Seek out all brands? Or just stick with nearest/best dealers?

[Snowba]

Husband and I are in the market for our first hot tub. We just bought a home that needs a main panel upgrade, so once we get that sorted out we'll be ready to purchase - planning for 2-4 months from now.

We are in the SF Bay Area and have well reviewed dealers nearby for Caldera (10 min away) and and Hot Springs (15 min away.) We went to both show rooms and have an idea of the models that work best for us (Salina and Pulse.) We haven't done a wet test yet, but we will. We are waiting for the Hot Springs dealer to get the new 2018 Pulse in first.

Is it worth driving 25 minutes to see a dealer for Jacuzzi, Sundance, and Bullfrog or 35 minutes for Marquis? And that's without traffic, so only between 10:30 am - 2:30 pm.

How many different brands to people usually wet test? And then of course we have to consider the distance for service and repairs.

Please let me know what you think!

[Sam]

Well with those 2 brands, you are really only shopping one single manufacturer.  They are both owned by the same company.  I absolutely think it's worth it to shop the others.  That being said, those companies have a great reputation for quality, reliability, longevity, efficiency, and customer/dealer support.  If you don't feel like shopping you certainly could do a lot worse than those 2.

[castletonia]

As a dealer of Hot Spring and Caldera, I would say you are looking at two great hot tubs and why should you look any further .  As a consumer who values his hard earned money, I think you should make the drive as long as the dealers are reputable and not too far away where they cannot adequately service you.  You are making a $10k purchase that should last you for 10-20 years, you don't want regret.

[Spatech_tuo]

As a dealer of Hot Spring and Caldera, I would say you are looking at two great hot tubs and why should you look any further .  As a consumer who values his hard earned money, I think you should make the drive as long as the dealers are reputable and not too far away where they cannot adequately service you.  You are making a $10k purchase that should last you for 10-20 years, you don't want regret.

Caldera and Hot Springs may be made by the same company but they are certainly different design wise and are from separate dealers. With those 2 you have a couple very good options to test but it won't hurt to add another other than an extra drive. Whatever you do, I suggest you try to wet test all options the same day or at least the same weekend for comparative purposes. Certainly ask what the trip fee would be for those further away as well as the 2 more local dealers (they can/will charge a trip/travel fee for warranty work).

[Snowba]

Well, we went to another dealer today that sold Jacuzzi and Bullfrog. Husband is in love with the Bullfrog jet packs and wants to up our budget another $4k and get the A8 with 6 of them. I'm worried it could be a gimmick. Any insight?

Sales guy was selling jacuzzi pretty hard until we wanted to learn about the "other tubs in the showroom," then he was all about Bullfrog. Also talked a lot of crap about Caldera.

[castletonia]

If your dealer talks down on the competition, that is a red flag to me.  They are there to sell their own product and themselves. 

I’m not going to say the jet packs are a gimmick, but they are a unique feature to Bullfrog.  Doesn’t make them better or worse than the next guy, just different.  If you are upping your budget, revisit the Hot Spring and Caldera dealer and decide if the Caldera Niagara and Hot Spring Vanguard or Grandee become better choices for you.  Once you have initially decided on 3-4 potential spas, set up a wet test, preferably on the same day.

Maybe the Bullfrog A8 is great for you, maybe not.  Same for the Hot Spring and Caldera.  Testing on the same day will give you a great comparison.

[Zippy]

I always agree with shopping local for best service. I looked at bullfrogs and thought the idea of moving jets around sounded like something I’d never do. I love my hot spring spa and the water quality is much better than any spa I’ve ever see . Much more important than gimmicks.

[Tman122]

I always agree with shopping local for best service. I looked at bullfrogs and thought the idea of moving jets around sounded like something I’d never do. I love my hot spring spa and the water quality is much better than any spa I’ve ever see . Much more important than gimmicks.

Seems like it would be easier to move yourself around the tub rather than jet pacs, but thats just me.

[Snowba]

I always agree with shopping local for best service. I looked at bullfrogs and thought the idea of moving jets around sounded like something I’d never do. I love my hot spring spa and the water quality is much better than any spa I’ve ever see . Much more important than gimmicks.

Water quality is a big deal to us. Is something different about Hot Spring that makes it better? We were planning to go with an Ozone system.

[castletonia]

Hot Spring has 100% no bypass filtration, only company that does.  What’s it means is that 100% of the water is filtered 100% of the time.  Ozone works best with 24hr filtration because ozone is then produced continuously.  If you are looking at a spa that does not have continuous filtration, then the ozone only runs while the hot tub is filtering, which is usually for 4-8 hours daily.

[Sam]

I always agree with shopping local for best service. I looked at bullfrogs and thought the idea of moving jets around sounded like something I’d never do. I love my hot spring spa and the water quality is much better than any spa I’ve ever see . Much more important than gimmicks.

Seems like it would be easier to move yourself around the tub rather than jet pacs, but thats just me.

