catalina spas

[Chris_H]

Go for it, just don’t come back here complaining.

[shoemaker]

Wouldn't think of it !

And I'm not complaining now...........I just don't understand why someone here couldn't simply post something like : In the $15K range the best is.........and in the $10K range the best is..................  etc.

My point is that people are actually going to spend this kind of money based on what someone here might say.

Don't get me wrong.....if a tub is bad then by all means say it is bad ! But it seems like a "tug-o-war" sometime with half of you saying a tub is good and the other half saying stay away from them !

That's all I am saying. Not trying piss anyone off.

[Spatech_tuo]

Shoe,
In my experience, there are basically 3 types of opinions when it comes to which spas to buy,

1) Brands A, B, C, D are those top 4 (or so) you would consider the best (which always includes the one you own/sell),

2) Brands W, X, Y, Z are those that for one reason or another you wouldn't buy with confederate money (IMO Cal Spas, Adventure Spas, Thermospas, Haven spas, etc.),

3) All others.

I don't think the opinions in this thread are that Catalina is in the 2nd category. That's really the one you want to avoid. I think what some are saying is Catalina simply doesn't make their "A" list but that doesn't mean they think you need to avoid them at all costs. Sometimes its more important who you DON'T buy from than necessarily who you do buy from. If you are sold on Catalina, go for it. However, if you come in here asking for an opinion you have to be prepared to find that others are going to give you THEIR OPINION.

[shoemaker]

Hey Spatech.................thanks for the info and the opinion.

You're right. I guess if we ask, then we should expect to hear what we "don't" want to hear.  

I really am glad that I signed up here though because before I started reading I was "Sold" on a (don't puke) Thermo-Spa !  I got their info and video and the 20 or so follow-up calls asking "When" I was going to buy one. Now I know to avoid them like the plague !!

I guess my frustration comes from learning that Thermo-Spa's were REALLY bad, then I thought I would look at the Sundance CAMEO because it had the features that I liked - but then someone said they didn't like Sundance. Then I looked at the Catalina "Manhattan" and really liked that one but now people here are saying "no, no, no"........................so it's easy to get confused. And I certainly don't want to just through $8K or $10K away !

Anyway.....thanks again for the good post and I'll keep reading and looking !

[Mendocino101]

I think Catalina makes a nice spa and certainly has its share of happy owners....I only brought up why some feel the need to for lack of better word "bash" others spas as some seem to do....I am someone who has more of a problem with the way certain manufactures sell their product....and with those who feel the need to put down others product with out a credible reason.......Stuart is great about presenting reasons why he has the opinions about some of the makers that he does…. And there are times when a person will make statement, that is simply false and inaccurate And those  who have more experience with certain lines, they know that it is not a factual statement...I appreciated what Chris H said on another thread about Jacuzzi....in that he stated he was not a fan but these are the real differences between them and Sundance....now for some the cost savings of the Jacuzzi out weighed the added features of the Sundance that Chris believes add reasonable value....I am not endorsing one or the other but giving Chris credit for being up front and sharing why he felt that way.....I just wish people would give a credible reason if they feel the need to put down another product….

[stuart]

Stuart:
 
1) I'm curious as to how recent are your latest Catalina on site observations;
 
2) Do you know a Catalina employee by the name of Oscar ?;
 
3) What other brands offer a spa with 40" or greater depth providing very comfortable seating for very tall people, and come with a beautiful mahogany skirt?

Looked at them at a fair last week! Funny they had the TV propped up with foam blocks because it wouldn't stay up!

Yes I know Oscar.

Many brands make a spa that fits tall people and have been able to do it in even a 36-inch spa by engineering the seating. I have a friend that is 6'7" that bought a Honda element after looking at a hummer H2 because he had more head and legroom in addition to the fact that the Honda was rated higher for engineering than the H2.

As far as the "mahogany skirt" goes it is a Philippine mahogany that is fairly inexpensive to buy. Many companies have tried it with poor results in fact, many of the hardwood pallets out today are made out of it because it is a little to unstable for finish wood with the long, twisted grain of the wood.

BTW, before this gets into a heated debate as to the quality of Catalina I wanted to let know that you have my highest regards as an English teacher! You do what I would love to do for a living but (no offense intended here) I didn’t feel that I could make a very good income as a teacher because we don’t pay our public educators what they are worth.

