Eventually I came across Bradford Products, and the Carolina which was close to our footprint.
The solution was perfect for our application in terms of form, fit, and function.
The people at Bradford were extremely helpful and basically got me to a point where everything was specced out and fed to their nearest local dealer to quote. That dealer was 100 miles away
Well I wasn't jumping for joy over the price, but had to take a shot that I would get what I paid for.
So the new tub arrives.
I am really excited because this thing is the real deal. It's high quality and well constructed.
We had it installed just like the original tub, with just the lip above the patio.
We added a large cartridge filter system to the set-up and an electronic Jandy remote control system as part of the install.
We used the existing lines and had no problem with the original plumbing.
Unfortunately I can't seem to find any pictures of that installation.
The patio had to be cut very slightly to fit the new spa and we wanted to add an access to get to the main pluming lines and light if required.
Well local cutting company that did it f-ed it up, going slightly outside the lines, after a long battle they refused to make good on the botched job.
So a year later my Father can't deal with looking at the 1/4" gap next to the tub and decides he's going to expand the patio and move the tub.
When we are discussing the design for the expansion the mason recommends raising the tub a foot for seating, different look, etc.
Sounds like a good idea, so we go ahead.
And that brings us to it's current state, in ground Bradford Carolina with remote equipment pack.
You can see where the original back wall was altered to provide a walk-through to the expansion where the tub now located.
6 years later and still very happy with the Bradford Carolina.
I would go through it all again. The only difference would be to add air jets, which I was talked out of during the specifications phase.
One of these days I will get around to integrating a blower downstream of the heater, but since I don't live there and have my own tub it is pretty low on the priority list.
Given the choice and the funds I would go stainless every time. It has a far superior feel than any of the other tubs I have ever been in.
Amazingly it has a soft warm feel to it that you wouldn't necessarily expect.