buying a tub. Spending $8000 to 13000. And looking for suggestions

[camdelle]

We are looking for a new tub.  5 in family with 2 adults and a 14, 12 and 7 year old.  Would not mind space for 1 or 2 more but want it to fit family well.

We bought an arctic spa in 1998 and had it until 2007 when we left it with the house.

I still like arctic norwegian but find them very pricey and not offering a lot for the price, A fairly well optioned is over 15000.  I looked at H20 and like the olympia and the niagra.  and for the Max we like the 481 and 811. Just found out there is a sundance dealer here and Hot Springs is not available.

I am not stuck on these brands at all.  I prefer quality over bling.  I would like a tub with uv and ozone if they actually work.  I would also like an economical tub as its quite cold up here(northern canada)

Open to advice and suggestions please.

Thank you all in advance for any help.

Curious what people think the tier one spas are out there.

[trichert]

Where do you live that there is no Hot Spring dealer?  That is pretty unusual they have a very established network.

Anyway, Ozone is great definitely look for that.  UV I think is a scam/marketing ploy.  What you need in a tub is oxidizers, UV oxidizes nothing.  Does it kill bacteria ?  Sure, in the very limited space in the plumbing that is passing through, a millisecond later that water is out of UV and bacteria are growing again.  You need residual sanitizer always.

I'm not saying don't buy a tub with UV, but I am saying don't make that one of your purchasing criteria.  There is a reason most dealers don't offer it.  It is very cheap to add to a tub, but adds very little real value. 

[flava flav]

Flava Flav went the budget route with the Sundance McKinnley ya boyeee fits 6-7. The Sundance Optima is a similar tub with more bells and whistles, was a sweet tub when Flava wet tested it.  Under 13k. 

[Water Boy]

I would think you should be able to find a very nice Arctic Spa in that price range. There is still lots of bling options with Arctic if you want it. I would go see the dealer and told him you bought a Arctic before, and mention all the others you are looking at. I would think you should be able to get something nice in your price range. Just ask them for their very best price. I would check out the Sundances as well. But, I think the Arctic and Sundance are in a class above the other two you mentioned. You asked what are the top tier brands. Many on here will say Jacuzzi, Sundance, Arctic Spas, Hot Spring & Caldera, Marquis, and Dimension 1. Bullfrog has been mentioned a bunch on here lately too. I would suggest buying from a good local reputable dealer. Wet test if you can, and pick the one you are happy with. If you have any questions in regards to Arctic Spas specifically, let me know, and I'll be glad to help!

[sksmoker]

We are looking for a new tub.  5 in family with 2 adults and a 14, 12 and 7 year old.  Would not mind space for 1 or 2 more but want it to fit family well.

We bought an arctic spa in 1998 and had it until 2007 when we left it with the house.

I still like arctic norwegian but find them very pricey and not offering a lot for the price, A fairly well optioned is over 15000.  I looked at H20 and like the olympia and the niagra.  and for the Max we like the 481 and 811. Just found out there is a sundance dealer here and Hot Springs is not available.

I am not stuck on these brands at all.  I prefer quality over bling.  I would like a tub with uv and ozone if they actually work.  I would also like an economical tub as its quite cold up here(northern canada)

Open to advice and suggestions please.

Thank you all in advance for any help.

Curious what people think the tier one spas are out there.

Take a look at Coast Spa's if you have a dealer near you. I am in the Prairie's with -40C winters and we cross shopped Hot Springs/Arctic/Maxx/Coast/Beachcomber/Bullfrog. The Arctic is a nice tub but you have noticed (like we did) it is a pricier tub than the others. We are quite happy with the Coast so far.

[Tman122]

IMHO I would never put MAXX in the same league as the rest of those.

[ralphw]

I had bought an Arctic Spa bout 10 years ago and really enjoyed the spa. Problem is there is no local dealer (the dealer I bought it from went out of business). I think my next spa will be from a dealer with a larger network in place like Hot Springs. If you have an established Arctic dealer close by I would highly recommend them.

[camdelle]

So did some checking today.  looked at A sundance cameo on sale for 16000 It will not really fit the whole family.  A sundance Maxxus is 30000.00 lol.

I am really wanting a lounger or recliner.  I deliver mail for a living and really need some therapy for the legs.

I will check out the coast spas.

Hot springs dealer search shows nothing in Alberta Canada.


Will skip the UV as not sure it really works.  So far I like the Arctic spa norwegian 14500 seems high.  the maxx 811 for 12500 but am thinking its not a good buy according to everything ive read. 

[camdelle]

Ive read alot about coast spas and have read that they are the same as cal spas and warranty support is almost nothing.. 
In fact looking on their website I cannot find any information on their warranty at all.

Their brochure also has no information on the warranties. 

I think i will not go near a coast spa unless I can get more info from people here.

[Quickbeam]

When we were looking for spas about one year ago we briefly looked at Coast. Their warranty did not compare to the major manufacturers and if I remember correctly we found a lot of negative reviews. Don't know much more about them but that was enough to scare me off.

[camdelle]

When we were looking for spas about one year ago we briefly looked at Coast. Their warranty did not compare to the major manufacturers and if I remember correctly we found a lot of negative reviews. Don't know much more about them but that was enough to scare me off.

What did you buy?

[Quickbeam]

We bought a Jacuzzi J-345. Probably too small for what you're looking for, but we really like it. We bought Jacuzzi for a number of reasons. First of all, our tub is on a roof deck and we had some size and weight limitations and the J-345 fit into those requirements. Secondly, we really liked the dealer. And thirdly, we really liked the tub. Should say we also really liked Sundance but for the size we wanted the Jacuzzi was the better tub.

[camdelle]

A arctic spas norwegian epic with spa boy wifi and salt cell is 17500 plus tax. So that's out.  I really do think they are far over priced.

[MarKee]

If you want quality and excellent energy efficiency, check out Marquis if there is a dealer in your area.

[camdelle]

If you want quality and excellent energy efficiency, check out Marquis if there is a dealer in your area.

Closest Marquis dealer is a 14 hour drive.  Bummer.

I just found a used 2012 Sundance cameo.  Anyone know if warranties are transferable?  The gentleman is asking 10999.00  Im thinking of offering $7000.00.  He has had it for sale for 6 months.  I might be able to buy a new 2014 floor demo for $14000.00

thx for all the help everyone.