Swell-Tub's New Spa Search

[Chad]

Interesting....can you share what those comments were?   :-/

Bohms, I think he means the dealer and not the manufacturer.

[Vinny]

I can't say anything about the dealer but I will tell you anyone who said negative things about Artesian may be full of garbage (cleaned up!). The only thing I can say about the dealer is there is no dealer if you're dealing with a company store.

Yes, there are some people on the internet who had a bad experience but that is true of all manufactures out there. Nothing is 100%.

Jacuzzi Jim had a comment about their quality but that was the first I ever heard of the "quality issues". Not saying he's wrong but this was the first time any dealer really said anything that negative about Artesian.

There used to be a dealer here that sold them and HS, Artesian seemed to do well against them.

Maybe I'm defending my brand but I put a lot of research into it before buying a tub and it was one of the brands that consistantly (in 2004) had nothing negative said about it. Actually one of the dealers here helped another member get a PC board swapped out just out of warranty free of charge - pretty good customer service on Artesian's part if you ask me. BTW, on another forum there is someone who is complaining that their jets are breaking and a different manufacturer isn't honoring them under warranty - my 6 jets have been honored under warranty for the whole duration - again pretty good IMO.

Good luck in your search but if something is said and you want it verified - ask here - we ain't afraid to tell you!

[bohms]

Bohms, I think he means the dealer and not the manufacturer.

Oh....he said he heard a lot of negative comments about the company - that, to me would imply Artesian, not the dealer.  I was just wondering what he heard that I didn't hear.

Vinny - I agree - when I was doing my research, I was on two different forums asking about Artesian and I never heard anything negative (even from dealers that didn't sell Artesian) which is the reason why I went ahead with the wet test.

Maybe I'm just getting defensive b/c it's my brand, but I just want to know what Swell heard and from who.

[Swell-Tub]

Like earlier in the thread I appreciated it when a competitor or it seemed, had something good to say about Coast Spas. When you are a rookie like me and each time you go to a dealer and they spend a lot of time putting the competition down it makes it hard to know who to believe. So every dealer here in Vegas has told me to avoid Artesian.

Yes I went right to the factory store and was impressed. All the dealers claim they are near out of business. Based on the volume of tubs going through the line at the time I was there it seems hard to believe.  They did tell me that many of the tubs were headed out of the country, I think Mexico. One concern was they did have an entire wall of blems. Some returned and others had wrong count of jets. I would guess about 30 - 40 tubs stacked three high. This did concern me. Another story was that they use different suppliers for jets and motors so when the tub gets older it might be hard to find replacement parts. As far as features for the price they were great. I looked at the Pelican Bay and it seemed like it would be a good match for what I was looking for.

I go through cycles. I get excited about buying a spa then I think it is going to be nothing but trouble so I give up. Then I start the cycle all over again. I was told to stick to the major brands like HS, Sundance, Dynasty, Jacuzzi, etc. But I have had some tell me to avoid Dynasty and I have an inside track and can get the best deal on a Dynasty. So the journey continues. One dealer told me not to think about it so much and not to do a lot of research. Just buy his tub. He was a HS dealer BTW.

Anyway I'm not putting any manufacturer down because I simply don't know who is the best. I have only wet test the HS Envoy and it did not fit me at all. It was a very uncomfortable tub. I'm 6 foot and weigh 250 lbs. I felt like the roman tub in my bathroom was bigger than the Envoy.

Scott  

[Jacuzzi Jim]

 There quality was more of an issue with the original factory, an airplane hanger in Victorville Ca.  

 Even then quite a few spa's came out ok and quite a few did not.   It was never really an issue with the spa its self,  well sometimes?  Leaks here and there or a shell/jet issue which we still have to this day,  but the Gecko equipment they used was not very reliable, once we got the kinks worked out the spa ran fine.

 I am pretty sure the spas coming from there new factory are pretty dang sound. Gecko as well is better.

 And realistically I would put them up against Hot springs, Sundance and Jacuzzi, any day!!    No matter how they are today, I still prefer the Jacuzzi over the Artesian for different reasons than how they are built.  


  Should add, the only real reason we let Artesian go was, when we brought Jacuzzi in we sold more of them than Artesian's!   We looked at our store space,we looked at the lines both offer and the cost differences also, and Jacuzzi won out.  I still order parts from Artesian as we service everything we sell, and they gouge us on jets, controls, paks you name it,  they always have.  I understand markups but their's are outta line, which we then have to pass on to the poor guy that bought a 10,000 dove canyon.

 One other thing would be if a local dealer is bad mouthing them I would guess it's because they are scared of loosing a sale, I also would say Artesian is not going to go bankrupt, the spas you saw could be there for a number of reasons, thats one thing about customizing a spa, all it takes is one person to miss something and then the spa is built is wrong for the customer and has to be rebuilt.  I was never a fan of customized build to order spa.

 In short you want an Artesian go with it you would not be disappointed,  same with Jacuzzi and Sundance as well, we already know the HS did not suit you,if it had you would have been happy with it!

 But hey, thats why there are different brands.

[Chad]

Bohms, I think he means the dealer and not the manufacturer.

I stand corrected, Bohms. It appears that Swell did mean the manufacturer and not the dealer. Sorry.  


