South Seas vs Jacuzzi vs PDC

[elvinzhou]

First time purchaser here. I'm replacing a 30 year old built in hot tub in my vacation rental property with a portable hot tub. Mainly, I'm looking for the most cost efficient 6-7 person hot tub, basic features are fine.

I've talked to a few dealers around me and got some quotes. I've narrowed it down to these below:

South Seas 729B - $5500
Jacuzzi J245/J235 - $6695
PDC Summit - $6190

I also talked in length with a Sundance dealer but the 680 Series McKinnely comes in at $8k+. My understanding is it's roughly comparable with a Jacuzzi.

What do you guys think about these models? Reliability issues? Is one definitely better than the other? South Seas is the cheapest, but seems to have less reviews online and the dealer is also 1.5 hours away.

Are there any other brands you would recommend? I sent an inquiry to a hot springs dealer, but they haven't gotten back to me. I looked at both Nordic and Dimension One, however the closest dealership is almost 3 hours away.

[castletonia]

If it were me, I would be going between the South Seas and the Jacuzzi due to the fact I have no experience with PDC and Jacuzzi and South Seas (Artesian) are both reputable company's.  As for reliability, you also need to take the dealer into account.  1.5 hours away may not be bad, but they likely will not be as responsive as a dealer that is 20 minutes away.

If you have the local option, I would also look into the following brands (in alphabetical order): Arctic, Bullfrog, Caldera, Marquis and maybe Viking.  Sundance, Jacuzzi, and Dimension One are all owned by the same company (Apollo Group).  Hot Spring and Caldera are owned by the same company (Watkins) and at the price point I believe you are looking at, Hot Spring and Caldera will be near identical.

Too bad the Nordic dealer is so far away.

[Sam]

It's my understanding that that specific south seas model has been discontinued.  I would definitely stick with the south seas (artesian) or jacuzzi sundance.  PDC isn't necessarily garbage but certainly not a manufacturer that's earned a long standing reputation for quality and reliability as the other brands mentioned have.