I am confused by several of your posts though and perhaps you can set me straight. Here are some of your past quotes

on: Sep 7th, 2004, 9:18pm you said
A year ago I bought my son and grandaughters a 92" X 92" Catalina El Cortez for $6300 including tax.

on: Sep 1st, 2004, 6:44pm you said
I am now going on 3 years with the original filters. Could it be the Eco One?

Your going on 3 years with filters in a spa you bought a year ago?

on: Jul 10th, 2004, 12:13pm you said
Thus, I feel that it is even more important to have a relationship with the factory people behind the dealer. If my Catalina dealer moved on and was replaced with another person, or that sales outlet shut down, I wouldn't care less. Why? Because I established a relationship with some key people in the Catalina factory/headquarters before and immediately after buying my spa.

Did you buy the spa from a dealer, the factory or your son?

on:Sep 2nd, 2004, 7:47pm you said
Marquis is the worst spa we wet tested.  

on: Jul 10th, 2004, 11:44am you said
The Hot Spring testing was the worst of all for me

I think you mentioned a couple of others that were the “worst”. Sounds like all spas are horrible except Catalina?

on: Sep 1st, 2004, 6:44pm you said
P.S. I also do a drain/water change only every 6 months, and a 2 pound container of dichlor lasts a year.

on: May 9th, 2004, 12:35am you said
I use Eco One, dichlor, a little Sea Klear 4 in1 once a week and NO MPS. Water is perfect with a change every 4 months.

Are you sure of your maintenance?

on: Jul 10th, 2004, 11:44am you said
My Catalina Spa does have 2 diverter valves, one  for the whirlpool jet on the primary pump and the other on the secondary pump for the geyser jet. Both of these are very large jets with massive water flow.

on: Sep 2nd, 2004, 7:47pm you said
We bought a spa with no diverter valves and 7 of our family or friends can enjoy excellent therapy AT THE SAME TIME.

Does it or doesn’t it have diverters?

on: Apr 30th, 2004, 3:09am you said
Having been a D1 dealer, I do not agree with Gary that D1 is a better made tub, but the Catalina warranty features pro-rated coverage from the date of shipment from the factory, which can be a minus.  Catalina also offers full-foam insulation if you desire.  

on: Sep 7th, 2004, 9:18pm you said
Actually, I am an English teacher. In my spare time, I do consumer product evaluations and write articles for various magazines and trade journals.  

So you where a D1 dealer, a writer, consumer advocate and now teacher? You sound like a very busy man! With school having just started and your other ventures I’m amazed that you have all of the time you do to challenge every brand but Catalina on this forum.

[shoemaker]

OoooooKaayyy !!

Stuart........you have MY attention..........what are your suggestions?

Please keep in mind that for the most part it will just be my wife and me in the tub. Yeah, from time to time we will have friends over, but mostly just the 2 of us. I have a somewhat suspect back and I would like a lounger if possible. I'd also like to keep it to around $8K if possible.

What would you say is good fit?

Thanks for your help.

Shoe.

[stuart]

There are several brands to look at Marquis, D1, Hotspring, Coleman and Caldera. I have a Marquis and love it but am looking at both that and D1 to replace it. I would do a 7 ft like the Marquis Reward, D1 Aurora II or a Hotspring Vangaurd. All of those should fall within your price range.

[jcmsrv]

shoemaker! I also have been following this form for three/four months and have received a lot of info. yes, people protect their brands, thats ok, it like a chevy/ford form and I'm a mopar guy. this form has helped me choose a jacuzzi tub that I love. There are many others with more bells and other goodies on them, but this form showed me to stay with the priven brands. If fact someoen from advanced spas called tonight, i told them that I would never consider a hot tub that did not have a local dealer to support it.  good luck finding the right tub!!!!!!!!!!

[HotTubMan]

Maybe I am just a noobie in the industry (3years) but I think it reflects poorly on a manufacturer when the allow a distributor to purchase their tubs for 3% less and give no mannufacturer warranty.

Now that I have your attention, I only know of one geographical area this is true. It is in North America. Catalina sells to a distributor who in turn warrants the product. This distributor is ruining the reputation of the brand in the state/province in question. It would be all well and good if the distributor did stand behind the product, but he does not.

I am sure many are skeptical of my statement, but I know this to be a fact. I cannot ethically disclose anything more specifics.

[stuart]

Are you going shopping this weekend Shoeman?

I was kind of hoping for an answer from Marverick on the confusion in all of his past posts.

[Maverick]

Stuart: Your snippets from my posts are out of context. I'll try to clear up some things.

