Newbie- Marquis vs Bullfrog?

[Kacb86]

Looking for advice on 4 person spa, we've been to all the stores in town and our favorites are (with initial, non negotiated pricing) the Marquis Signature Promise (10K) and Mirage (no quote yet), Marquis E 435 (6.5K), Bullfrog R6 (7.5K), and Dimension 1 Breeze (8K). Also initially liked the Hot Springs Prodigy(8K), but not a fan of the moto massage.

Most of the time it will be 2 of us, but it would be nice to be able to have 4 people. DH says we're buying it for us and couldn't care less about fitting 4. We live in the southwest, so very dry climate. I'm short and not too interested in a lounger, but the 435 adirondack chair looks like it might be nice, and the Mirage lounger/bench doesn't seem to take up as much space as a typical lounger. I have a crazy work schedule and low maintenance is a big plus. Loved the idea of the microsilk on the Promise..but not sure if we want to pay that much yet. The Bullfrog is the only one without a circ pump, and the dealer didn't recommend one. All have ozone. All prices are with delivery/cover lifter/stairs except D1 which was cover lifter or stairs.

Looking to purchase around November and interested to hear others impressions on the spas themselves and/or pricing. We will be doing wet tests once we have the time.

Thanks!!

[The Wizard of Spas]

Best advice I can offer as a dealer is:

1.  What spa FEELS the best to you?  FEELS = How the jets feel on your body, jet placement, and how the physical tub fits your height/body type.

2.  The Dealer:  Are they reputable?  How long have they been in business?  How long have they carried the brand you are looking to purchase?  Do they do their own warranty/service work?  Do they work on the tub out of warranty?  Is there special trip charges to service where you live?

3.  Tub specifics:  Try to compare apples to apples.  Get a physical size you're comfortable with and try and compare like-sized units.  Also- You're kinda all over the map in quality.  The brands you are looking at are fine but you're looking at mid-ranged and high end units and that muddies the water when trying to compare units, brands, etc.  Thus- It is not fair to compare using price as a qualifier at this point.

Easiest way to sum it up:  If you are not sure what you want, figure out what you don't want and see what is left.  Allow dry and wet tests to dictate the tubs you like and don't like, then research the dealers and see what brands and units are left.  Then, you should have a small enough crop of tubs to get into things like circ pump vs no circ pump, steps, etc.  These truly are smaller things and you should focus on the big picture first, and allow that to dictate the first few rounds of the decision making process.

I don't sell any of the units you have listed so I hope this sounds objective as possible.  I will say that Bullfrog is a lightening rod in this forum.  Look up some of the more recent threads and you'll see what I mean.  But use this forum as a guide- There are a lot of smart people here.  But ultimately a hot tub is for comfort and what is most comfortable is paramount and only you will be able to answer that.

I hope this helps.   Good luck moving forward.

[Kacb86]

Thank you, yes we will definitely be testing to see how they feel before a final decision. I'm just hesitant to try something and fall in love with it until we decide on a firm budget. I have a tendency to decide I want to do an entry level product..and then get carried away. I'm trying to go with the wedding dress mentality "Don't try it on if it's out of your budget"  However we want a quality product that will last and be low maintenance for at least 5 years or more.

The dealers have all been in business for awhile. 3 of the ones we went to had the same owner actually. All the places gave me their technicians information if I wanted to talk to them about the different tubs. The techs did seem to spend a lot of time repairing leaks with the moto massage, which is why the Prodigy got dumped way down on my list. I don't know about past warranty and trip charges so I will ask.

The Marquis Signature series is definitely a higher quality, and I realize that we would pay a premium for this. Just trying to decide if it's worth it to us. The Marquis E series, Bullfrog R series, and Dimension 1 Home series all seem about on par in quality to me, or am I missing something?

[The Wizard of Spas]

Mind you- I don't sell any of these units but have sold against these brands for years.  So I am can only speak for myself, and from my general experience in all my years of sales but not in terms of actually selling these specific brands.  Thus I'll only offer an opinion and hope that others can speak from personal experience and give you a more qualified answer...

I recently looked into switching my major high end brand and Marquis and their Signature Series came in second.  I like the H.O.T. Zone Diverters (as it has some similar qualities to the features the brand I ended up going with) and the overall contours of the tub (comfortable seats and lounges for me and my coworkers who range in size and body types).  Additionally they had decent leg and foot jets, something I find a lot customers asking for. 

