Time to take the plunge!

[SpaTime]

Hello all,

I just joined this forum because after reading thru many of the posts, I think there are quite a few of you who really have a lot of hot tub knowledge.
And now it's clear that it is time to add a hot tub to our lives.  What I  hope to get from you all are some recommendations and/or caveats about which tubs would be a good fit for us and our situation.  That said, here is our situation;

We are a family of 4 (kids are 5 & 9)  Tallest member is 6'.
We hope to entertain 2 couples at once (no kids then)
Spa will be located about 20 miles east of Pittsburgh.
It will be on a 3" concrete pad on a covered porch.
Electrical service will have to be installed, so shouldn't be a concern.
We are hoping tp budget for $4-$6K
Natural gas line is available.
We would like to have a decent (or dare I say, kick butt) lounger.
Lighting and sound system are not real important to us at this point.

[wmccall]

Can you narrow down the area of Western PA?  Recommending a X spa might not help if there is no dealer carrying that brand within a 100 miles of you. Where will you be looking, Erie, or Pittsburgh, possibly Wheeling?

[SpaTime]

I figured I forgot something besides a thank you on that post.  We are located about 20 Miles east of Pittsburgh

[Lori]

I would recommend wet testing!  That will be a sure way to know if you are getting a kick-butt lounger, or whether it just pushes you out (floating)!

Take the kids and some friends to wet test, also!  That will help determine how comfortable all will be in the tub.  I found, as others here have mentioned, too, that a tub may be rated as a 6 person spa, but really only be comfortable for 4.  Don't just count seats (unless you don't mind playing footsie)!

[Chris_H]

In the price range you are looking at, I would recommend either the Sundance Caymen (700 Series) or the Tiger River Bengal.  Both have loungers and both should be priced under $6,000.  If you step it up to a spa under $7,000, you would have a much larger selection.

[spahappy]

SpaTime,

Take a look at the Coleman 107. It's rated for 7 and in this tub I could see 6 adults fitting comfortably.

It's got a lounger and a nice big footwell. Thats what you need to look for if you're conserned with not playing footsies with your company ( not that thats a bad  thing .).

You should be able to get this spa in your price range.

Lori was right, take as many people as you want to soak with along on the wet test. Let the dealer know your bringing the whole gang in case they need to adjust the water levels.

You may decide you don't want a lounger in which case that would open up more doors to you.

Good luck!


Spahappy

[golferm]

Jacuzzi 335.....has a lounger.  2005 models have two pumps, 2004 has 1, so you may be able to get a deal on the '04.  I would imagine it's in your price range in the U.S.  (I'm Canadian).

I was deciding between that at the J-345 w/ no lounger, which is what I purchased.

[SpaTime]

1st off I'd like to thank those of you who have replied to my post so far.  Thank you to Lori who suggested taking the kids with us to wet test.  It didn't even occur to me to bring them  

Of course, now I am wondering if I was a bit rash to say a lounger was very important.  If it will greatly affect the range of models we can pick from, maybe I should put the lounger in the "negotiable" column.  The reason that I wanted a lounger was to get head to toe relief.  Tho it seems, as I learn more, that I can get that from seats, making a lounger less of an issue.  

Also,would someone explain the benefits of 2 pumps over one?  Does it just come down to jet force?

Does anyone have any input regarding used tubs?  I see that a number of lucky folks here appaerently change out their tubs every year or two.  I would think there would be some high quality "pre-owned" tubs available.

Thank for your responces so far, and for any further help y'all may offer.

[Vinny]

Take a look at the Artesian Island and Promo line along with the recommendations made. The Island series can be bought at various price ranges depending on jet, pump and option configurations. The Promo is their entry level class of spas but not all dealers carry them.

As far as lounger - it's a personal choice. We are a family of 4 also, don't think we'll do a lot of entertaining (that may change when the tub comes - uninvited guests - LOL) and we went with no lounger. My opinion is that with 4 of us we can all get a corner seat. The tub I picked has 2 corner seats with neck collars and 2 without - I liked this so that we weren't locked into neck collars just in case living with them becomes a nuisance.

