Another newbie looking for advice (HotSprings/Jacuzzi/Sundance/D1)

[ronsno]

 ???Okay another newbie here asking another variation on what’s been here before.  My wife and I are newly empty nesters.  I had a built-in spa at our old house and have been going to install another built-in in our new house (now 14 years old) but with kids and life going on never got around to it.  Now that it’s just the two of us I can get away with a much smaller tub but I don’t like the confinement of the 2 man tubs I see out there.  I’ve set my sites on the smaller 3/4 man tubs and I tend to like the designs with little or no barriers.  The tub will be mainly used as a soaker; I don’t need the super therapy jets.  Most of the time, when I get in a hot tub I only turn on the jets for short time.  What I do want is quality, low maintenance, great filtration and a very good heater (my built-in had a gas heater). I’ve narrowed my search down to 3 tubs (maybe 4), The Bolt from Hot Springs ($6,800, side note they tell me I can set the temp to 106 which is 2 degrees higher than any other), the J325 from Jacuzzi ($6,000) and the Camden from Sundance (no price can’t get anyone to return an email, which at this point has practically eliminated Sundance). I was looking at a few others but since getting on this forum I have dropped them.  One last item, my wife does not like the look of hot tubs in our yard.  So I need to hide it as much as possible so I have been going for the low profile tubs.  So my question is actually more of advice and experience of the above tubs.  If I’m missing an obvious one please point it out.  One last thing, D1 has a new tub out called the Elemental Geos (5,500), it’s a much better looking tub and frankly meets my criteria but no track record and is really soaker, not much HP or jets: http://www.myelemental.com/geos.html.        Thoughts?

[Jacuzzi Jim]

 All that you are looking at are very good brands.   Obviousy I am a bit Jacuzzi biased and it can go to 106*  I will say if they are giving you a price of 6000 for the J-325 that is a really good 2012 model offers the ClearRay system standard . If you do want to get the spa that hot you will want to go with a 220v set up.  Much also depends on the dealer as well, how long have they been around and do they seem dependable..

  No idea on that spa you linked appears to be a roto mold spa.  My thoughts are it looks like it should have flowers in it instead of people..   But if it works for you and the wife is happy check it out and see.   It can't compare feature wise to what the Jacuzzi offers for filtration and construction.  And I think for the price it's a bit high for a roto mold spa. 

[TwinCitiesHotSpring]

The Limelight Bolt and the Jacuzzi are going to probably be your best options based on the parameters you listed: warranty, maintenance, solid heater, reputable manufacturer, etc. I would dry and wet-test both models (if possible) and make your decision based on what feels best to you and your wife.  Also like stated above get a good idea of how good the dealer is that you are buying from...ask them how long they've been around, do they do all warranty work, full-time service tech on staff, etc. etc. because they will be your "go to" if a problem arises in the future.

and just like jacuzzi jim said, no way would I ever advise someone to pay near 6k for a roto-mold spa

[ronsno]

Cool thanks for the fast responses.  As I said 3 Spas (maybe 4).  Didn't know anything about the roto-mold spa.

[Spatech_tuo]

I'm not sure if that new D1 spa is roto molded or not but its designed to look good sitting on a patio but if you look at the overhead it looks very basic inside. More for show than flow from what I see. I'd stick with the Hot Spring or Jacuzzi.

[ronsno]

The Hot Springs dealer is less than 10 miles from my home, more like 5.  The closest Jacuzzi dealer is 40 miles away.  All of the local Spa dealers that had Jacuzzi no longer carry them. This does trouble me.  Anything going on with Jacuzzi.

[Jacuzzi Jim]

The Hot Springs dealer is less than 10 miles from my home, more like 5.  The closest Jacuzzi dealer is 40 miles away.  All of the local Spa dealers that had Jacuzzi no longer carry them. This does trouble me.  Anything going on with Jacuzzi.

  Nothing is going on with Jacuzzi.   
 But a dealer that is 5 miles away may be better option for chems and what not than one 40 miles away. That being said you can always buy a spa from one place and get chems at another.  Wet test and see what you like!! 

[Spatech_tuo]

The Hot Springs dealer is less than 10 miles from my home, more like 5.  The closest Jacuzzi dealer is 40 miles away.  All of the local Spa dealers that had Jacuzzi no longer carry them. This does trouble me.  Anything going on with Jacuzzi.

While 5 miles away is ideal and 40 miles away isn't exactly close its probably not so far that they should be excluded outright if that dealer ends up being the one you prefer to deal with. In both cases, ask up front what kind of trip fee you would incur for warranty service, especially with the distance of the one dealer. Its pretty typical for dealers to have trip charges even if you're close but when you start to get far away the charge can get higher.

[ronsno]

The local HotSprings dealer is really pushing the sale. Basically saying the Jacuzzi is inferior to the Bolt.  Says it will take twice as much electricity and the Jacuzzi has old technology and the dealer doesn't have their service.  As we stand the Price for the J-325 is $1,200 under the Bolt. Thoughts?

[Water Boy]

The local HotSprings dealer is really pushing the sale. Basically saying the Jacuzzi is inferior to the Bolt.  Says it will take twice as much electricity and the Jacuzzi has old technology and the dealer doesn't have their service.  As we stand the Price for the J-325 is $1,200 under the Bolt. Thoughts?

Well of course he is going to say that right. But, he is wrong imo. The Jacuzzi will be just as energy efficient as the Limelight will be. Him telling you that it would cost twice as much to run is a complete lie. Their technology is not out of date either. I don't sell either brands, but I would say that those two spas are equal and if not give the slight edge to the Jacuzzi. Especially since it is $1200 less than the bolt. I would recommend doing research on the local dealers if you haven't already. You may even try to wet test the two spas just to make sure.

[Hot Spring Ace]

The local HotSprings dealer is really pushing the sale. Basically saying the Jacuzzi is inferior to the Bolt.  Says it will take twice as much electricity and the Jacuzzi has old technology and the dealer doesn't have their service.  As we stand the Price for the J-325 is $1,200 under the Bolt. Thoughts?

In the past Limelight used the same half pound foam insualtion as Jacuzzi uses which works fine but we have since switched to FiberCor insulation which we tested and found to definitely be more energy efficient than the half pound foam but while I don't know the % improvement I would not say the difference is 2x. The Bolt is a nice open seated spa that I'm sure you'll enjoy if you go that route. Ask for a wet test if possible.

[Jacuzzi Jim]

  I would say wet test as well,both are great spa's but I do think the jets in the J-325 offer a bit more therapy than the bolt does mainly from the type of jet, the fX2 spinner jet feels fantastic. 

[Spatech_tuo]

Dry, tests, jet counts, jet types... is all pretty subjective so let your butt and back do the talking by wet testing.

Go with whichever seems the best combination of spa and dealer. Who makes the spa is certainly important but in this case both are top notch manufacturers but we've all  seen lately on this site how important the dealer can be so make sure you're comfortable with whoever you purchase from keeping in mind you may need them to be there for you after the sale.