I personally wasn't a fan of Bullfrog.  Never really bought into their whole thing and they tended to lack jets that didn't focus on your back.  But I am in no way anti-Bullfrog.  I am sure another Bullfrog dealer/owner will chime in on this noting the benefits of that specific brand.

In all- You have tastes that are more focused on the higher-end.  But this isn't a gaudy sports car or obscene entertainment center you are purchasing.  I am a huge advocate of hydrotherapy and this is definitely something that will benefit your health in so many aspects from a simple massage to your sleeping habits.  And long term- What is, say, $2000 over 7-10 years for a purchase when you begin to look at monthly payments? 

But that is just me.  You only know what is best for you.  I hope this helps.

[MarKee]

You're looking at all good brands.  There will be pros and cons to each brand.  Marquis doesn't use a circulation pump, and the Bullfrog and Marquis will use nearly identical "guts".  Same pump brand, same heater, same Balboa electronics.  Reliability will be very similar.

One thing I like about Marquis is that they offer a lot of unique and non-traditional square designs.  Marquis also has the inline SpaFrog system so that you don't have to use a floating dispenser or manually dose the hot tub very often.  The new SpaFrog @Ease system works very well and requires only a monthly shock treatment.  Most people really like this system.  Also, depending on the model, you may find that there are more lower back and leg/feet jets in the Marquis.

Marquis is made in Oregon and an employee-owned company.  Bullfrog is made in Utah.  Dimension One now being made in Mexico after being purchased by Jacuzzi.

Good luck in your search.

[BullFrogSpasMN]

Both are good quality/good warranty Made in the USA brands....sounds like you've already verified the potential dealers are legit and will take care of you after the sale and you've found some models within your price range...all I can say is go Wet Test and make a decision based on that because again you really won't be disappointed with either brand in my opinion. We sell a lot of R6's and ~65% of our customer base goes with our Salt System option...works great, less maintenance, less water changes, and no chemical smell...not all dealers offer it but you can read more about it here: http://bluwatertechnology.com/

good luck!

[Kacb86]

So it looks like our top contenders are the Marquis Signature Mirage and the Marquis E 435. Can anyone chime in on the big differences in the 2 lines besides the warranty? Does anyone own either and how do they like it? They don't have a 435 in stock for us to test at the moment but we aren't in a rush.

DH really didn't like the Bullfrog jetpacks I guess, and he thinks the Promise with microsilk is more than we need (he rolled his eyes at the microsilk- though I still want to try it) He also is worried about the size of the D1 Breeze, as we are limited by a gate with an archway over it and would rather not have to pay to crane something in.

Thanks for all the information!

[Hottubguy]

I'm a marquis dealer and the e435 is one of my favorite tubs especially with the 2nd pump on it. One of the most powerful tubs you will sit in. Some differences between signature line and e series besides warranty are signature has full foam insulation, spa frog, fully sealed bottom pan, ozone included In the price. The e series those are options besides the bottom pan. The shells are the same. Both use balboa equipment. The controls on the signature are a bit easier to navigate. Both are nice tubs but I actually prefer the 435 over the mirage. I own a resort with microsilk. My wife loves the microsilk. Try a tub with microsilk and wet test the mirage

[MarKee]

The 435 2-pump is an awesome option. The Mirage is a great tub but most people find the Adirondack lounge in the 435 to be a little bit more comfortable than the traditional lounge in the Mirage. The way that Adirondack chair is laid out in the 435 makes it so it's nearly impossible to float out of the seat.

If you went with the 435 2-pump you would be getting the same 56-frame two-speed pumps that power the top of the line Marquis Epic model that has 65 jets. Advantage of the 435 2-pump is that all jets would run at the same time without using diverters in that model.  See if the dealer will order it in the 2-pump 435 version for you to try out.

[dmcmillen]

The feature that put us over the top on Bullfrog was, during the wet test, the ability to swap out all of the jet packs (and we did go through all of them). The salesperson was very patient during this process. 

But the point is we now have a hot tub where there's not a single jet we don't love, we can easily move them to accommodate height differences (6'3" and 5'7") which does make a big difference and really only takes 30 seconds to swap, and each pack can be adjusted for pressure individually. Plus if Bullfrog comes out with new packs that pique our interest we don't necessarily have to buy a new tub to get them... although this is a very minor point, I doubt we'll ever buy new packs (but never say never).

We were going to go with the R7 but ended up with the A7 because it got us an extra jet pack for really not that much more.

Just my 2 cents on our thought process when buying the Bullfrog.