Marquis Spas

[J._McD]

The other day East Tx inquired about Dimension 1 Spas and we got a little insight into the company.  I thought it would be interesting to know more about other manufacturers we hear about.

Marquis is a very good recognized brand what is it that makes it a good brand.  Any comments from dealers and owners, or others in the know?

[Mendocino101]

I think Marquis really does offer a few genuinely unique things. 1. They are a employee owned company on top of which the town in which they are built has a population of less than 7000 the next town of any size is about an hour a way, what this means is that should someone lose their job there is not another corner to go around to get a new one and I think that and the attitude of being an employee owner shows in the finished product. I think they really hang their hat and take great pride in only putting things on their spas that will last in the home of an owner and not merely to add flash while on the showroom. No pillows which some may like but if they lasted they would not be excluded from just about every others makers warranty. Marquis as most know uses a system called the "Tri Zone" along with their own patten jet called an HK 40 it is a jet that can produce up to 40 gallons of water per minute. What this does is along with the Tri Zone allows you to isolate and to target with a much greater flow rate of water body areas and work them one at a time much the way a masseuse works the body during a massage. I also think that Marquis warranty is second to none for a few reasons: it is transferable and has basically no exclusions other the filter. It is no fault across the board. And nothing is covered less than 3 years other than the speakers (1yr.) if you add them. Lights, fuses, cover all 3 years, pumps, boards, heaters all 5 yr and 7 yr on all structure including siding that is covered for fading and warping along with cracking and 7 yr on plumbing. They also use all braided plumbing line along with each fitting being glued, barbed and clamped. All in all a very nice spa built by some really nice people who also support the "Make A wish" foundation and have to date given to kids over 200 hundred spas.

[Mendocino101]

lol...wow.....only 1 repsonse....

[J._McD]

I was noticing that as well Mendo, now just imagine if you had something to hold claim to like vortex filtration that was as controversial as "no-bypass" 5 filter operation.

Being company owned IMHO says a lot.  I find that corporate owned manufacturers are strictly focused on number that relate to the bottom line profit and stock performance or ROI.  I find privately held manufactures along with Marquis are more interested in people, specifically consumers who buy their product and dealers who promote and sell their product.  

Privately owned companies tend to be more receptive and responsive to consumer issues because they are seriously interested in the quality of their product line for their future.  The dealers are their link to consumers and they tend to treat the dealers, let's just say differently as the corporate companies have become more self centerd in their size and financial power they can do without people, as they have become more like money machines.

[East_TX_Spa]

I really like Marquis Spas.  My boss told me long ago they are the only other brand he would consider selling if HotSpring ever went out of business.

Terminator

[Mendocino101]

Term,

That is good to hear....I know your a proud Hot Springs person....And you serve them well.....

[J._McD]

Term,

That is good to hear....I know your a proud Hot Springs person....And you serve them well.....

I kinda like that Eaxt Tx, now we now what their bigger plan is, and that his future is secure.

As a matter of fact, differ with me if you may, but could we all agree, 1, 2, 3, 4, HS, SD, D1, MQ.  

Well I didn't really think so, but they really are amongst the (shudder to use this word) Best of the bunch with a lot of other very good choices.

[Anoroc]

I kinda like that Eaxt Tx, now we now what their bigger plan is, and that his future is secure.

As a matter of fact, differ with me if you may, but could we all agree, 1, 2, 3, 4, HS, SD, D1, MQ.  

Well I didn't really think so, but they really are amongst the (shudder to use this word) Best of the bunch with a lot of other very good choices.

Why is Caldera not in the mix.  I thought they would be pretty much like the HS brand.

[J._McD]

Why is Caldera not in the mix.  I thought they would be pretty much like the HS brand.

To answer your question and expose my oversight, I do think all Hot Tub manufactures make good products.  However my statement refers more to industry developemnet from the '70's.  Caldera was accquired by Watkins manufacturing for their own very good reasons that shall not be discussed here in this thread, but they were not one of the Pioneers of the industry as I feel the 4 mentioned are.

That is not to slight Caldera in any way, they are a very good product, but I do not consider them a stand alone manufacturer as the others are.  They have made this industry what it is today and many people here have had dealings with them at one time or another and hold them in high regard, along with others.

[East_TX_Spa]

I do think all Hot Tub manufactures make good products.

I'd have to say that I absolutely disagree with this statement.  The following is crap no matter how you slice it:




And that's just from looking at new spas yesterday.  I've got a whole folder of other pics if anyone would like to see them.

Terminator

[Mendocino101]

Term,
were those at a special show you attended ....l

[East_TX_Spa]

Term,
were those at a special show you attended ....l

Yes sir, this one:
http://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=wtb-hottub;action=display;num=1145986092

Terminator

[Mendocino101]

Term,

I have been taken to the woodshed enough times for bringing these shows up....So I am just going to keep quiet but I am glad to see You, Chas and Bill all having experienced the same things as I did and I am sure you feel much the same and that is they are a black eye for the industry....

[Spatech_tuo]

To answer your question and expose my oversight, I do think all Hot Tub manufactures make good products.  However my statement refers more to industry developemnet from the '70's.  Caldera was accquired by Watkins manufacturing for their own very good reasons that shall not be discussed here in this thread, but they were not one of the Pioneers of the industry as I feel the 4 mentioned are.

How long has D1 been around? I didn't think they were one of the older spa companies.

[MarKee]

Back to the topic at hand:

I am actually fortunate to be one of the employee owners of Marquis Corporation.  Marquis started in 1979-1980 as one of the pioneers in the industry.  Back then the company was known as Pacific Marquis.  The company basically grew from a family business into a fairly large organization in the hot tub world.  Now the company is employee owned and has approximately 300 employees.  In the year 2000, Marquis formed a retail division with the hopes of having factory stores nationwide in markets where Marquis doesn't have a presence.  Currently there are 3 Marquis factory stores in the Salem/Portland area in Oregon.  The Marquis retail division is able to test market products that eventually will go to the dealer network.  It is a very tight knit company, being able to associate with the upper management regularly gives a lot of employees a voice in the company.  Marquis' books are open to the employees, every 2 weeks meetings are held where the employees get to see what the sales were, what the costs were, and what kind of money was made.  This approach really gets every employee involved.  In the last five years, the Marquis stock price has more than doubled and Marquis has grown in years where the industry as a whole has declined.  Marquis spas are sold throughout North America and Europe at 300+ dealers.  

As far as the product goes, Marquis is one of the few companies that really have the consumer's best interests in mind.  I could go into detail about the features of a Marquis but that would be lengthy.  An excerpt from one of our dealers web pages sums it up: "The Marquis difference is under the skin: balanced hydraulics, thoughtful jet placement, attention to detail, highest quality of materials, a lack of "gimmicks" that are likely to break. The quality of their fit and finish is unsurpassed. That's why they provide the absolute best, no-fine-print transferable warranty in the industry".