Ok,
Last friday I did the wet test, and brought 4 friends along for the fun, and to get their opinions too. Here are my thoughts:
Hot Springs Grandee: The tub was comfortable, and the jets felt good, but there was something off about it all. My tinier friends had problems with how deep the seats were, and I didn't like that the edge of the hot tub was kind of awkward, it made putting my arms up on either side a bit weird. I didn't feel like I would be very comfortable for long given these points. I liked the moto-massage, and the fit and finish of the tub was nice, but there was just something not there.
Masterspa LSX-1000: Well, first of all, let me say that in my opinion, the sun lounger on this thing is pointless. It takes up a lot of hot tub real estate and just wasn't very cool. It looked interesting and different online, but when it was all said and done, it was mostly just a bench. Other than that, this tub just kind of felt cheap. This tub also had those weird shoulder massage things in one corner, where the hot tub actually claws over top your shoulders to get some jets there. I didn't fit in these chairs at all, and the people that did fit in them said they didn't like them at all, they felt closed in and claustrophobic by them. So that essentially took out an entire corner of the tub. There was one seat that I thought was pretty comfortable with decent jets, and I liked that there were a lot of calf jets, that seemed to be a distinguisher for the tub. I also can totally see why people complained about getting pushed out of the chairs by the jets, that happened to basically everyone I was there with. We were all in agreement that it was the least impressive tub of all the ones we wet-tested that day.
D1 Amore: Wow, what a beautiful tub! This thing was pretty amazing. It's way out of the price range that I had started with, but it really did shine in comparison to everything else. If price weren't an issue in any way, this would be the hands down winner, but it's hard to figure out if the added price makes this one worth it. I liked the two loungers, but found the bench seat to be a bit uncomfortable. Several of my friends really loved the bench seats though. This tub seemed to have a bit of something for everyone, and very easily fit 5 people in it without having to worry about legs getting all intertwined. My only complaint really was that the headrests, even when adjusted to their highest setting, still didn't fit me. I had to chose between having my body in full contact with the jets, or having my head comfortable up against the head rest, I couldn't do both at once.
Clearwater: I don't remember which clearwater we tested, but i felt it was just kind of ok. If I was still thinking of a less expensive option, I think the clearwater would have been in the running, it seemed like a solid tub.
Sundance Optima: The optima was also a big crowd pleaser. The short people were comfortable in it, and because of the low profile headrests, I was too! The tub just felt good, nice and comfortable, well made, relaxing, etc. This was the last tub we wet tested, so maybe it was due to being super relaxed by the time we got to it, but I remember sitting in that tub and thinking "yeah, i could just enjoy this for a while!" Without taking cost into consideration, I liked the amore better, but the huge cost advantage that the optima has while still being a tub that felt great is hard to ignore. One thing I didn't like about the optima is the dealer was charging 600$ for an EZpad. I know I can get it cheaper, with shipping, from the internet. I also know that the other dealers in town were quoting me very reasonable prices for the same pad. I know it's minor, but that sort of difference just causes me to hesitate and wonder about the dealer with which I'm considering spending a lot of money!
Pretty much all of my friends agreed with me, they liked the amore the best overall, but the optima was a close second, and probably the one they would have purchased if they were shopping for a tub.
Also, Is it poor form to buy the pad from one dealer, but the tub itself from another? Same question with chemicals.
