Decent cheap options?

[Pcola77]

Hi all,

I searched around and didn’t find this topic, so please forgive me if this is a repeat question.

We’re in a sort of weird situation where we are planning to move in 3-4 years, but want a hot tub for the remainder of our time here. So we don’t want to spend “extra” for one that’s super reliable, will last forever, etc.  We also don’t need a lot of special features.

Basically I want a six person with 1 lounger, and sufficient jets to be enjoyable. We live in the Philadelphia suburbs, in case climate matters for recommendations.

Would one of the ones like integrity spas or Hudson Bay that you can get online cheap be okay to last a few years, or are they straight garbage?  There is a Nordic dealer local to me and I have read on these boards that they are a pretty solid one.  Was hoping for a little less expensive, but am open to that if you guys think that's a good route.

Any thoughts on a relatively cheap option given the above?

Thanks so much for any help anyone can provide!

[ratchett]

Basically I want a six person with 1 lounger, and sufficient jets to be enjoyable

Wow! That's a huge tub, are you certain you need a six-person tub?   How many people are living at home currently?  The average spa owner has guests soaking 3-4 times on average per year, do you *need* that large of a tub?  I personally feel it's better to get a smaller quality tub as opposed to the largest tub your money can buy.


I vote for Nordic - reliable quality tubs at a decent price from what I hear.  Not many extra bells and whistles, but they get the job done.   Certainly not the cheapest tub on the market, but far better quality than the cheapest junk from Costco/HomeDepot.   

Note my 110AC 3-seater hotspring jetsetter was not cheap, but it is small and easy to move.  Since it's only 450 pounds when dry and narrow enough to fit through doorways (29 inches tall), I fully plan on taking this tub with me if I move.   So there may be a way for you to bring the tub with you if you like it enough.

Would one of the ones like integrity spas or Hudson Bay that you can get online cheap be okay to last a few years, or are they straight garbage?

Most all of them are garbage designed to save weight on shipping (no insulation for example), and work just long enough for your money to clear their bank account. Heck I recently discovered some of those tubs don't even have a real heater - they simply pull heat off the jet pump to slowly warm up the water! Course they use fancy marketing lingo to make it sound like it has some high-tech heater.

In reality you might be better off buying a cheap used tub (as long as you can see it filled and working before buying to ensure everything is working).   I've seen some hell of good deals on the classifieds, although the best deals go fast, and they're usually priced between $1k and $3k.

[Pcola77]

Thanks for the info, advice!  I guess for some reason I always think of hot tubs as a lounger plus 4-5 other seats, and never really thought of that as big .  My mom had one when I was growing up and my in-laws have one and both had that configuration.  Part of it is I like bouncing around to different seats.  Definitely not "needed" but for most of us the whole hot tub isn't needed

[ratchett]

Lol yeah, the price of tubs continues to climb quite fast, making it tough to get a decent deal on a full size tub without spending a small fortune these days.  We're mixing a bunch of electronics with water and bathing in it - best to not take chances and cheap out on a bottom of the barrel hottub in my opinion (especially when some unscrupulous Chinese brands have been using counterfeit UL logos to give consumers the impression the tub is safer than it really is).

My small 3-seater (one lounger and two seats) is only 200 gallons, but that's more than enough for my wife and I to move around and enjoy all the seating configurations (I can actually use my lounger laying either way so it's more like 4-seating configurations).  In the first six months of ownership only one person has ever hopped into my tub for five minutes to test it out, that's it. 

I vote you spend your money on a small 3 or 4 seater from Nordic and see how you like soaking.  These smaller tubs are easy enough to bring with you to the next home if you want, or leave it behind for the new homeowners.

Although as many people will tell you - the dealer you buy from is just as important as the brand you buy.  This dealer will be your point of contact for all warranty service, and often the lifespan of the tub.  So it's best to find one you trust to do the job right in the event the tub needs to be serviced.   Be sure to research online reviews for the dealer - not all dealers are created equal.  Some dealers are fly-by-night operations while others have been selling/servicing the same tubs for decades.