My family owns 2 spas, I have a 5-year old Catalina and my Son's Catalina is a year old.

The ONLY water diverter valves on our Catalinas are for the whirlpool and the geyser jets - one on each pump. Many spas have or need water diverter valves to get adequate pressure to various seating positions in their spas. e.g.  D1, Hot Spring and Marquis with its "zone" concept.

I did help a friend out part-time in the summer of 2003(no school) when he opened a spa dealership selling  D1. Along with trying to help him sell spas, I wet tested the D1 Chairman II, Diplomat, and Nautilus which I felt were ok spas but very pricey.

A year ago when my son was looking for a spa, his mother and I wet tested several (some with him). He is also 6' 6" and like us, likes deep spas.

We did not like the Hot Spring Sovereign because we had to use diverter valves and it overflowed with just my wife and I wet testing it when we diverted the pressure to the non-lounger side of the tub. She liked the moto massage, I thought all the jets had inadequate pressure. The dealer arranged for us to wet test a Caldera Geneva Utopia which we did with pretty good results except I got wedged under the collar in the corner seat and we felt that the base price was outrageous. This was before the dealer said it would be only $200 more without the collar.

The 3 of us wet tested two Marquis spas. In the Euphoria we tall guys had to sit on the floor to have the water up to the top of our chests. We thought the floor seat was good. The Reward we all felt was just too small and getting up repeatedly to change the diverters was very annoying.

Our first spa purchased in 1976 was made of fiberglass  and had a lounger, seating for 6 and an air pump pumping air into a sub floor chamber and up through a hundred or so holes in the floor. We sold it with the house when we moved. None of the subsequently purchased spas was really any more satisfying than this one until we bought our first Catalina.

I have changed my sanitation regimen to include MPS and less dichlor as per Eco One instructions. Prior to using Eco One I had only used dichlor. As many of us know a lot depends on the source water. Ours is somewhat  hard and I fill with 3/4 hard and 1/4 soft from the house water heater. I change the water every 4 - 6 months depending on usage. I have a Taylor test kit which I now feel is superfluous because the Eco One keeps everything in balance, and the strips agree with Ms. Taylor.

Regarding income, I became a teacher after I retired from the business world at age 53. I had done the obvious -- invested in rental real estate, and no longer had to work for a living. I teach part time because I can, and it is fun.

Permit me a brief English lesson: in your posts I believe that you are using the words "were" and "where" as if they are the same word. I surely hope that pointing this out does not make you feel bashed.

[empolgation]

The ONLY diverter valves on our Catalinas are for the whirlpool and the geyser jets - one on each pump. Many spas have or need diverter valves to get adequate pressure to various seating positions in their spas. e.g. Marquis with its "zone concept" therapy.

The ONLY diverter valves in the Marquis Euphoria are for the whirlpool and the post jets - one set on each pump. A little objectivity and less prejudice can lead to a better understanding... Or... you can mold your subjectivity to suit any claim.

[Maverick]

What's a "post jet"? BTW, I think the Euphoria is an excellent tub. It just was not comfortable for us freaks in any seat but on the floor, whereas the Catalina is comfortable for tall people in every seat. (Catalina also makes average depth tubs for normal-sized people).

A word or two about therapy:  I have seen many posts (some from professionals) that bash whirlpool and volcano jets as worthless gimmicks. I disagree. I am nearly 70 years old and still play golf walking. My legs and lower back usually are sore after a round. I crawl into the spa and get my greatest relief from the whirlpool and geyser jets turned on halfway. The whirlpool is great for foot, upper and lower back massaging, and the geyser (or volcano) jet does a superb job on my thighs and calves.

[shoemaker]

Are you going shopping this weekend Shoeman?

I was kind of hoping for an answer from Marverick on the confusion in all of his past posts.

Hey Stu, (is it ok to call you Stu? )

My wife and I just got back from out "local" (about 40 minutes away) Sundance Dealer. I gotta tell you that there is a HUGE difference between the Sundance Spa's and the Catalina Spa's. Hands down the Sundance is a MUCH better tub. We looked at several (6 I think) different models and we liked the Cameo the best. Too bad for us it was DRY so we could not wet test it. But the sales person said if we called ahead and scheduled it that she would fill it and get it ready for us to wet test. Maybe next weekend.

Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know that the Catalina we looked at was about $900.00 less than that Cameo, but in MHO the Sundance was well worth the extra cash !!

We might go look at the D1 tubs tomorrow !  I'll keep you posted. But for now, the Catalina's are out.