We purchased A Marquis Spirit Hot tub and had it professionally installed in May 2013. It is wired according to code on 50 amp 240V service. It sits on our back patio. We live on Long Island, just East of NYC, NY, USA.
After 1 full year I have to say we are delighted. The tub is very comfortable and works as advertised. Naturally you have to keep the chemistry balanced but other than that it has been trouble free. We replace the Frog cartridges on schedule and have replaced the main filter 1 time a couple of months ago, just for good measure.
In October 2013, as the cold weather started to approach my wife asked if I could enclose it in some fashion to make it more comfortable to use throughout the winter. Little did we know that this past winter would be the coldest in memory and have double the normal snow fall.
We looked for ideas and settled on a Palram 8X8 greenhouse kit. If you visit the link and read the reviews you will find mine there under A. Anderson.
http://www.amazon.com/Palram-Snap-8-Feet-Greenhouse-Silver/dp/B002IOJKNO/ref=sr_1_6?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1404412681&sr=1-6&keywords=palram+greenhouse Net Net, this worked great! We used the hot tub all winter even when the temperature was in the single digits and there was 2 feet of snow on the ground. The sun on the greenhouse would warm it up some and the fact that the greenhouse would block the wind, sometimes as high as 50 mph, made it useable in all weather conditions. We do have to walk outside to get to the tub but it is a short 10 feet from the steps.
A nice extra was how it warmed up in use. For example, it was 10 degrees F one morning. The morning sun had warmed the greenhouse to about 20 degrees F. Still very cold but again, no wind inside the greenhouse.
Close the door and open the tub and enjoy for 20 minutes. When you got out of the tub it was about 45 degrees in the greenhouse. Still not warm but a lot better than 10 and no wind as you dried off. Actually worked very very well.
I believe the greenhouse is also saving me money. In the winter I believe it is cutting electric use to keep the tub up to temperature by protecting it from the wind and snow and maybe a little insulation and solar heating effect. In the summer, when the greenhouse is closed, it gets up to about 105 degrees F meaning it is warmer than the water in the hot tub so we are not burning electricity to keep it warm and it blocks the wind and rain, both of which sap heat from the hot tub.
For summer time use I have installed a screen on the door so that we can leave the doors open during use. After a few minutes of having the doors open the temperature in the the greenhouse drops to ambient temperature and the screen keeps the bugs out.
Overall we are very pleased with the Marquis Spirit and the Palram greenhouse as a spa house. Thought we would share the information for those who are interested.
If I can figure out how to attach a photo I will.
