might really like it without the lounger.

[Mr._Bubbles]

Sounds like a good HS Dealer, you may want to go that route.