Author Topic: Trying to decide on first hottub (Read 7020 times)

KDYaker · « **on:** August 02, 2009, 10:35:06 pm »

Have had a 7 foot Jacuzzi jetted tub in bathroom for 7 years problem free. Time to by one for outdoors now. Have been shopping and reading.
Cal Spas Escape Series EIII748L I can get with lighting and stereo..floor model, no water in it yet. Now I see reviews on CalSpas are not too good. Great Escapes sells this as like their second level spa next to Jacuzzi. They have been around a long time, I would think that they would not carry a brand that is not good..but buyer beware. I also have looked at Dimension 1 at a factory direct warehouse which concerns me as far as dealer concerns (also considerably more expensive). They also have Pinnacle's which are a bit cheaper. I lean towards the Cal, but have concerns from the reviews on this forum. Any suggestions?

Hot Tub Forum · « **on:** August 02, 2009, 10:35:06 pm »

wmccall · « **Reply #1 on:** August 03, 2009, 08:14:14 am »

How do you feel about the dealer? My spa probably wouldn't get any better reviews than the Cal, but I'm in my 6th year of loving it. Welcome to the forum and many of us will be very interested in what you do and how the experience goes.

ejf The Spa Guy · « **Reply #2 on:** August 03, 2009, 08:44:45 pm »

when your checking out the different spa lines. make sure you are comparing apple to apple , check them out a buy from a company you feel good about. Don't know about a factory direct warehouse from D1 especially selling another brand? But pretty much any dealer that buys from D1 buys directly from them no distributor there.....
your upper end lines
Hot Springs
D1
Sundance
Jacuzzi
Marquis
not listed in any specific order, i have dealt with Cal and D1 and hands down D1 is a better line, but in the series you are looking at in Cal D1 does not have a low price model in that range, hope this helps anyway........

KDYaker · « **Reply #3 on:** August 04, 2009, 07:16:11 am »

Well, I just made the decision on the Cal Spa. I went with the 2009 Cal Spa Escape EIII864L. They had a sale with also a cash price for 5999. It is from a reputable dealer (Great Escape) right in my area. It is on order. I will keep you posted when it is set up and running!

Richs100 · « **Reply #4 on:** August 05, 2009, 07:57:26 am »

Congrats on the new tub!
IMO, having a good local dealer is the most important factor, no matter what brand you choose.

Happy tubbin'!
Rich

Chas · « **Reply #5 on:** August 07, 2009, 12:51:15 pm »

Welcome to Spatopia! Hope the wait is not long and the soaks ARE.

KDYaker · « **Reply #6 on:** August 22, 2009, 10:58:05 pm »

Wonderful! Broke out 6 year old concrete patio...repoured larger one last Saturday..Got Spa Wednesday...wired it up today (Saturday)....just got out after a three hour soak..Wonderful...
One complaint...Was told it would be rodent proof! Opened up the panel and when looking in at the corners you can see the concrete slab...think they forgot to do something there. Called Cal Spas direct after 30 minutes of being on hold..called back and was told they will zip the manager an email and my call will be returned asap..three days later non call. Dealer will have someone come out next week!

Jacuzzi Jim · « **Reply #7 on:** August 23, 2009, 01:01:01 pm »

So you called Cal spa first and complaned before trying to call the dealer and getting it resolved?

KDYaker · « **Reply #8 on:** August 23, 2009, 10:16:29 pm »

No, I did not call to complain. I thought it would be best to call the manufacturer first to skip the middle man to save them the hassle. The dealer is having their service guy come out.

just ducky · « **Reply #9 on:** August 24, 2009, 09:23:11 am »

hmmm....completely different approach than I would've taken. But then again, my dealer has been overly helpful in the 5 months we've owned our tub. So my first call, or likely a face to face discussion, would've been with my dealer.

I realize I'm late jumping into this discussion, but this is your first hot tub, and I hope you wet tested several models first, which was the advice that I got from several veterans on this site before we bought. I can honestly say that we would've probably made a mistake had we not wet tested because the model we were leaning towards buying was no where near as comfortable or satisfying when wet as the model we ended up with. Really made a difference.

Congratulations on your purchase, and from my experience as a tub owner for 5 months now

, the veterans here are very helpful if you have any questions at all.

wmccall · « **Reply #10 on:** August 24, 2009, 11:59:34 am »

Quote from: Chas on August 07, 2009, 12:51:15 pm

Welcome to Spatopia! Hope the wait is not long and the soaks ARE.

Well said.

KDYaker · « **Reply #11 on:** August 24, 2009, 12:05:26 pm »

We are all very happy with this hot tub. It is very comfortable, not noisy, nice lighting. ect...I think the opening to the outside world in the corner may have fallen off in transporataion or just overlooked during constuction. The other reason I called factory was my sales rep was off for a few days. No big deal. Was just commenting on the normal wait time of 25 minutes when calling the manufacturer!

Gary · « **Reply #12 on:** August 26, 2009, 06:55:09 pm »

The only thing that is rodent proof is a metal or concrete box.

No spa is rodent proof.

Hot Tub Forum · « **Reply #12 on:** August 26, 2009, 06:55:09 pm »

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