Hello,
This is my first post in this board. First, let me I apologize for the long post ahead.
I was hoping I coulde get some feedback on these spas: Caldera Cantabria, Sundance Optima, J470 and HS Grandee
My wife and I have wet tested the Sundance Cameo (dealer didn't have the Optima) , Jacuzzi J470 and Hotspring Aria (dealer didn't have the Grandee filled)
Wet Test Results:
Sundance Cameo:
My wife liked the lounger but found difficult to stay on the other seats ... they pushed her out so she was in akward position trying to anchor her in place.
Jets were nice but one area where the jet is weak is for the lower back. Found the spa quite noisy compared to the others.
The Clearray water system doesn't seem to reduce the chemical smells as much as we had hoped (perhaps water was not properly balanced???)
* Since we would preffer the Optima for extra seating ... our concern is the foot jets will be a lot weaker than on the cameo ... is this true?
Jacuzzi J470:
We loved the lower back massage, and a couple other seats but found the foot jets a little underpowered .... and when the diverter was in neutral ... the performance in general was tamed. This unit was a 2011 with no clearray installed and the chemical odour was pretty strong.
- Tub looks nice, controller is modern,
Hotspring Aria:
My wife found the seats unconfortable and couldnt really 'stay put' ... not footwell to anchor herself (just like it would be on the grandee.
She wasn't impressed by the motto massage ... (I kinda of liked it a little but wasn't blown away by it)... other jets were just ok
The unit didnt have the ACE system but the water was nice .... if we buy hotspring we would definitely get ACE since we both are sensitive to chem odours.
- On the plus side... water system
- Didn't like that you couldnt manually turn off jets like on sundance and jacuzzi by twisting them.
As far as the Dealers go:
Sundance/Jacuzzi ... same dealer whose been in business here for over 30 years
Hotsprings... a long time business who is new to hotspring but has great reputation locally
Here is my problem, from all the tubs I have looked or wet tested, the one that both my wife and I agree would be the perfect layout and size for us is the Caldera Cantabria. Problem is there is no Caldera Dealer in town .... but the Hotspring dealer says he could bring one in if we comitt to buy it. obviously this means no wet test.
The Sundance dealer says he can bring an Optima in but we have to pay for it upfront and if we don't like it we can get the jacuzzy J470 or Cameo but no refund.
What do you guys know about the Caldera Cantabria ... how does its water filtration system and energy efficiency compare to the the others?
ACE VS Clearray? Any experience out there?
What to do?
- By the way their prices are about the same: $11000 - $11500 canadian (cover, lift, etc... no stereo)
- Yes, a lounger would be nice but not at the cost of space (cameo) ... would like to seat 7 or 8
Any Advice would help.