Hot Springs or Jacuzzi

[Jrga1996@aol.com]

We purchased our first and only hot tub in 2005ish. We lived in Atlanta and it was a Hot Springs Vista (which is no longer made).Loved the tub and used it many years with only minor issues. We have now moved to a small town and made the decision not to moved the tub (expense and hassle of moving a hot tub that was over 10 years old etc.) Now we are in a new home and are looking for a new hot tub. Last time in Atlanta seemed like we looked at 10 more more brands and wet tested a few. The town where we are in now there seem to be only 2 brands that I am considering and they are Hot Springs and Jacuzzi. It does not seem Hot springs has changed very much other than discontinuing the model I loved and... adding a cool digital remote! Jacuzzi seems to have come a long way? We are looking at the J-575 and J-480. Hot springs we are looking at the envoy (smaller but similar to the vista) Maybe because of being a long time owner of a Hot Springs I still like the "no-by pass" tri-x filters and the fact there are 5 of them vs the 2 paper filters in the Jacuzzi. However the jacuzzi seems sexier and seems to have more everything? We are planing wet test but wanted to get some feed back from others. Thanks

[bwspa]

Some other good brands to look at are Marquis, Artesian, Bullfrog, Sundance.  Spa buying is like nothing else.  Very hard to research since you need to wet test and pricing isn't readily available online.

[JoeCappi]

The unavailability of pricing is the most annoying part for me. The amount of brands & tubs is head spinning though.

[d00nut]

Try them out, that is the best thing to do.  Then look to the dealer, and see if they will/can support you long term.

My preference is Hot Spring, as a dealer.  Hot Spring does a better job of supporting their dealer base, which is why I dropped Jacuzzi in favor of Bullfrog years ago.

[Spatech_tuo]

Try them out, that is the best thing to do.  Then look to the dealer, and see if they will/can support you long term.

My preference is Hot Spring, as a dealer.  Hot Spring does a better job of supporting their dealer base, which is why I dropped Jacuzzi in favor of Bullfrog years ago.

Ditto, wet test and dealer support will be your keys to having another good experience with hot tub ownership.

[Cora5]

If you are still located in the Metro Atanta area there are two hot tub dealers located near the Mall of Georgia. One is a Hot Spring dealer, the other sells Bullfrog and Marquis plus two other brands. There is another dealer in Norcross that have Jacuzzi & Caldera along with three other brands.

If I recall there is an Artesian dealer in Marietta. You have a lot of options.

[hottubdan]

Jacuzzi has added some sexy bells and whistles.  Not sure if they added anything functional.

Were you considering the NXT Envoy?  People think that is pretty sexy looking.

And you are right.  Why reinvent the widget that works.

[Jrga1996@aol.com]

Okay, Here is an update! We wet tested today. Everyone loved to look of the Jacuzzi, Lots of jets and the lights are really cool. We wet tested the J-480. We loved the size and variety of seats, We liked the water fall it felt great falling on your neck and back. The jets in the seat and lounger felt weaker than our old HS vista. The light in the bottom looked very cool and the dome with jets looked nice however we did not like that it seem to not allow you to stretch out and the jets on your feet were a bit weak compare to what we were used too.  Off to the HS dealer. WE tested the envoy. We did not like that it was smaller than our old vista (starting to wish we had moved it with us) it did not have the sexy look of the J-480 or J-500 series however the moto jet in the lounger WOW. The jets in the foot well were very strong and the and the seat with the wrist jets was also great. We also liked the remote control. Bottom line Jacuzzi looked better HS felt better! We are leaning toward the HS. Our dealer did not have the Grandee which might give us the room we are looking for (Not sure about giving up the lounger) We are thinking about driving to a bigger city and another dealer to see and maybe test the Grandee before we decide.

[im45us]

We had to make the same decision 3 years ago. We had a 22 year old Hot Springs Prodigy that died and we needed a new tub. Hot Springs or Jacuzzi. We picked Jacuzzi because it just seemed nicer and it looked better in the component compartment. I have gotten to know my Jacuzzi repairman very well in the last 3 years  . The tub kept shutting down the first year and they said it was because power going to the tub. I am an electronic tech and checked everything and even had an electrician check and the power was fine. I said it was the control board. The tub was set to 110 volts. I rewired for 220 volts and still had the problem so they replaced the board and the tub has been fine since.

 Now my waterfall will not turn off so will go to the store today and see if they can shed some light on what is going on?

Would I pick Jacuzzi again? Maybe. I doubt I would get 22 years out of any tub made today and I think they make too many bells and whistles on things now. Kiss, keep it simple stupid. You liked the idea of a remote and if it works for 1 year I would be surprised. I also wouldn't get a stereo with one. My brother in law has a two year old jacuzzi and his stereo has died 2 times already.

I also noticed that his circ pump is very loud. Mine is fine but they told him it's normal.

Good Luck