What's the Best Hot Tub

Author Topic: Curious about LPI / Aqua Living / Dr Wellness  (Read 15494 times)

bachman

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 141
Curious about LPI / Aqua Living / Dr Wellness
« on: December 04, 2018, 03:19:34 pm »
* I know nothing about these names but I think they are linked by distribution or "factory outlet" marketing ?

I recently discovered a guy I know from work had started a hot tub project around the time I started mine and his is a gangbusters $$$$$ set up from what I hear.  ;D  We shared the same electrician who we also know 'from work'.
The bits and pieces I gather is a custom deck of around $20 k and a tub of the same price or at least a "list" of around $20 k since the factory outlet marketing is geared toward guise of huge discounts. My guess is $15 - 16 k for the tub.
I know nothing specific of the tub since they have many models and the Catalina brand as well I think. Anyways, was perusing the sites and links or forums to see what I could find and nothing really rang up for reputation or client experiences until …… I seen a bunch of hits on Yelp.

Again, no mention of the specific models that I recall but two really great reviews about the tub although mostly the dealer / sales person experience. However, out of the 2 good reviews, they were met with 6 or more terrible experiences and probably half of those mention the tub quality itself where the other negative reviews might have revolved around a dealer or two in one area of the country. I sounds like a dealer or two around the Maryland area were not meeting delivery times , good delivery experiences or including the steps and chemicals as promised, in some cases , damaged tubs or steps and no remedy or help for months in some cases.

At first read, I was nearly horrified to think of anyone spending that level of money only to have such heartache or as some stated, "going months with out follow up, a working tub or saleman dodging phone calls" etc...
Then I realized much of it may just boil down to a a few bad apples in the case of dealerships. One new tub was delivered with old dirty water and hair in the pipes. Another leaked and yet another had a jet that wasn't screwed in properly and they just gooped it with sealant or caulk since the screw threads didn't reach the part to bite in.

I'm hopeful this other tub project isn't going a similar direction. He has the tub in place and just wired up a few days ago but waitng a week to do the fill and set up. As always, tub photos and promo info looks impressive and sharp but I never found much of any mention when looking for user reviews. I'll add, these Yelp mentions were all very current almost all being 2018.

Any word on the street about this brand or company ?
« Last Edit: December 05, 2018, 01:15:21 pm by bachman »

Hot Tub Forum

Curious about LPI / Aqua Living / Dr Wellness
« on: December 04, 2018, 03:19:34 pm »

Hottubguy

  • Ultimate Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2150
Re: Curious about LPI / Aqua Living / Dr Wellness
« Reply #1 on: December 04, 2018, 03:56:26 pm »
I don’t think Dr Wellness has a tub anywhere near 20k. They are on Craigslist in my market. They are all under 5k. You get what you pay for with these. They are cheaply made and are not very energy efficienct. They are made In Tennessee under a number of names. I remember seeing them 2 years ago at a trade show in New Orleans and was shocked at how cheap they weee wholesale. One of those you get what you pay for. There are probably 50 brands better. And if he paid that much then he got taken bad by them. For 15k or whatever he paid for it he could have gotten almost any brand he wanted

The Wizard of Spas

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 507
Re: Curious about LPI / Aqua Living / Dr Wellness
« Reply #2 on: December 04, 2018, 05:13:09 pm »
LPI is also moving away from dealer-based sales and going customer-direct.  Its not how most major manufacturers do it, but that is how they are going.  Wonder what the long-term implications on quality, service/warranty is. . .

MarKee

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 967
Re: Curious about LPI / Aqua Living / Dr Wellness
« Reply #3 on: December 04, 2018, 11:32:17 pm »
I know of a few dealers that sold Catalina swim spas before they were sold to LPI, and have since stopped selling Catalina because of leaks and other frequent quality control issues.  Very risky in my opinion.

bachman

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 141
Re: Curious about LPI / Aqua Living / Dr Wellness
« Reply #4 on: December 05, 2018, 01:31:11 pm »
Thanks for the comments... the site has a big array of models and I'm not sure we are talking of Dr Wellness or Catalina only ….. but one thing I can do for sure is update info when I get a chance to go visit the project one of these days.

