help me narrow down my list!!

[StBlGT]

So my wife and I did some shopping today, and i think we have narrowed it down to these:

Marquis e750
Marquis v84
South Seas 748b
Artesian Captiva
Artesian Grand Cayman (new to our list)

Both Island series are not the elite.

I do have another question.  Is the elite upgrade worth it?  I'm still trying to understand the major differences between them.

Also, after my second dry test on all of them, i felt the Marquis tubs to be more spacious than the Artesian for some reason.  I am referring to the 84"x84" tubs.  They are the same size, but i felt like i had more leg room...anyone else notice that while testing?  I am somewhat tall at 6'1", so maybe someone smaller wouldn't tell the difference.

[castletonia]

The Marquis E750 makes great use of the space.  The seats are pulled to the edges as much as possible and the footwell is spacious.  I always thought it sat more like a 88" x 88" hot tub than the 84" x 84" size that it is.  I have never been in a V84 so cannot comment accurately.

[Sam]

The Elite essentially puts a pump and control set for the 3 major seats, rather than just one master control.  What's the price difference?  I personally think the sweet spot for a Captive is the 45 jet dual footblaster with ProPure, dynapoint, and 5 year warranty.  Seems to me to be the best bang for buck.  You should be able to get that set up for less than $11k with delivery, cover, steps, cover lift, etc. pre-tax.  I've seen people getting much lower than that so you may even be able to do better, but those were fantastic deals.

The Island Spas are really awesome and a great value.  I literally just talked to a customer of mine with an Antigua specc'd out like above and he was raving about how much he loves it.  This is a guy who has had a top of the line Hot Spring and an expensive Cal Spa previously.  All of the ones on your list are good though so I don't think you can go wrong any way.

[Aquatub88]

I recently purchased a Hotspring Envoy NXT and it has a circulation pump that is continually heating the water, running the Ozoneater and continually filtering the water all of the time.  The circulation pump is silent, you can barely hear it when you are in the tub without the jet pumps on. I think this is a solid design and my water has been crystal clear for the past 4 weeks.
Good luck with your decision.  Wet testing for comfort and performance is a must as is the dealer relationship you will want for installation as well as future service. I am extreamly thrilled with my decision with Hotspring.