Swell,

If the other dealers are bashing Artesian, that's a good sign that their spas must not be that good. Because if they were, they should be able to just let their product speak for themselves w/o the need to bash others.

I'm curious as to which dealers are bashing, so we can put them on blast for being poorly operated. Care to name any names?

[Pathfinder]

Swell, I would disregard the rumors of Artesian goin under.  A big plus for you over most people who buy a tub is if there is any major issues you could actually go direct to Artesian and talk to someone face to face.  To me it sounds like a lot of dealers are just wheelin and dealin saying anything just to get a sale.  Personally id hate to see what it costs to operate a business in Vegas.

[Vinny]

Do NOT listen to a different dealer when looking for anything. Some people like Ford trucks, some Chevy and others Toyota. Like Chad said - if their bashing there's a reason. Come on this website and ask about anything hot tub and people will extoll the virtues of their brand. Filtering, heating, even chemical delivery systems - as was said a couple times before ... whatever you find is the best for you. BTW, I'm 6', 290 lbs so it's not impossible to find a tub.

Even though people say no to Dynasty, Bill owns one and has had few problems. Zep owns a Cal Spa and if you listen to some professionals they're crap - Zep has had zero problems so far. I own Artesian and I said what my problems were. Heck, I know a person with a Walmart spa and he loves it - jets are breaking but he's able to get parts it seems. There are people here with HS, Marquis, Jacuzzi and Sundance that had problems. But there can always be that person who gets a lemon and will let everybody know. My mom always told me to behave at other's houses because bad news travels very fast and it is true.

Yes, Artesian does use Waterway jets - I think Waterway may be one of the largest jet manufacturers around. The good part is any same size Waterway jet is available almost anywhere. I can't speak as Jacuzzi Jim spoke of the parts and prices but I do have Gecko controls and now Artesian uses Balboa - these 2 are the largest I believe. I once worked for a company that marked up parts 53% ... parts do make people money. Personally, I have called the factory because of my jet problem and was completely satisfied in how they took care of me. Someone didn't respond to one of my emails and they actually had him call and appologize, which I didn't need or expect.

I am not trying to sell you on Artesian (OK maybe I am ) but look at the tubs, don't listen to the sales dribble, wet test when you can and when you do find the tub don't second guess it.

[Swell-Tub]

OK, I just got back from a visit to the Jacuzzi dealer. He did not do any high pressure, but then his main business is building pools. He just got the Jacuzzi line in his store and I knew more then he did. He could not tell me anything about how many motors or how the heater was built. He simply did a demo and told me to come back anytime for a wet test. Very nice guy. He also didn't bash anyone else's product.

Now remember I'm a rookie but that J-470 was looking very fine. It seemed to call out to me. Jacuzzi had the nicest finish of any tubs I've seen so far. I liked the raised back for the waterfall. I liked where they placed the lights. The jet action was cool looking, I'm looking forward to see how it feels. I-pod deck was a nice touch as well. They deliver and setup and only charge $150 crane fee which is the cheapest so far. The price was just under $10K fully loaded which was a good price as well. They have the best warranty I have seen so far. Only one thing that bothers me is the trip charge after the first year. HS doesn't charge any trip charges during warranty.

Now here is where I'm going to get in trouble:
Bash Meter
Worst is Diamond Coast Spa followed by Spa's by Renee.
Best is Desert Springs Group (Jacuzzi) and Artesian Spas, these two focus on talking about there products only. It really is a nice touch and adds a lot of class to the sell.

Scott  

[Jacuzzi Jim]

 FYI.  Ten grand for a J-470 is a good price!

[tony]

Trip charges are fairly common these days.  Is the charge reasonable?  Keep in mind that dealers that do not have a trip fee today may very well have one tomorrow.

[Swell-Tub]

FYI.  Ten grand for a J-470 is a good price!

How Good?

[Chad]

How Good?

Your quote is $1000 less than my dealer's starting asking price w/o stereo. It may even be more as I haven't been in my dealership for a few months.

[searchinginfl]

I was quoted over 14,000 for that tub (the Jacuzzi) with a stereo....may have even been closer to 15,000. I didn't negotiate because they didn't wet test.

I would think having a local factory (Artesian) would be a real positive. If you have any problems, the factory is right there! Plus, you should be able to get a better deal, because there would be no cross-country shipping fees attached. I have only heard positives about Artesian. If others bash them, I wouldn't buy a spa from them....but let them know why. That is a really bad sales technique, do them a favor, and let them know what they are doing to lose a sale.

[IL Parrothead]

Yeah, Jacuzzi J4 series was in my top couple of tubs after wet testing.  I wanna say I was quoted in the low 10's without stereo -- around 11 with.  I could be off by a couple hundred.  I'm not positive.
I wet tested J480 -- the most comfortable lounger to me and my wife of all tubs we tested.
I wet tested Artesian Grand Bahama (didn't care for the lounger, but my wife thought it was decent....liked the neck jets).
Tested Piper Glen.  Beautiful tub.  Individual seat controls were cool.  Didn't like it enough to justify the price increase from Island series.
Both make great tubs.  See what you like better after wet testing, and let that be your guide.