Ques re: hot spring grandee vs. Sundance bahia

[pruned_hands]

I am about to enter the hot tub world again after a long hiatus since my childhood (i.e. my parents bought one when I was a kid).  It has been too long....anyways, I am looking at the Sundance bahia and Hot Spring grandee.  Would anyone care to give an opinion between these two?  (I do understand that they are very different.)

Also, re: access to the control panel:  I would like to place tub on cement pad and would have a 2 foot deck around it.  What have been good ideas to allow for control panel access.  Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks--Pruned hands

[stl-rex]

Both brands are well respected.  If you like the bahia, you just saved yourself a fairly substantial sum of money over the HS.  The wet test should be the deciding factor.  Curious why you aren't considering the Optima.  We tested both the Bahia and Optima and liked the Optima better.  It's more in line price and feature wise with the HS

[pruned_hands]

I liked the optima and did prefer it over the bahia, but I wanted one tub in a price range that my wife would agree to (i.e. a sure thing) and one "dream tub" (which for me is the grandee).

thanks for the reply.

[hottub.pool_boy]

both are great brands. buy from the dealer who makes you feel the most comfortable.

I'm kind of partial to one over the other.

[hymbaw]

Both great tubs! I happen to sell them but IMHO the Bahia is about the best "bang for your buck" out there. Is the Moto-Massage and the "no bypass filtration" worth the extra 2-3 grand to you? These are both unique to the HS and definitely worthwhile. Beyond that the tubs both are full foamed, both have 24 hr circulation pumps, both have 5 yr parts and labor on their warranties. You cant go wrong either way! I say WET TEST and see which fits you better, has the most power, etc.

                                        Good Luck