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While yes all the water in a HS spa goes through a filter, it's really cool. The kicker is so does everybody else's spa Difference is you have 3 to 5 filters to clean instead of one or two. What you have to look at it water turn over and FWIW filters don't kill bacteria in the water. HS builds a nice spa and so does Marquis. Don't let things like that get to you, figure out which one you like, what one fits your budget and which dealer you feel will take care of you best and go with it.
Quote from: Jacuzzi Jim on April 06, 2015, 09:44:21 pm While yes all the water in a HS spa goes through a filter, it's really cool. The kicker is so does everybody else's spa Difference is you have 3 to 5 filters to clean instead of one or two. What you have to look at it water turn over and FWIW filters don't kill bacteria in the water. HS builds a nice spa and so does Marquis. Don't let things like that get to you, figure out which one you like, what one fits your budget and which dealer you feel will take care of you best and go with it. But that's just not true. The other spas out there have a bypass, Hot spring doesn't. If you're saying the other's filtration is adequate or more than adequate then sure, that's fine but to say ALL the water goes through the filter on other brands is not accurate. TSmith, the no-bypass filtration system is really great at keeping the water clean but a Hot Spring spa is about much more than that feature alone and your decision needs to be based on much more than that as well.
The reality is with Hot Spring Highlife and NXT its setup so that when people are in the spa and the pumps are running and sweat, hair and other less pleasant things get in the water the spa is set up so that 100% of the water goes through the filters, no other spa is set up in that manner and it works great. Others will filter more later in the filter mode to make up for that difference which also works well as we see with other Hot Spring spas like Limelight and Hot Spot.
I loved the marquis wet test you are right. I can't wet test the Aria because the local dealers won't fill it. Best I can do is wet test the vanguard. I prefer the seat layout of the marquis for more than 2 people but love the Jets...of the Hot Spring Spas. The layout of the Aria is good two for 2-3 people. Argh. I could drive possibly drive 4 hours to try and wet test the aria but all the local dealers are in cahoots and won't allow wet testing of one! Now that's asinine if you ask me. Sitting in it dry it seems comfortable enough with plenty of footholds to keep from floating away. The only thing I didn't like about the vanguard was the footwell was too wide and didn't allow for that. The Wish has the best of both worlds, small footwell with footholds but a layout where 4 people could comfortably sit. I expect we'll rarely have four folks in the tub but it sure would be nice to have that comfort.