I'm hopeful to at least offer some positive early experiences and cite a specific brand / model. So much of what I see and read are broad generalizations and negative comments regarding various brands or models if that is even included.

ADDED- Aqua Living Outlets/  Tranquility series,  Lifestyle series,  Hudson Bay,  Catalina
« Last Edit: December 05, 2018, 02:41:47 pm by bachman »

Sam

  • Senior Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1335
Re: Curious about LPI / Aqua Living / Dr Wellness
« Reply #5 on: December 05, 2018, 04:29:09 pm »
Every thing that company touches is garbage

BullFrogSpasMN

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 949
Re: Curious about LPI / Aqua Living / Dr Wellness
« Reply #6 on: December 06, 2018, 03:22:48 pm »
bests words I can use to describe LPI is.....dumpster fire

Stay Far Away!

bachman

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 141
Re: Curious about LPI / Aqua Living / Dr Wellness
« Reply #7 on: December 06, 2018, 06:45:16 pm »

Yikes !

This guy tends to think he always got 'taken' when buying things or paid too much.
Dislike thinking it but he may have jumped in with both feet on this huge big ticket expense.
I hope he beats the odds and has a good experience but that's all I can say. I won't share the bits of info, sites or sources I got along the way on brands associated with that company.

Sure wish I could have helped peruse things early on had he mentioned what he was looking into but I have no way of knowing if he would heed advice anyways. I think he has a slight stubborn streak as some who get sucked into big sales, discounts or Too good to be true promotions. Thanks for the scared straight info though.  ::)

bachman

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 141
Re: Curious about LPI / Aqua Living / Dr Wellness
« Reply #8 on: December 11, 2018, 06:22:45 pm »
Still gathering info on the tub my friend got.
I might have it narrowed to a Tranquility series, Dr Wellness. He says 450 gallon, up to 7 people and I know he ordered a black shell because it came in wrong in October or early Nov. and was reordered.

I'll get to see it on a visit eventually so as of now, just filtering it by features and size to see what it might be. I've learned Catalina is part of LPI, maybe a better bet for a quality tub ? Not sure of Catalina but thought I read they seemed to have a pretty solid rep. Who knows if the promises to keep it that way are carried forward by LPI / Aqua Living outlets?

He's adding chemicals today so it must be full and ready to fire up. I sure hope he has a good experience getting it going. I'm not too certain there is strong customer help or support from what I read. My first contact into getting a spa sounded like someone would come over to see the location and yard and guide us in set up details. We never did go the new route so I'll never know if that level of expertise and help was trly available. I'm sure I'd have to been committed to a degree and not just browsing or window shopping though.


*Updated and corrected (Catalina)
« Last Edit: December 12, 2018, 01:19:43 pm by bachman »

Hottubguy

  • Ultimate Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2150
Re: Curious about LPI / Aqua Living / Dr Wellness
« Reply #9 on: December 11, 2018, 10:57:10 pm »
Caldera is not part of LPI at all. They are owned by Watkins Wellness. Catalina got bought up by LPI in the last year. Didn’t see much in the way of there hot tubs but a couple guys I know dropped there swim Spas when they found out who bought them

bachman

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 141
Re: Curious about LPI / Aqua Living / Dr Wellness
« Reply #10 on: December 12, 2018, 12:25:23 pm »
Caldera is not part of LPI at all. They are owned by Watkins Wellness. Catalina got bought up by LPI in the last year. Didn’t see much in the way of there hot tubs but a couple guys I know dropped there swim Spas when they found out who bought them


Correction noted … Thank you very much.

I'll edit my post above with related correction or update. Last thing I want to do is pass along misinformation.

 :-[

Hot Tub Forum

Re: Curious about LPI / Aqua Living / Dr Wellness
« Reply #10 on: December 12, 2018, 12:25:23 pm »

 

Home    Buying Guide    Featured Products    Forums    Reviews    About    Contact   
Copyright ©1998-2024, Whats The Best, Inc. All rights reserved. Site by Take 42