Cal Spas NEW Avalon 844L vs. All Other Brands!!!

[dunerunner25]

Hi everyone, I am very new to the site and was wondering if any one knew much about Cal Spas hot tubs. I did a search on this forum and didn't find much information.  I have been looking at the new Avalon 844L and 744L and was wondering how Cal spas line up against the other brands such as Hot springs, Marquis, Sundance, D-1, and Jacuzzi? I am in the market for a 5-6 man tub with a lounge and a waterfall.  Any info would be great!! I have been reading many posts today and know I am in the right place for some great feedback!!!  So go ahead ...LIGHT ME UP!!!!

[anne]

I think if you search on "Cal Spas" and make sure that your date entries are fairly liberal, you'll find opinions here. I have been active here for about one year, and I know that at least in my first six months, I noted a number of threads that were about Cal.

My personal experience with them is very limited. I was recommend to check them out when I first started shopping, and there is a huge two story store about 20 minutes away from me. The sales guy was well-prepared to answer questions about his product, was courteous and did not bash the competition, but for having two floors of tubs to look, there were only 2 with water in them, and only one was hot. When I asked about wet testing anything other that the two, I was told it would not happen. I left, and did not go back.

[glfahlc]

if you check out www.rhtubs.com and go to their spa reviews section, you'll get some great insight into cal spas quality from folks that own them.... master spas also makes a great unit... just my .02

[Zep]

I own a CalSpas tub and love it.

There are some on this site that do not care for the CalSpas brand.

I suggest looking at several hot tub brands, wet test, study the dealers
and see how they treat their clients, then decide what brand fits you the
best.

I am not that familar with the new Cal Spas Avalon Series Spas.
I read that the Avalon series are 14 mid-sized models and they come
in 425- and 450-gallon versions; can accommodate up to six people;
equipped with four Pillowsage headrests and 25 to 57 hydrotherapy jets;
spas can be upgraded with LED lighting and a Clarion stereo system that
is iPod/mp3 ready.

Good luck on whatever brand you choose.

[loosenupspas]

Don't forget to look at Coleman.....471 or 472 both fine hot tubs......

[Gary]

Out of all the brands you mentioned Cal Spas would fall behind all of them in overall quality. Not saying will not get a good one, but I saying generally you will have better luck with the other brands.

I am a tech and work on the all and Cal is most concerned about the flash.

Also do not fall for the Life Time Warranty heater, it is a bad design and when they do fail good luck obtaining the benefits of that warranty (my experience).

[knowsabit]

Hello, I am a dealer for CalSpas, Sundance, and Hot Spring so I feel that I am qualified to answer this question.

The avalon series is a great value if you are looking for bells and whistles.  They are very well built and offer a ton of features for the money.  The jets are powerful but I have found that they are not as effective as the Sundance and Hot Spring jet systems.

As far as service calls go I would rate the CalSpa just barely below Sundance and HS.  We do go on more calls for CalSpas than Sundance and HS but the problems are always minor and easily permanently repaired.  Cal is also very good about continually making running changes to improve their spas.

If you are looking for an alternative I would suggest checking out the new 2007 Hamilton (Palermo Replacement) when it hits dealer floors.  You'll likely spend a little more but it would be worth it IMO.

Having said this I must also add that the Avalon Series was our #1 selling line of spas in '06

[Pathfinder]

If you are going to go with an Avalon go with a 36 tub & not a 44   the 44 has a big whirlpool jet in the side of the corner seat  which hits you in and awkward position  it is a major design flaw  for it is useless. the 36 does not have that.  

The Avalon was our best selling tub in this summer as well  with that being said it was our most problematic series as well  I changed out 15 boards from Aug to december  

If your going to buy a Cal I would buy a classic series tub like the tropical or the atlantic and upgrade to the 7200 or 9800 control pack  so you know your getting better quality components in your equipment pack.     But personally I would buy a tub that has 2 dual speed pumps and not just 1 dual speed and one highspeed pump.

[dunerunner25]

WOW!! Thanks for the info so far.... Keep it coming!!!!  I am like a sponge... LET ME SOAK!!

[Reese]

It is amazing what having a few good dealers and some satisfied customers can do to change the tone of responses about a particular brand.  It isn't that long ago that Calspa was a dirty word on most boards, due to some unresolved warranty problems, and a general reputation for poor quality.  Pathfinder, Spaman, Knowsabit, and Zep have certainly started to turn that around.  The same is true regarding Arctic marketing due to Bosco, Anne, Northwoods, Tom(Graybeard) and the other Arctic folks.  Now if WSD can just recruit some help for Master...

[drewstar]

Hi everyone, I am very new to the site and was wondering if any one knew much about Cal Spas hot tubs. I did a search on this forum and didn't find much information.  I have been looking at the new Avalon 844L and 744L and was wondering how Cal spas line up against the other brands such as Hot springs, Marquis, Sundance, D-1, and Jacuzzi? I am in the market for a 5-6 man tub with a lounge and a waterfall.  Any info would be great!! I have been reading many posts today and know I am in the right place for some great feedback!!!  So go ahead ...LIGHT ME UP!!!!

Dune, goog luck.  I can't speak about Cal spa, only recomend that you do some looking around and dig. Try to find the negatives. (Not saying there are any, Just saying it's best to try to find out the worst about any product you buy).

Also, you mention some other very good names in the industry. Don't limit your search just to cal. spas. Take a look at the others too, just so you can make an informaed decison and now what's out there. The Cal Spa maybe the tub for you, but it's best to too look around and wet test!

[wmccall]

I own a CalSpas tub and love it.

How long have you had yours now? ( I only know one other Cal owner, other than spaman   )

[knowsabit]

The problem with this and most other forums like this are that many of the posters have owned one maybe two spas and do not have a ton of general knowledge and experience with other brands.  Dealers will obviously be biased as well.  This results in a good deal of misleading information.

I personally will make it a point to never give my opinion on anything that I do not have direct experience with just as many of the other dealers on this site do.

[Zep]

re: How long have you had yours now?
(I only know one other Cal owner, other than spaman)

I bought my CalSpas tub on 3-11-06.

My tub has been a real joy and my CalSpas dealer has been great too.

I notice Cal is getting into some neat gazebo type stuff too.





http://www.calspas.com/gazebos/villas.htm

[dunerunner25]

Ya I noticed... That is one of the reasons I am checking Cal Spas out is because of the gazebos they offer.  I like the option of having the bar very close to my spa.