It's not necessarily about moving packs around, as I've said a million times.  It's about being able to decide what massage goes in which seat when you purchase the hot tub.  It's about being able to change that down the road if your needs change.  It's about being able to upgrade or change jets as new ones come out.  It's about less holes in the shell and less plumbing connections.  You can argue the merit of that, and that's fine.

Though I will say, I have plenty of customers who do indeed move the jets.  For example, both she and he like the lounger seat.  She prefers the neck jets and he prefers the figure 8 jetpak.  They take turns in the lounger seat and swap their preferred jetpaks when they do. It takes 5 seconds.  Each seat sits differently.  In a Bullfrog you pick the seat that fits you best, then put the jets that you prefer in that seat.  In every other hot tub in the world, you are stuck with whatever jet configuration happens to be in the seat that fits you.

I'd say that's far from gimmicky and certainly only possible on a Bullfrog Spa.

[Tman122]

I always agree with shopping local for best service. I looked at bullfrogs and thought the idea of moving jets around sounded like something I’d never do. I love my hot spring spa and the water quality is much better than any spa I’ve ever see . Much more important than gimmicks.

Seems like it would be easier to move yourself around the tub rather than jet pacs, but thats just me.

It's not necessarily about moving packs around, as I've said a million times.  It's about being able to decide what massage goes in which seat when you purchase the hot tub.  It's about being able to change that down the road if your needs change.  It's about being able to upgrade or change jets as new ones come out.  It's about less holes in the shell and less plumbing connections.  You can argue the merit of that, and that's fine.

Though I will say, I have plenty of customers who do indeed move the jets.  For example, both she and he like the lounger seat.  She prefers the neck jets and he prefers the figure 8 jetpak.  They take turns in the lounger seat and swap their preferred jetpaks when they do. It takes 5 seconds.  Each seat sits differently.  In a Bullfrog you pick the seat that fits you best, then put the jets that you prefer in that seat.  In every other hot tub in the world, you are stuck with whatever jet configuration happens to be in the seat that fits you.

I'd say that's far from gimmicky and certainly only possible on a Bullfrog Spa.

Gimmicky

[d00nut]

I always agree with shopping local for best service. I looked at bullfrogs and thought the idea of moving jets around sounded like something I’d never do. I love my hot spring spa and the water quality is much better than any spa I’ve ever see . Much more important than gimmicks.

Seems like it would be easier to move yourself around the tub rather than jet pacs, but thats just me.

It's not necessarily about moving packs around, as I've said a million times.  It's about being able to decide what massage goes in which seat when you purchase the hot tub.  It's about being able to change that down the road if your needs change.  It's about being able to upgrade or change jets as new ones come out.  It's about less holes in the shell and less plumbing connections.  You can argue the merit of that, and that's fine.

Though I will say, I have plenty of customers who do indeed move the jets.  For example, both she and he like the lounger seat.  She prefers the neck jets and he prefers the figure 8 jetpak.  They take turns in the lounger seat and swap their preferred jetpaks when they do. It takes 5 seconds.  Each seat sits differently.  In a Bullfrog you pick the seat that fits you best, then put the jets that you prefer in that seat.  In every other hot tub in the world, you are stuck with whatever jet configuration happens to be in the seat that fits you.

I'd say that's far from gimmicky and certainly only possible on a Bullfrog Spa.

Gimmicky

I feel like Alice... tumbling down the rabbit hole.

If you are up in SF area, PM your location.  I got connections with the HSS dealer up there

[Johnnywr10]

I have to strongly disagree with TMan and fully agree with Sam. The seats have different depths in the Bullfrog and the removable jetpacks allow you to move a specific jet pack to a specific seat. In essence, a '6"4 guy and his '5'"2 wife can both enjoy the Oscillator jet pack- positioned in the seat height that accommodates them, by simply moving the jetpack over. So Snowba, I would emphatically say that no, the jetpacks are not a gimmick. I tested Marquis, Caldera and Bullfrog and went confidently with Bullfrog- the other tubs weren't terrible by any means. I'm very happy with the performance of my A8.  Further, you can wet test all the jetpacks at the dealership and pick out the ones you want, and even add on in the future if you want if they design some more. Being the objective person I am, I WILL certainly knock Bullfrog on the cabinet production, Driftwood specifically;  so I will give you a word of caution with that. Mine looks nothing like the brochure- its grey with a single obnoxious black mark that looks like a scuff. My dealer said that it's a "flaw in cabinet design" and that all of his in store had the same issue. I'd recommend not picking Driftwood as your cabinet choice should you go with Bullfrog and hopefully the others are more consistent. They would never put mine on a brochure I can promise you that.

[Sam]

I agree.  Not a fan of their cabinets.  Nor their foot jets.  They definitely have their flaws, but I think the positives far outweigh the negatives.  I'm not saying they are the best, or the only good spa out there.  I just think that they are a fantastic option that deserves a look and certainly doesn't deserve to be labeled gimmicky.  I also just appreciate the rational discourse and debate we have here.  Most people are pretty respectable and try to stay objective.  I'm just expressing my opinion.