Thoughts on Artesian?

[spa_newb]

Well yesterday we saw the first tub that really wowed us, an Artesian Cypress Point. Its in their Platinum line. It was filled with water so we played with all the lights and jets and it just looked really well put together. Had 3 controller pads throughout the spa as well.
Asked about price and was quoted "I can get the price under 10 without the stereo package"....This sound about right? Does anyone have experience with this model or brand? It was by far the best looking tub I've seen in our price range.

[Vinny]

There are a few of us Artesian owners here and I believe that we all have had good experiences with them.

I own the Island series - a 2005 Grand Cayman and it really has been great! $10K for the Platinum series sounds like a good price. Back when I bought my tub the Piper Glen was going for about $9K (2004 pricing).

Looking at the website their Platinum series looks like they used to be their gold series with that model being in between the Piper and Grand Cayman (I think they used to call it the Emerald - it was going for about $8,500 back in 2004).

Just a FYI - prices can be all over the place depending where you bought your tub. There is a person here that bought the Grand Bahama (same tub as mine except with a lounger) and paid $1000 less than I did but I got a really good price for the tub here in NJ.

I personally have had a good experience with my dealer and the factory.

[Jacuzzi Jim]

 We use to sell Artesians and they do build a nice spa, defiantly wet test though, some find the jets to be a bit harsh depending on model specially those with the 6hp pumps.   That being said the spas with the 3 hp pumps seemed a bit weak.

[spa_newb]

Well it had 3 jet pumps, which was great, and you could control the flow with the diverters and such, I just stuck my hand it but it felt nice. Going to wet test when ready, but thats not for awhile.

[Spatech_tuo]

Well it had 3 jet pumps, which was great, and you could control the flow with the diverters and such, I just stuck my hand it but it felt nice. Going to wet test when ready, but thats not for awhile.

Sticking your hand in is great if you're testing a hand washer.  

Even though the wet test may not be for a while here is one word of advice. Try to wet test the different brands you like all the same day (and yes, wet test a couple brands). Schedule the Artesian for the morning then the Jacuzzi, Caldera ... for the afternoon. So many times I've seen people wet test and say things to their spouse like "I'm not sure if the XXX we tested last week felt like this one or if it had ...". You want to wet test the same day (or worst case the next day) so you have a real time basis for comparison. Dealers are typically very flexible when you want to schedue a wet test.

[Jacuzzi Jim]

 Their patented direct flow system is pretty cool, when it first came out we thought this is gonna be great, in the end it didn't really matter to most. I still think its a neat idea, but for the most part you can use the normal divertors and achieve the same effect.

 Where we really lost sales were the people that wanted to bury their spas in a deck, 3 pumps in the front are fine but when they put 5 in there it makes it tough to work on them if they fail, which any pump can do.  Its hard enough to get people to leave access to the front of the spa but to get access to left,right and front is even harder.
 Now if you have an open side to slide the spa out if needed is also pain but still doable.

   Not saying this is what your doing, more or less basic info.  

[Vinny]

Since this spa has 3 pumps what JJ said is true. But unless you're sinking the tub into the deck fully it shouldn't be too much of a problem. My tub has 3 pumps as well (4 if you include the circ pump) and the 3rd therapy pump is under the filter housing. My tub is sunk into the deck about 18" so all the pumps are reachable. the ONLY thing that I did which was stupid is locate the third pump by the handrail ... worst case scenario is that I have to take that section down if and when the pump fails and I can't get the pump out.

I can't talk intelligently about spa pumps but working on medical equipment that pumps water through them, I have never replaced pumps. I have replaced thermistors, probes and heaters on the units but never a pump. The water is often nasty and there is no "water care" to these units - MAYBE (and this is an if) they may use distilled water but generally the water is really bad.

If you keep the water good, I'm sure that except for a bad unit the pumps' seals should stay OK for a while.

[spa_newb]

Sticking your hand in is great if you're testing a hand washer.  

Even though the wet test may not be for a while here is one word of advice. Try to wet test the different brands you like all the same day (and yes, wet test a couple brands). Schedule the Artesian for the morning then the Jacuzzi, Caldera ... for the afternoon. So many times I've seen people wet test and say things to their spouse like "I'm not sure if the XXX we tested last week felt like this one or if it had ...". You want to wet test the same day (or worst case the next day) so you have a real time basis for comparison. Dealers are typically very flexible when you want to schedue a wet test.

This is good advice. We plan to narrow our final list to a "final 4" which we will then wet test, and I'll attempt to set it up all on the same day, if possible.

[Winnsome]

We have the Grand Bahama which Vinny talked about.  We still use our's 2-3 times a week and have had zero problems.  We lived in Ireland for two years and our son and his family lived in our house and used the tub all the time.  Our grandkids still come up and ask to use the tub.  We really love the Artesian.

[Vinny]

We have the Grand Bahama which Vinny talked about.  We still use our's 2-3 times a week and have had zero problems.  We lived in Ireland for two years and our son and his family lived in our house and used the tub all the time.  Our grandkids still come up and ask to use the tub.  We really love the Artesian.

WELCOME BACK!!

[Guelphgirl]

We have a 2007 Piper Glen and are extremely happy with it. The individual controls are great! We paid $10K (CAN) earlier this year (when the CAN & US dollars were close to par). We have it partially embedded in our deck and the one time we needed to get inside we had no problem (we had the deck built so that part of it is easily removable).

[Swell-Tub]

Artesians are built here in Las Vegas. I toured their plant and was impressed. I thought they had one of the best sounding stereo systems. I also liked the 5 pump system. In the end I bought a Jacuzzi for about 3K less. The Artesian I was looking at was the Pelican Bay and it was 14K. I got my Jacuzzi J-470 for 11K, so it sounds like you are getting a great price.

Scott  8-)

[Cdn HockeyPuck]

We bought the Cypress Point in August and love it. I didn't want to spend the extra dollars for the pump/seat option like the Platinum Elite Series. The 6hp pumps are awesome, with the controls, I can turn 2 seats on at a time and adjust the jets to limit the pressure out of each. Full blast (that's turning all the jets off in one seat and putting the Air pressure on will almost push you to the other side of the tub, it's awesome especially if you have sore muscles.  

With the 3 pumps only 2 sides need to be accessible for maintenance. We haven't had this problem a) because nothing has gone wrong yet (fingers crossed, knocking on wood) and b) I haven't built the deck around it yet.

We have the full light package which is really cool but when I'm in it alone, it doesn't get used.

Friends and family that have used it love the floor jets.

I would strongly suggest this hot tub be considered for a wet test and like others have said test other hot tubs the same day. We did a Jacuzzi the same day and preferred the Artesian, but it was close decision, the floor jets probably won us over.

Good Luck in your search,

[wmccall]

I don't remember if I've ever looked at an Artesian, perhaps at a fair or home show. Checked the dealer locator, my closest dealer is 17 miles ina  place called Pataskala, or as the locals call it Pat a laska. Might have to go look on my next chemical run