Buying A New Hot Tub

[preston32]

My wife and I are Hot tub shopping. We have looked at three brands. Nordic, Viking, and Dynasty.
I am leaning toward Nordic, but my wife likes the other because of the other features. Any suggestions.

[wewannahottub]

Never sat in a Nordic, just looking at it wouldn't be my preference to.  (JMHO ).

Wet tested a Dynasty because we seriously were interested in getting one==very blingy and stereo and nice colors, etc.  Disappointed in the therapy, and floating.

Viking, well, that was my first Hot tub experience, my mom had a Viking 1 or 2 (that big ol' round tub that could fit a bunch.  THerapy was ok.  Kids loved it, because, with the whirlpool jet on, they could all slide around the bench seat with the whirlpool.  Never had any issues with it, had a cartridge to clean, and I used bromine and scum bugs, and when needed, Arm and Hammer baking soda to adjust the ph.  I doubt I could do that today with the tubs we are looking to buy, fancy ozonators and such.

We had initially looked at Destiny River (Viking line) because it was a nice, blingy tub at a cheap price, but a dry test wasn't comfy for hubby or I and we never did wet test it.  Now, we have doubled our price range despite whether or not we could've or should've.  But, if we are buying an overpriced/sized hot water heater, it may as well last us many years with comfort and use, and get what we want now.

Good luck and the motto of the forum, is, wet test your arss off!! [smiley=bath.gif]

Chrisi

[preston32]

Great advice!  I will follow your qoute:
Wet test your arss off!!    

[Calypso]

What is the price range you are willing to spend and what are your requirements such as hydrotherapy number of people, foot massage etc. This will help with some recommendations. Your heights will also be helpful.

We found that the Dynasty line has very shallow tubs. The tub we were in had the formed headrest depression and this poked me in the shoulder blades. the dealer tried to compensate by overfilling the tub and when we both got in water splashed over the sides.

Wet testing is a must as WWHT stated.

Check as many dealers in your area as you can. Our spa is a Pacific which starts at around $7,000. Jacuzzi and Sundance has lower priced models too. I am sure others on the forum will let you know of other economical quality built spas.

[preston32]

Thanks Calypso.  
We are looking at between $4500.00 and $5500.00. We have priced a Viking, Nordic and Dynasty. All in that price range. All come with steps, cover, some supplies, delivered, one with cover stand etc. Everyone is trying to sell memorial day specials.
We did not know you could walk in store and wet test tubs??
I am 6 ft tall wife is 5 ft 7 in. 5-6 person tub.
I heard Nordic is a great brand. Does anyone know anything about Nordic, good or bad?  8-)

[Calypso]

If you are six feet tall you will find the dynasty to be too shallow. Almost all dealerships will let you wet test and some have private enclosures. We wet tested 10 spas and did not have issues if other people were wondering around while we wet tested. If you want a private wet test stores will sometimes open before of after hours as you are spending over $5000.

Wet wet tested all we could and then went back to wet test the top 3 before making a final decision. Try and wet test your final 3 on the same day.

The dealership is also very important and by wet testing you see your dealer for at least 30 minutes. Cal spa had deep spas that were economical but the dealership scared us and we read on the forums that Cal spas could have repair issues. You want to believe that the dealer will be there if you have a problem. Our dealer personally came out to the house for the initial start up chemeicals orientation etc. Nice touch. If we have a question he is there for us.

Call up the dealer and tell them your maximum budget is $5000 and see what they can do for you. Upgrading to a Jacuzzi 200 seriesor Sundance 680 series , Caldera? etc may not be that much more and some dealers give you great financing. An extra $1000 over 10 years is not a lot of money.

Now that you have a price range other people can offer their ideas.

Here is a link to the majority of tubs out there. You can find dealerships in your area by using the dealer locator

http://www.poolandspa.com/page958.htm

Our Pacific spas link is http://www.pacificspas.ca/ Shameless plug  

Good luck and keep us informed of your search