Master spa?

[Chadm]

Just wondering any thoughts on master spa Phelps series is it a good brand, good tub? Just wet tested cantabria liked it, but want to wet test a master spa and bullfrog see how they compare.

[Tman122]

Not a lot of love for Master Spa in the hot tub industry. Deceptive sales practices, mediocre tub build. There is one guy here who loves his but he is a new owner.

[d00nut]

Honestly, the dealer makes all the difference.  If you got a great dealer, that deals with Master Spa, I wouldn't really hesitate recommending them.  Their support is lackluster, but again, a good dealer can make your experience great.

Watkins support is great (Cantabria) you tested, but again, a lackluster dealer can really tarnish the experience.

That being said, I wouldn't ever consider carrying master spas on my floor due to the lack of support (warranty and customer service) and their sales tactics, but I don't have anything against the spa itself.

[swilly1000]

I'm the guy on here that has a Master Spa Twilight Series 8.25 and I love it. Twilight Series is the second from top tier in Master's suite of tubs. The Michael Phelps line is the top tier.

I've had it in service for a year and a half so yes I'm relatively new but I have enough experience to tell you that I have a great dealer who's been very responsive the couple times I needed them. 

I'm not going to re-open the hotly debated discussion in this thread of why I think people are wrongly turned away from Master on this forum.  Search my posts and you will find no shortage of content on that topic.

The primary reason I love my tub is the jetting.  Very few of the crappy little jets and lots of the big high flow jets that are great for hydrotherapy.  The big foot blaster jets in the footwell  are awesome too. If hydrotherapy and strong jetting are important to you, then you fo' shizzle owe it to yourself to give Master a try.

I'm doing a drain and refill this weekend.  This is the third time I've done it. I use Spa Marvel in my tub.  Yesterday I removed the filters, tossed in a bottle of the plumbing cleanser, ran the jets on high for an hour and a half and then let the water circulate for 24 hours.  Today I'm draining, cleaning, refilling and rotating in my deep cleaned other set of filters.

I'm pretty good (but not perfect) about keeping the water balanced and my filters clean and well maintained, so I was a little surprised but not shocked to see all the gunk in my water when I checked in yesterday after 8 hours of the cleanser doing it's thing.

Can't wait to finish the job today and get back in there tomorrow to let those rejuvenated jets come correct with their superior fire power.

Keep researching Master.  Above all go for a wet test in a Twilight Series or Michael Phelps tub and form your own opinion. It's worth the test drive!!

[d00nut]

I've had it in service for a year and a half so yes I'm relatively new but I have enough experience to tell you that I have a great dealer who's been very responsive the couple times I needed them. 

My point exactly!  A dealer makes all the difference 

[Chadm]

What are thoughts on hot springs prism? Also what about the bigger bullfrog tubs m series and a series

[kengc]

I'm also looking at the Master Spa Phelps Legend 900. I live in Los Angeles and have been unable to find a place to wet test the hot tub. Master Spa seems to make a quality tub but the sales force is a bunch hard selling A-holes.
The Artesian Elite line is very similar to the Master Spa Phelps line. I wet tested the Artesian Elite Pelican yesterday and it was very nice. Lots of adjustable super flow jets.
The hot spring prism was also available there so we wet tested it. The layout is much better since you have a lounge plus 3 corner seats vs just two in the master and artesian. It didn't have a lot of high flow jets (mostly minis) which is a big bummer. Hot Springs seems to really skimp on the jets on all their models. The layout of the Prism is the best that we have seen though.
I going to try the Bullfrog M9 later this week.

[castletonia]

This is why wet tests are important.  Both Hot Spring and Caldera have strong reasoning for the jet selection they choose.  Since it sounds like the Prism isn’t for you, how did the Cantabria feel?  You said you like it but didn’t elaborate.  As a dealer for both brands, I have tried both.  I personally don’t fit the greatest in the Cantabria lounger, or many loungers for that matter, but overall I like the Cantabria better.

[wmccall]

Honestly, the dealer makes all the difference.  If you got a great dealer, that deals with Master Spa, I wouldn't really hesitate recommending them.  .

I can appreciate this statement, when I bought my first hottub in 2003, we stopped at the long time Master Spa dealer that was well known and you saw their trucks everywhere.  A friend had one as well.    In 2003 most companies did have a website and were just starting to communicate via email.   After our visit I wrote them asking a question about models we had looked at. I was very clear that we were just in the store.  I got an angry email back stating they don't sell over the internet and to come into the store.  I took them off my list for the rude remark. That company went out of business months later, so I'm glad I didn't buy.    17 years later the same Jacuzzi/Sundance/ Hot Spring dealers are still around, but Master has gone through at least 8 dealers in our area.

[swilly1000]

Honestly, the dealer makes all the difference.  If you got a great dealer, that deals with Master Spa, I wouldn't really hesitate recommending them.  .

I can appreciate this statement, when I bought my first hottub in 2003, we stopped at the long time Master Spa dealer that was well known and you saw their trucks everywhere.  A friend had one as well.    In 2003 most companies did have a website and were just starting to communicate via email.   After our visit I wrote them asking a question about models we had looked at. I was very clear that we were just in the store.  I got an angry email back stating they don't sell over the internet and to come into the store.  I took them off my list for the rude remark. That company went out of business months later, so I'm glad I didn't buy.    17 years later the same Jacuzzi/Sundance/ Hot Spring dealers are still around, but Master has gone through at least 8 dealers in our area.

Glad I have a great dealer.  Too bad about those 17 year old bad dealer stories. And if all those "8 bad dealers in our area" in the last 17 years stories were true it's hard to comprehend how Master has stayed in business and weathered the storm from "the big bad wolf" days  of tent sales and unscrupulous sales tactics.  Geez, it just never ends.

[Tman122]

Glad I have a great dealer.  Too bad about those 17 year old bad dealer stories. And if all those "8 bad dealers in our area" in the last 17 years stories were true it's hard to comprehend how Master has stayed in business and weathered the storm from "the big bad wolf" days  of tent sales and unscrupulous sales tactics.  Geez, it just never ends.

Master survives by selling at a huge margin. Build them cheap.

[wmccall]

Glad I have a great dealer.  Too bad about those 17 year old bad dealer stories. And if all those "8 bad dealers in our area" in the last 17 years stories were true it's hard to comprehend how Master has stayed in business and weathered the storm from "the big bad wolf" days  of tent sales and unscrupulous sales tactics.  Geez, it just never ends.

To be clear, you may not have read my message correctly. I never visited any of the 8 dealers Master used in our town during those years. I didn't say 8 bad dealers.   However, having had some experience in the past 17 years talking with multiple dealers, if a company can't keep a dealer more than a year or two, that reflects on the company more.  Although the dealers here will tell you the early part of the 21st century saw a loss of a lot of local stores.   As an aside, since I'm not currently shopping I won't visit a company that won't give me the local dealer's address without surrendering my personal information first.  I do regularly visit the other dealers in town to buy supplies. I like to go in and browse.

Some people in the industry do move around, I did talk to a few people that worked at that long time Master Spa dealer (as of 2003) and they did say dealing with Master got too difficult and the owner decided to walk away rather than switch.