CALSPAS what you think

[dead men walking]

I think I am going with a Calspa Avalon A857L. I wet test it and liked it the locale dealer seems nice and the floor model is 6,200.  It comes with cover, cover lifter, delivery, set up chems, and a good warrenty. What do you all think about the deal. Thanks for all your help.
  
PS. The new ones from factory $600 more.

[Tman122]

I'm not a big Calspa fan, but they seem to be getting better. There are some happy owners that frequent this site. That seems like a good deal only if you are happy with the dealer and the tub is comforatble to you. In the past they have had quality control issues.

[dead men walking]

Thank You

[Pathfinder]

$6200   is a  steal    for that tub     I retail that same model  for a lot more  where abouts are you located?

[wesj53]

Dead you're killing me!!! When we were looking for our first unit 3 months ago, believe it or not, neither one of the CalSpa dealers here in metro Chicago would quote me a price on the unit I was interested in (the A857B, the non-lounger version of yours). One dealer said he wasn't actively selling them any longer and the other would only quote 2 units they he actively stocked and sold. I wished I could have had access to them if that's what they're selling for. I think it sounds like an incredible bargain considering what you get and how many jets they have! If you do get it, please let us know (or PM me) how it works and whether you have any problems. Good luck and you have good taste; both the 857's are nice layouts, especially with the center footdome!

[Vanguard]

All I can say is buyer beware when it comes to Cal Spas.  All I'm going to say.

[Pathfinder]

Vanguard,  have you any relevant experience with Cal  or just third party  peanut gallery garbage?

[Silent Water]

CalSpas was one of the (many) tubs that I researched when I was shopping.  They looked comfy - and they seemed to be priced competitively.  I had to give them a miss for two reasons though:

1) I checked inside the cabinets and found less insulation than I expected to see, and

2) The salesperson was clueless.  Not his fault - he was just a kid - but he tried to tell me that I should have an ozonator because it would reduce my electric bill.  Umm.... time for me to move on.

You were asking about HydroSpas a while back, Dead Men Walking.  Approach your research to this tub the same way.  Do some digging of your own and see how they compare to others that you've read about.  :-/
Your comments about the dealer are good too.  You need to feel comfortable with your service as well as the product.

I found it really helpful during my search to compare quality, comfort and dealer competence before I even thought about price.  That may be a little backwards, but it made me feel better about dropping several thousand bucks for a big toy.

[Zep]

Re: CALSPAS what you think

All I can say is I am a Cal Spas owner
(unlike some others that are negative about Cal Spas)
and I love my Cal Spa and would not trade it for any other brand of spa!

But there are alot of great hot tub brands out there.....so pick your dealer wisely no matter what brand you decide on. You want a dealer that will be there for you long after the sale.

Cal Spas offers an enormous amount of choices as far as style and design of your tub.

I would think no other spa maker offers the amount of different tub choices as Cal Spas.
Wet test a few brands and see what you like best.

BTW....Cal Spas are the only tubs in the industry exclusively powered by GE Motors.

My CalSpas tub has 92 jets!

Cal Spas must be doing something right.....Cal Spas just opened a huge new state of the art 500,000 square foot spa manufacturing facility in California that employs 1200 people. With the new facility Cal Spas now has about 1 million square feet of space.



I personally love the new Cal Stone cabinetry being offered only by Cal Spas. Of course Cal Spas also still offers the traditional cabinetry siding too.

I also love my LED lights and my waterfall.

All spa makers have their detractors and complaints...sometimes people are trying to protect their "meal ticket" by bashing other brands, sometimes others feel their brand is the best.....hey thats what makes the world go around.....everybody has an opinion.....you asked and as a Cal Spas owner I gave my opinion.

Again all I can say is [size=14]I love my Cal Spa![/size]

[Silent Water]

Again all I can say is I love my Cal Spa!

Zep, that is truly the only thing that's important!  
I loved the faux stone cabinet too.  Wouldn't be surprised of more companies start offering innovative cabinet designs like this now that skirts are going synthetic.
And CalSpa had a HUGE selection of tubs - some of the nicest styles that I had seen.
Thanks for the first-hand perspective.  Happy tubbing!

[grahamtasia]

What is an ozone jet and what is its benefit? I could not find any info on there heater warranty. Have you seen the heater warranty in writing? Keep in mind that the three 5 horsepower pumps that the advertise are really 2.5's.

[Pathfinder]

The ozone jet is the same as everyone elses ozone jet  its wear the ozone comes out into the tub    


XL heater   5 years labour     Lifetime on the heater itself there is no element in the water so they can cover it for as long as you own your tub

[Vanguard]

Re: CALSPAS what you think



BTW....Cal Spas are the only tubs in the industry exclusively powered by GE Motors.

GE motors are not great motors.  There is a reason you don't see them on pool installations.  Companies like Pentair and Hayward will not use GE.  I get that direct from a person in management at Pentair.

I have been around Cal Spas and known people who have them.  I will agree, they are better today than they were a number of years ago.  I still just think - and this is fully my opinion - they are inferior in quality, customer support, warranty support to their dealers, etc. to companies such as Sundance, Hot Spring, D1, etc.  

I know some customers are happy with their Cal Spa today.  Great!  Glad they are.  Just saying what I've seen out there.

[Silent Water]

Hi, again, Dead Men Walking.

Just a little food for thought... Everyone on this forum will have an opinion about just about any brand of tub.  We can't help but be biased here because we all chose a different brand of tub for one reason or another.  Most of us will acknowledge that whatever brand/model you choose is the right one for you - it's an extremely subjective decision!

You might try this approach to see if you can get any more objective information: Pick up your local phone book and look up hot tub repairmen.  Call a few and see which late model brands they service most.  If anyone can tell you about a tub's quality, it's the people who service them for a living.

In the end, once you start soaking in your own tub, all the world's opinions won't mean a thing!  

[Zep]

GE motors are not great motors.  

Opinion....everybody has one.

There is a reason you don't see them on pool installations.

Ummmm there couldnt be a million other reasons now could there?

Companies like Pentair and Hayward will not use GE.  I get that direct from a person in management at Pentair.

Oh well that settles it then!....LOL

they are inferior in quality, customer support, warranty support to their dealers, etc. to companies such as Sundance, Hot Spring, D1, etc.

Not in my experience at all, in fact they have been wonderful!

And that may be one reason they are building huge new plants to build more tubs....again they must be doing something right.

I wouldn't trade my CalSpas tub for any other brand.