Trials and Tribulations

[Quickbeam]

Well, we finally started getting serious looking for hot tubs today. We are looking for a tub somewhere around 7' x 7' (we can go a little bigger but not much) that can fit four comfortably and when necessary we could squeeze 5 or 6 into. We also have a weight restriction of 5,000 pounds (weight of tub plus water). I've done a ton of research and have been on this forum tirelessly, but today was the day to get out and start talking face to face with dealers. Went to HotSprings first. They were not very helpful at all, and in fact I think I knew more about the product than they did. This business sells more than hot tubs and to be fair it turned out that the hot tub portion of their business was not open today. They told us they did have a salesman available and because we had driven a fair distance, he agreed to show us their product. But again, he certainly was not very knowledgeable. The real deal breaker for me however, was when the salesman told us we could not wet test. They had one model set up and that is the only model that is available for wet testing. I told him we would not be buying any spa we could not wet test. This is the only Hotsprings dealer that is anywhere close to us, so now Hotsprings is off our list.

Our next stop was a dealer who sells both Sundance and Jacuzzi. I had been to see this fellow once before and I really liked him, and he impressed once again today. He had a very good understanding of his product, was very helpful with us, did not knock the competition and appeared to be very trustworthy. He spent about 3 hours with us and made a great impression. Going into the dealership I was really looking forward to seeing the Sundance Cameo. We are putting our hot tub on a roof deck with a view of a lake. The design of the Cameo is absolutely perfect in that it allows us to take maximum advantage of our view. However, when we sat in the Cameo it just feels too big. The lounge was not a good fit for either myself or my wife. We didn't wet test, and we will, but it just seems like it will be too big. The dealer then suggested we might want to look at the Jacuzzi J-355. He has one in stock (a 2013 model) but it is in the process of being sold. The fit of the tub felt much better than the Cameo, but the layout is not the best for us to take advantage of our view. It also seemed to me that the jets in the lounger dug into my back a little, but my wife did not notice this. Because he will be selling this tub, he is going to bring a new, 2014 model in for us to wet test - the down side is that it is going to take about one month for him to get the tub in. Apparently there are also some changes coming to this tub in the 2014 models, which all sound like positive upgrades. There is another Jacuzzi dealer in town, so I am going to go tomorrow and see if they have a J-355 available for wet testing.

So today we have been to one dealer who was no help at all, been to the second dealer who had one tub that would be perfect for our view but seemed too big, and a second tub that didn't work well for our view but seemed to fit us like a glove. I know in the end if it comes down to a choice between the two, we will have to take the tub that fits us best over the view, but we really do have a million dollar view and I am hard pressed not to take advantage of it.

Tomorrow we are going to see Marquis, the other Jacuzzi dealer and possibly Bullfrog. From the looks of the tubs listed on the Marquis website, the "Wish" would be the one that would be best for our view. Does anyone have any thoughts on "The Wish" by Marquis?

As always, any comments or suggestions are most appreciated.

[Jacuzzi Jim]

  Check out the J-335 they made some nice changes to it for 2014

[Quickbeam]

Thanks Jacuzzi Jim,

For the reply. I had previously done some research on the J-335 and had heard it wasn't as good as others in the line. The dealer told us yesterday that they were making changes to the J-300 line, but he was recommending the J-355. It wasn't until this morning that I thought of the J-335. In fact, I was actually sitting on my computer looking at that tub, as well as a couple in the 780 Sundance series, when I checked this forum and saw your post. So thanks once again. I'll definitely give the dealer a call.

[wmccall]

Nicely stated, Thanks.

[Jacuzzi Jim]

  They added quite a few more jets to include the bigger power pro jets, they also added leg jets and the big one in my opinion which should have been done long ago was the addition of a second divertor hndl..     It use be a bit of a dog, but I really think what they did has changed that.. 

[Hottubguy]

I really like the Wish.  The lounge in that tub is very theraputic as well as comfortable.  The build quality on Marquis is second to none.  The other model that I really like is the reward which is another 7 x 7 tub that is a little more open then the wish.  You are definetely on the right track by insisting on a wet test.  Just because I like the lounge in the wish doesn't mean you will.  You are also looking at the best of the best as far as quality of hot tubs.  Jacuzzi, Sundance, Hot Springs and Marquis make my short list of the best tubs in the market. Any other specific questions about the Marquis line don't hesitate to ask.  Good luck in your search!!

[meriflower]

That's too bad about the Hot Spring dealer as the moto massage feels wonderful.  I have owned Marquis and believe I already shared my experiences with them on your other postings.  One question for the Wish, in the future, if you need to replace the cover, will there be an additional charge being that it's an odd shape.  This is when it is out of warranty which is 1 year.  Spa covers do not last as long as the spa itself, they become water logged and heavy, generally 3 yrs and need replacement.  Hope you do check out Bullfrog, we like ours.  Keep us posted!   

[Hottubguy]

To answer the question about the cover. It is the same price when buying from marquis so if you buy a factory made cover there would be no upcharge

[meriflower]

Thanks HTG - that's good to know!

