Hesitant new buyer

[stargazer]

I'm considering buying a hot tub and am hesitant between :
Hot Springs (Envoy), Caldera (Tahitian) and Coast Spas.

I have not read much here about Coast Spas...
However HS seems to be unanimously a great Tub.

another question:
- Coast Spas offers 2 lounging chairs...is it worth it?

thanks!!!!

[wmccall]

I'd like to welcome another stargazer with a tip,  A large dobsonian doesn't work well in a hot tub!  Motor guided scopes don't work well either. Your optics will fog up anyway.  But certainly a lot of us enjoy looking at the stars in a hot tub.  Many here will debate the merit of one lounger, but two?  I come down in favor of the lounger, but don't think I would like two loungers, but I can imagine some people, especially couples, might like having two. How many people in your family?  We have a lounger, and I would get another tub with a lounger, but we are a family of 3, with a 6 person tub and the lounger is the least used seat.

As for Coast, I've seen some nice looking tubs, but can't comment on their quality.   They SEEM to me to be a bit more flash than substance, and the example I always use to back that up is


This spa cracks me up when I see it in person once a year, and when I see it online. -But thats just me.

Has anyone ever bought one of these?

[ebirrane]

I'm considering buying a hot tub and am hesitant between :
Hot Springs (Envoy), Caldera (Tahitian) and Coast Spas.

I have not read much here about Coast Spas...
However HS seems to be unanimously a great Tub.

another question:
- Coast Spas offers 2 lounging chairs...is it worth it?

thanks!!!!

HS does have a very good reputation.  Watkins (makers of Hot Springs) also makes the caldera and tiger river lines.  I believe Caldera and Hot Springs are made in the same factory.  The HS is the luxury line and the Caldera a more every day line?? Not sure how Watkins thinks of the two lines.

Loungers take up at least 2 seats in a tub, so 2 loungers would take up 4 seats. If you have company that can be a problem.  

Personally, I don't like loungers and prefer to sit up most of the time to relax, and I like putting my arms up on the sides of the tub.

If I want to lay back my hot tub has no-barrier seating and I use that as a make-shift lounger.  

People also tend to float in loungers, which is why wet testing the tubs is especially important.  Trying to keep yourself from floating is not a way to relax in a tub. Lounger shape and jet position and your own height make a big difference in who floats and who doesn't.

-Ed

[drewstar]

Wm MCall.,

What the hell is that ? ! ?


Where do you find these things?  


 

[East_TX_Spa]

Edited so as not to waste space

Terminator

[stargazer]

   I don't know how this is relevant to my question???

[East_TX_Spa]

 I don't know how this is relevant to my question???

You're right, and I'm sorry that we took your thread off into a silly direction.  Ed's advice in an earlier post is very good advice, indeed.

To answer your question, the 2 loungers is a personal decision which can best be answered by wet testing the different spas.  It seems that fewer and fewer spas are made with multiple loungers nowadays.  The feedback I have gotten from customers goes about like this:

Approximately 95% of shoppers want a lounge in their spa.

About 75% come back and say "I wish we hadn't gotten a lounge.  It takes up a lot of space in the spa and my wife floats in it.  Hardly anyone uses it."

Now, this is not a scientifically accurate assessment by any means, it is just my personal experience over the years.  That is why wet testing should be a critical part of your decision making process.  I hope this helps in some way.

Terminator

[stargazer]

  thanks!

we haven't "wet tested" any of them.....next phase in the process...

some dealers only allow you to wet test the spas that already have water in them... which may not be the one you want....personnally, if I'm gonna spend $10K on a tub, they better put water in it and let me try it out!

Apparently Coast Spa loungers are deeper, so you don't float up.....  that's what the dealer says anyways...

[East_TX_Spa]

If a dealer won't go the extra mile while you're shopping for a spa, they're probably not going to bend over backwards when you own one and trouble arises.

It is standing policy in our store to fill any spa that someone wants to try.  It is your hard-earned money and you have the right to make sure it is spent appropriately.  It is not that big a deal to get a spa up and running.  A simple electric pump will transfer hot water from one spa to another pretty quickly.

Terminator

[drewstar]

If a dealer won't go the extra mile while you're shopping for a spa, they're probably not going to bend over backwards when you own one and trouble arises.

It is standing policy in our store to fill any spa that someone wants to try.  It is your hard-earned money and you have the right to make sure it is spent appropriately.  It is not that big a deal to get a spa up and running.  A simple electric pump will transfer hot water from one spa to another pretty quickly.

Terminator

I thought this was against health codes to transfer the water?

[stargazer]

I've read a lot of your comments...and you seem to have a very soft spot for Hot Springs Envoy....

you sell those I gather...you're a dealer?

but is it an objective opinion you're giving ?

I'm just trying to get something good, solid that's gonna last me a long time...

[stargazer]

Good point Drewstar.... :-/

[stargazer]

Also.....are all service calls to the US?

I live in Canada...and wonder if this could be problematic..

[East_TX_Spa]

I thought this was against health codes to transfer the water?

Never heard that before.  We've never had a problem in 21 years.  I'm not saying you're wrong drewstar, I learn something new every day on this forum.

Terminator

[HotTubMan]

Also.....are all service calls to the US?

I live in Canada...and wonder if this could be problematic..

You will likely receive better after sales service from the HS dealer, in Canada, than you will from the Coast dealer, especially if you live in Ontario.

I have worked in three spa stores. Two of them had International Pool & Spa as a competitor. I have a steady stream of customers coming here for chemicals, water care advice, parts etc, because they "don't want to go back there"

If they are very insistent that the price is "today only" and you can leave a "small deposit" to secure the price.....RUN AWAY