Narrowing down the choices

[MikeK157]

Hey Mike, I’ve been following your hot tub purchasing journey closely as I am also in the market for one and the tubs you singled out are all on my list.

Also, I live in Burlington and it sounds like you’ve visited some of the same stores I have.  I’ve been to 5 shops so far but haven’t had the time to wet test anything and the problem is that my wife (who is the one that really wants a hot tub!) is reluctant to wet test as she thinks that it will be awkward and embarrassing.  Do wet tests take place after hours?

Anyways, so far I like the Sundance Optima and Chelsea as well as the Marquis Vector. I’d be curious to know what kind of quotes you’re getting on those models. We also went to Pioneer pools and they sell both Hot Springs and Caldera but when we got there, the staff advised me that their sales guy was on vacation but someone would be available this weekend. They literally had about 15 hot tubs on display and not one person (they had about 4 people on the floor selling pools and patio furniture) was able to answer any of my questions.....not a great way do business if you ask me, at this point I'm not sure if I will even go back.

Finally I visited the Arctic Spa dealer but once again their regular spa guru wasn't around but the lady was able to answer some of my questions, didn't get a good vibe about Arctic. My search continues, I do want to visit Bullfrog as well, where did you go? And lastly, which Marquis dealer did you visit as well?  Are we allowed to mention dealer names?

Anyways, I look forward to your updates and what you decide on buying.

Thanks.

The hotsprings for us was one of the worst tubs. No power and really nothing to warrant a17-18k price tag. We visited Gibsan pools for marquis and niagarahottubs.com for the bullfrog. We skipped the Arctic since we read so many bad reviews online.

The wet tests can be before opening or after closing as well which is nice. Depends on the dealer.

[MikeK157]

Tried the artesian tub which i actually liked. Good power and some decent options to chose from. The sales rep was hands down one of the worst yet however. He was making a sale so he basically ignored me for most of the time. After wet testing the water and standing there for 30 minutes after i left.

[simonsez1]

Hey thanks for updating.  We also just got back from some shopping. We visited Halton Pools and Spa for the Bullfrog, Pollock pools for the Marquis and, like you, also went Gib San pools for Marquis again.  We also went to Sundance Spas in Burlington and Jacuzzi in Oakville.

We've only done dry runs (which I know isn't the best way to test) and so far, based on size and what we perceive to be quality tubs we like (in no particular order):

*Bullfrog A7
*Marquis Euphoria
*Sundance Optima
*Jacuzzi J-385

I'm still waiting on some quotes…….such a difficult decision.

[MikeK157]

Hey thanks for updating.  We also just got back from some shopping. We visited Halton Pools and Spa for the Bullfrog, Pollock pools for the Marquis and, like you, also went Gib San pools for Marquis again.  We also went to Sundance Spas in Burlington and Jacuzzi in Oakville.

We've only done dry runs (which I know isn't the best way to test) and so far, based on size and what we perceive to be quality tubs we like (in no particular order):

*Bullfrog A7
*Marquis Euphoria
*Sundance Optima
*Jacuzzi J-385

I'm still waiting on some quotes…….such a difficult decision.

Just make sure you wet test. Its easily the most important part of buying. Tubs we thought we would love we would float in and others we didnt consider we loved. Jet placement, water pressure, features etc have to be experienced to make a decision. Especially when the decision is a 5 figure one.

[MikeK157]

After a bad experience with the Artesian spa dealer he came at me with a strong offer for the Grand Caymen tub which is tempting. At 12k + tax its the lowest initial offer we have had and the tub was a nice tub. Loved the foot massage with rotating water in the jet. Really felt nice.

I think it will come down to Artesian Grand Caymen or Sundance Optima

I will have the wife wet test the Artesian to see how she feels about it.

[Tman122]

I will have the wife wet test the Artesian to see how she feels about it.

Good idea...............

[MikeK157]

I will have the wife wet test the Artesian to see how she feels about it.

Good idea...............

Very good idea lol This sales guy must not be married since he keeps implying i commit to buying his product without the wife testing it.

The irony is both the sundance and artesian reps have bad talked eachothers product and warranties so much im beginning to see flaws in both lol

[d00nut]

I will have the wife wet test the Artesian to see how she feels about it.

Good idea...............

Happy Wife Happy Life!

[simonsez1]

Hey Mike,

You just reminded me that to take a look at Artesian.  The only brands that kept coming for me from my research were Sundance, Hot Springs, Marquis, Bullfrog and Jacuzzi.