[Quickbeam]

Hi Guys,

Thanks so much for all your information. We went out today and looked at Marquis. A very nice looking tub, but unfortunately they did not have "The Wish". The dealer said he has a very difficult time selling them. He says he has a customer who he knows won't mind showing us his, and will even let us wet test. I will feel a little strange going to a strangers home to do this, but the dealer said he would come with us, so that might make it a little better. We plan on going either this Thursday or Friday to look at Bullfrog. The Jacuzzi / Sundance dealer will not get his new models in for about a month, so we have decided to wait until then before we do any wet testing. Would like to do all our wet testing in the same time period so we have a good memory and can make accurate comparisons.

As for the Marquis "Reward" it is a very nice looking tub, but unfortunately, with the way it is configured, it just isn't right for our application. One other tub we may be interested in is the Sundance "Certa". It is in the 780 Sundance line, so it is a step down, but it does have the configuration we are looking for. I understand that some of the 780 series tubs are getting updated, much the same as the Jacuzzi 300 series. Does anyone know if the Certa is getting upgraded? Any information at all on this tub or what we would be giving up by going to it? Anyone know how the 2014 Sundance Certa would compare to the 2014 Jacuzzi J-335?

Thanks once again so much for all your help. This forum has been an absolutely fantastic resource!

[Tman122]

Very good idea to wet test as many as possible in as short a window as possible. Take notes on noise level, comfort, ease of use and of course feel.

[Jacuzzi Jim]

 I am really good friends with the my bud that sells Sundance, I asked him the other day over dinner if he heard of any changes, and he had not.     Best guess is they will wait till next year to do anything..    Around 3 plus weeks ago our rep who is the Sundance rep as well, came to see us and let us know about the changes,  supposedly they did not go by the Sundance dealer on the way back.  So that in itself is a good indication to no change..   

[Mudheadsports]

Sounds like you had the same experience as we did with hotsprings!!!!  Were in southern Michigan.....
Don't forget to try the optima by sundance....it's the non lounger version of the cameo.....our sundance dealer was fantastic too!!!!  Good luck!!!,

[MarKee]

The Marquis Wish is a really comfortable spa and a top seller where I work.  If you have the ability to try it out, I would definitely encourage you to do it, even if it's awkward going to someone's house.  In my opinion, the lounge is a little bit more comfortable than the Reward model, and I like that it has a high-up cool off seat.  The Wish also has a captain's chair that has neck jets, awesome back jets, wrist jets, and a very powerful foot geyser jet.

The look of the Wish is also one of a kind.  With the curved step that fits the concave front, it's definitely not a square box of hot water. 

Hottubguy is right about the cover cost, it will be the same cost to replace as a normal square hot tub cover.

Good luck in your search.

[Quickbeam]

I named the title of this posting "Trials and Tribulations" and right now it seems like a very appropriate title. When we built our new cabin I was told I could have a hot tub on our roof deck with a maximum weight of 5,000 pounds (weight of the tub plus the water). I have been going by this all along, but just recently decided I would like a copy of the paperwork to back this up. I called the engineer and he sent me the drawings. Sure enough, I'm allowed a tub up to 5,000 pounds. What I have never been told until now however, is that I am allowed a maximum tub size of 6' x 6'. I had never been told this. I guess it's a good thing I found out before we had actually purchased a tub! The bad news is, it really limits us and a lot of the tubs we have been looking at are now out of the question. I think we may be able to go a bit bigger than 6' x 6' depending on the actual weight of the tub. In other words, if the tub weighs less than 5,000 pounds, I think we can go a little bigger than 6' x 6'. Whatever we do I will now pass by the engineer first.
So now I'm going back to my Jacuzzi / Sundance dealer to clarify some weights. There are some really strange weights listed on the websites. As an example, on the Jacuzzi website the J-335 has a listed weight of 4507 pounds, yet if I take volume of water listed for the tub and figure out its' weight, and add it to the listed weight of the dry tub, it comes out to only 3,756.4 pounds. That's quite a difference. I noticed the same thing some time ago on the Bullfrog website and had sent them an e-mail. They replied and said the water volume listed on their website is where the tub should be filled to, but when they give the total weight they give it as if the tub is completely full. They said they did this for safety and engineering reasons. This made sense to me, but you would think if this is the case it would be consistent. Getting back to Jacuzzi, on their J-315 model, if I do the same process as I did with the J-335, the weight of the dry tub plus the weight of the volume of water is 2298.1 pounds, and the weight they list on the website is 2298 pounds, almost identical. It's not consistent and just does not make sense.
And it's not just Jacuzzi. With Marquis, the weight of "The Wish" is listed on the website as 3621 pounds. If I add the weight of the volume of water plus the weight of the dry tub it comes out to 3620.6 pounds. Can't get much closer than that. But if I then look at "The Rendezvous" tub, it is listed on the Marquis website as 1545 pounds, yet if I take the weight of the volume of water and add it to the weight of the dry tub it comes out to 1717.8 pounds. That's not a huge difference, but it's still not consistent.
So there really doesn't seem to be any rhyme nor reason to the weights listed on the different websites. I'm going to start by going to see the Jacuzzi dealer, hopefully on Friday, to see if he can make any sense of this for me. I need to find a way to get accurate weights for the specific tubs I'm interested in, and then see if the engineer will approve those tubs for our roof deck.
I certainly never expected this turn of events!