Coleman Spa's any good??

[Garyjr]

My wife and I are in the market for a new hot tub, and thought we had narrowed our choices to either a Hot Springs or Caldera.  However, I just visited 2 more dealers this afternoon that sells Coleman Spas and the other sells Catalina.  The Caldera we liked (Geneva) was right at $9300.00 from Watson's.  The Catalina dealer has an 05 New Yorker fully loaded for $8383, and the Colman dealer has a C471 complete for $6200.00.  What advise can anyone give me concerning these 3 models?  Any pros vs cons would be greatly appreciated.

[wmccall]

This forum has a few satisfied customers, at least one dealer, and there has not been any complaints.

FWIW,

Bill
Nearest dealer to me is 104 miles, so I haven't seen one yet.

[fatman]

Coleman makes a very quiet hot tub which is great for conversations.   If you are a tall person the Coleman Comfort Collars may rub on your shoulder/clavicle. I believe Coleman can make the tub without the collars though. Spahappy, a Coleman dealer on this forum, can tell you more.

[Bigbender]

Gary,
My wife and I have a Coleman 471 Deluxe and love it. In December of 2004, we paid $6000 (with all the extras) so your quoted price is very good. I wet tested about five other hot tubs during our search. After the sale I've been in several others and I don't regret our choice one bit. They have comfortable pads for your head to rest on and the way they have the seats designed, you don't get pushed out of them by the water pressure. Our Coleman is probably the quietest I've been in and it has lots of jet pressure. The main therapy seat and the lounge are both excellent plus you have a shallower therapy seat for kids or short adults.

What I especially like is their pre-filter system. The pre-filter looks like a flat coffee filter and it sits on top of the main filter. Most of the dirt and oil is caught there before it gets to the main one and that saves a lot of filter cleaning. All you do is lift a lid, pull the pre-filter out and pop in a clean one. It can be done in about 30 seconds. I have three of them that I rotate about once a week. I hose them off, let them dry and they're good to go again. A real nice set-up...

About the only feature that we don't have would be leg jets. A lot of tubs don't have them but I think they'd be a nice addition to any tub.

Go for it...

[tmknies1]

Gary,

I am a recent new owner of a Caldera Geneva. I love the tub! I know pricing can vary greatly from location to location but I think you can get that price you received down a bit. I paid $8400 including tax in May in CT. That included deliver, steps, start up chemicals and the covermate coverlifter (installed).

Good luck with what ever you decide

[Spatech_tuo]

The first advice I'd give is to make sure you're comparing apples to apples. When you walk about one spa at $9300 and another at $6200 I imagine you're comparing a large top of the line spa with another spa model that probably is not similarly equiped.

[rick]

After looking at both the Caldera Geneva and the Coleman 471,  I'd say he's comparing apples to apples.

Both are 6 man spas that measure 7.5 ft by 7.5 ft.
The Caldera is 3 inches deeper thus holding 475 gallons to the Coleman's 420 gallons.

Both have a lounge seat.

Both have 2 pumps, but only 1 of the Caldera's is a dual speed.

They both have lights and jets and all the nice things that make the spa a nice place to be.

In the end, it makes me wonder where the $3100 difference goes to make the Geneva what it is.  

I don't need to add anything about the Coleman,  Bigbender hit everything right on the head.  It's a lovely spa and I love my 480.  

Sounds like the Coleman is a much better bargain.

[Spatech_tuo]

After looking at both the Caldera Geneva and the Coleman 471,  I'd say he's comparing apples to apples.

I imagine both have spas in the $6k range, $8k and $9k range; that was my point. It's tough to compare from website specs alone. You could take a higher priced Coleman and a lower priced Caldera or Catalina and also ask what you're getting for the extra $$. Comparing in person would be the way to go and hearing from Spahappy or a Caldera person would also help.

[hamrhed]

We have had a Coleman 470 for 10 months now. Great unit have had no problems what so ever.

It fits the bill for us and we are happy with our purchase.

We paid 7K, good luck with your purchase on what ever you choose.

[hymbaw]

The first advice I'd give is to make sure you're comparing apples to apples. When you walk about one spa at $9300 and another at $6200 I imagine you're comparing a large top of the line spa with another spa model that probably is not similarly equiped.

I agree completely! I'd like to have a Caldera dealer clarify the differences.

If you base your decisions solely on dimensions, number of pumps, lights, loungers, etc. everyone should just run up to Sam's Club and get the cheapest price.

[Garyjr]

Thanks for all of the GREAT information.  We are trying to make an appointment this weekend to wet test both, and hopefully that will make the decision for us.
The ironic thing I am finding is the "selling points" each dealer gives for their respective tubs are what the other points out as flaws.  IE:  The Caldera dealer really pushes how the tub is fully insulated thus reducing both electric consumption while adding structural integrity to the tub.  Both the Catalina and Coleman dealers told us a fully foam tub costs nearly (within $2-5.00 per month to be exact) the same to operate (electric wise) as does a non-fully foamed tub.  They both went on to add that the reason some manufactures fully foam is to same $ on the manufacturing (foam is cheaper than producing a thicker shell.)  Not sure I buy into that, but if fully foaming was the only way to go, I would think most every manufacture would fully foam and raise their price by $50.00 to recover the cost.
I will keep eveyone posted on what we decide.
Thanks Again,
Jr

[bosco0633]

all the people that I have seen on this forum really enjoy the coleman.  I wet tested one before I purchased my tub and loved it.  Very nice and they look good too.

[hymbaw]

 They both went on to add that the reason some manufactures fully foam is to same $ on the manufacturing (foam is cheaper than producing a thicker shell.)  Not sure I buy into that

You shouldn't buy into it.........It's a lie.

[spahappy]

The 471 is a great spa and thats an awesome price. We're selling that spa for 7200.00

I sell both thermal pane (Coleman) and full foam (Jacuzzi) spas in North Dakota. I gaurantee you that Coleman spas do not cost any more to heat in the coldest winter months than Jacuzzi spas do. So don't let that be the deciding factor in your decision, both systems work and are very efficent.

Although the Coleman 471 is our number one selling spa and it's Colemans number one selling model nationwide, it's not the top of the Coleman line. The 471 has 2  2.5 HP pumps for 36 jets and I think you'll find it very therputic and the seating comfortable. The Coleman 705 and 706 are at the top of the current line. They both have 3  2.5 hp pumps for 53 jets and some beeps and whistles the 400 series doesn't have. In the near future we will have another step up from the 700 series called the M-6. We sell the 700 series for 9100.00

I know shopping for spas can get confusing and it's frustrating when dealers trash talk each others products. Let the wet test be your decision maker.

Good luck and let me know if I can answer any further questions for you....

[Kyle]

Coleman by MAAX is a good spa.  I'd check into a floor model if they have one because their ship times have been bad lately.  8 weeks average and sometimes up to 12 weeks.