Having said that, we did our first wet test last night, tried both the Sundance Optima and Chelsee.  We liked them both, lots of power (maybe even too much for my wife) with lots of different configurations.  To be honest I couldn’t tell much of difference between the two in size and power other than the Optima having a few extra jets.

Did you try the Chelsee? What kind of pricing are you getting on the Optima?

Next wet test for us will be the Marquis Euphoria.

[MikeK157]

Hey Mike,

You just reminded me that to take a look at Artesian.  The only brands that kept coming for me from my research were Sundance, Hot Springs, Marquis, Bullfrog and Jacuzzi.

Having said that, we did our first wet test last night, tried both the Sundance Optima and Chelsee.  We liked them both, lots of power (maybe even too much for my wife) with lots of different configurations.  To be honest I couldn’t tell much of difference between the two in size and power other than the Optima having a few extra jets.

Did you try the Chelsee? What kind of pricing are you getting on the Optima?

Next wet test for us will be the Marquis Euphoria.

The rep from sundance went through the artesian warranty and pointed out all the trouble spots for me. Put a wrench on my plans lol

The optima and chelsea are similar but the optima has more jets more variety and the key for the wife was in the optima you can turn off the foot jets without turning off half the tub. Something about the diverter.

Got a offer of 16k tax in for optima and 13k for chelsea. Little high for my liking but i will barter and see where it goes

[Spatech_tuo]

The rep from sundance went through the artesian warranty and pointed out all the trouble spots for me. Put a wrench on my plans lol

How kind of him to take the time to do so. What trouble spots did he find exactly?

[simonsez1]

Hey Mike,

You just reminded me that to take a look at Artesian.  The only brands that kept coming for me from my research were Sundance, Hot Springs, Marquis, Bullfrog and Jacuzzi.

Having said that, we did our first wet test last night, tried both the Sundance Optima and Chelsee.  We liked them both, lots of power (maybe even too much for my wife) with lots of different configurations.  To be honest I couldn’t tell much of difference between the two in size and power other than the Optima having a few extra jets.

Did you try the Chelsee? What kind of pricing are you getting on the Optima?

Next wet test for us will be the Marquis Euphoria.

The rep from sundance went through the artesian warranty and pointed out all the trouble spots for me. Put a wrench on my plans lol

The optima and chelsea are similar but the optima has more jets more variety and the key for the wife was in the optima you can turn off the foot jets without turning off half the tub. Something about the diverter.

Got a offer of 16k tax in for optima and 13k for chelsea. Little high for my liking but i will barter and see where it goes

Thanks, we got quoted $12,800 for the Chelsee so pretty close with what you got.  Haven't got a price on the Optima yet as our sales rep wasn't in when we wet-tested.  To be honest if it's anything like your quotes (3k more) than I think we'll end up with the Chelsee if we go Sundance.

Did you take Bullfrog out of the equation?

[Hottubguy]

The rep from sundance went through the artesian warranty and pointed out all the trouble spots for me. Put a wrench on my plans lol

How kind of him to take the time to do so. What trouble spots did he find exactly?

Lmao

[MarKee]

Hey Mike,

You just reminded me that to take a look at Artesian.  The only brands that kept coming for me from my research were Sundance, Hot Springs, Marquis, Bullfrog and Jacuzzi.

Having said that, we did our first wet test last night, tried both the Sundance Optima and Chelsee.  We liked them both, lots of power (maybe even too much for my wife) with lots of different configurations.  To be honest I couldn’t tell much of difference between the two in size and power other than the Optima having a few extra jets.

Did you try the Chelsee? What kind of pricing are you getting on the Optima?

Next wet test for us will be the Marquis Euphoria.

Try the Marquis V94 if you can, as well as the Euphoria.

[simonsez1]

Hey Mike,

You just reminded me that to take a look at Artesian.  The only brands that kept coming for me from my research were Sundance, Hot Springs, Marquis, Bullfrog and Jacuzzi.

Having said that, we did our first wet test last night, tried both the Sundance Optima and Chelsee.  We liked them both, lots of power (maybe even too much for my wife) with lots of different configurations.  To be honest I couldn’t tell much of difference between the two in size and power other than the Optima having a few extra jets.

Did you try the Chelsee? What kind of pricing are you getting on the Optima?

Next wet test for us will be the Marquis Euphoria.

Try the Marquis V94 if you can, as well as the Euphoria.

Yes, you're right Markee, we should also take the V94 for a spin, I actually like the looks of this thing, there's not much else like it out there.  My problem is the warranty, inferior warranty in my head means lesser quality of components which probably isn't the case.