The 2 pump question - if the 2nd pump is plumbed in to work with the first, yes more power to all the jets. If the 2nd pump is plumbed into different jets, then more seats can run at the same time.

Hope this helps!

[SpaTime]

Hey vinnie,

Thanks for the pump primer.  Knowledge is power, and since we may start wet testing in the next week of two, all info is greatly appreciated.  From what everyone has said so far, I am now thinking footwell and footwell jets may be more important than a lounger at this point.

Thanks again to all who are helping me here.

[Lori]

 

Your welcome, by the way, SpaTime!

I would suggest wet testing lounge models and non-lounge models.  When I was looking, I thought a lounge was really important.  After wet testing a few, I found that I personally floated, A LOT!  So, I broadened my search for non-lounge models.  I find that in my non-lounge spa, I get head to toe relief.  (I have a HotSpring Vanguard, by the way.)  I also have 2 seats with the moto-massage jet, which means that, on the rare occasion that hubby gets in the tub, we don't fight over the moto-massage seat!

Just my thoughts!  

[SpaTime]

Thanks for the input Lori.  I'm glad to know that loungers are not the end all for relief.

Well, today we went shopping!  We stopped by a spa dealer who turned out to be a Thermospa distributor, which it turns out doesn't offer the ability to wet test a thermospa.  We left with a video which reminded me more of a 70's adult film than anything else.

Next stop was Pool City.  They had a nice selection and we saw a few models that "looked" real nice.  We will return to wet test one of them next weekend.

Here are the contenders thusfar;

05 Sweetwater Palermo $5789,00 (list $6499.00)  It is comparable to the Sundance Optima pictured in their brochure (so says the salesman).

05 Resort Spa #730L 4999.00 (list $5999.00) (The salesman offered to include the performance upgrade [40 jets, 2 6hp pumps up from 4hp and a whirlpool jet] for $5999.00.

Here's where the trouble starts, lol

05 resort spa either model 840B 7seater or the 840L 6 seater with lounge.  Both have 40 jets, 2 6hp pumps one of them 2 speed, a waterfall and the footwell is large.  All jets are stainless steel.  They had an 840b running in the showroom, and I have to say it looked fantastic!  I looked down at the posted price $7999.00 and immeadiatley diregarded the model.  A salesman came over and offered it at $6499.00.  My wife and I were quite taken with it.  The salesman then invited us into the empty 840L next to it.  My family (all 4) got in with him and there was still a good amount of room left for one more person.  This is one we will wet test.

All the prices include delivery and setup and a hard cover, not tax.

Is anyone familiar with the Resort Spa line?  I think it may be known as Artesian.  Chris_H already recommended Sundance, but havent seen anything on Resort.that I can recall.  

This is starting to get exciting!!

p.s. pardon the HUGENESS of this post, lol

[Guttboy]

Spatime,

Glad to see your quest went well....we havent encountered those brands "resort" yet.  Take a look at my post that I just put in about us "Wish me luck".

We just got back from Dry testing a few out ourselves.

We would just primarily have my wife and I in the spa but Ill tell you some of those Spa's are friggin HUGE!!!!!

I never realized until we actually got right up to them...I cant tell from pictures and usually have to see them up close and personal to take a look at them.

Be sure to ask about who does the work on the spa's and what they are willing to do if there are warranty/maintenance questions.  

Also...one dealer told me that the owner will not be undesold for this particular brand (not mentioned here because that probably wouldnt be right).  He stated that if we found it for cheaper he would beat the price.  This leads me to believe that they totally stand by what price they are selling it for (made us feel a bit better).

Anyhow good luck with your search!!!!

Regards,

[Vinny]

The Bahia is "equivalent" to the Optima. Same spa company different level of spa.

Resort spa isn't an Artesian, maybe they sell a model call Artesian and Artesian doesn't sell a model called Resort, at least there isn't one on their website.

[SpaTime]

Well, I spent the evening last night looking for the manufacturer of Resort Spa, and can't seem to find any info on it.  The is very dissapointing concidering we were very taken by the model 840 B & L at a local dealership.  Has anyone ever heard of the line??