Just my $0.02 as a newbie to this industry, so take my advice with a grain of salt lol

[Pcola77]

Good points, thanks again.  We have two kids too, so there will be 4 of us in it regularly.  Just realized I didn't mention that.

[ecb75]

This is very similar to my situation (just posted pending approval from mods) - looking for a tub for Massachusetts and don't plan to live at this home forever so something that should last ~5 years seems sufficient.  For us it's primarily for 2 adults; comfortable for 4 would be more than fine.  The big box options are very tempting and reviews seem reasonable enough.  They also have a number that run on 110v which is a huge convenience.  Not interested in finding a used tub for a variety of reasons.  Trying to keep price under $4k.

[Pcola77]

This is very similar to my situation (just posted pending approval from mods) - looking for a tub for Massachusetts and don't plan to live at this home forever so something that should last ~5 years seems sufficient.  For us it's primarily for 2 adults; comfortable for 4 would be more than fine.  The big box options are very tempting and reviews seem reasonable enough.  They also have a number that run on 110v which is a huge convenience.  Not interested in finding a used tub for a variety of reasons.  Trying to keep price under $4k.

Good luck with your search, it’s so tough, but I’m sure you won’t go wrong.

[Pcola77]

FYI, we ended up buying one yesterday. After looking at a bunch, we realized we wanted a 90+ inch one instead of the 84-86 inch ones. My wife wanted the extra space for just floating a little (her parents’ hot tub is 94 inches and she realized she didn’t want anything much smaller).  So after making a bunch of calls and comparing what was available, we ended up deciding on a marquis Woodstock, which the dealer had in their warehouse. We went to their showroom to talk to the sales person and look at the Marquis spas in person. I asked if we could see the Woodstock before we bought it or if it was a pain to get to. It was a family owned pool/spa place, and the girl (she probably was late teen/early twenties) said to the guy there “dad, can you see if the Woodstock is easy to get to for them to see?”  He went to check and I figured he would come get us if it was accessible. He did one better and brought it out of the warehouse on a forklift, fully wrapped, and then proceeded to open it for us to see it ourselves. The color was midnight canyon (I think that’s what it was called) which in the showroom on another model looks like a dark grayish, which is what we want because everything we’re doing inside and out in our new house is whites and grays.   But when they unwrapped the Woodstock outside in the sunlight, it was very very brown, and had some huge light brown swirls running through it (including up the sides next to the control panel, so not hidden underwater). I could see the disappointment on my wife’s face. 

At that point I realized that we didn’t want to sacrifice and get something we didn’t love to save some money. So we sort of re-started our search focused on the color combination along with the lounger and larger size. (Writing this reminds me that tomorrow I want to reach out to the Marquis dealer.  Him going above and beyond actually cost him a sale, so I want to thank him for putting his potential customer’s happiness above that. I’ll definitely recommend his place to people in the future)

Anyway, we found a dealer that had Wellis spas, and we really liked their Taurus model. But all the ones they had in stock or being delivered soon were that same brownish shell. They had a Monte Rosa in the colors we liked, which was identical to the Taurus except was their top of the line, so it had all the bells and whistles that I didn’t think we needed.

In the end, we decided to go ahead and get the Monte Rosa. Definitely didn’t need the bells and whistles, but I don’t think I’ll ever say “I really wish we bought a cheaper hot tub”, so I ended up spending like double what I initially wanted to. I’m horrible at sticking to a budget...

It’s supposed to be coming the week of 6/5, so I’ll pop back on here once we get it and let you know how we like it. Anyone have any experience with Wellis tubs?  Hoping we made a good choice.

Thanks to those who reached out and gave their thoughts here and via private message!

[JM22681]

Pcola77: I am looking at the Monte Rosa and Taurus.  How are you liking the Monte Rosa?  Can you elaborate on your experience so far?