Need Info on Great Lakes or Catalina Spas

[mebmarie]

Can someone please help?  I am choosing my first hot tub and don't know which one I should choose.  I am thinking about getting either the XL11000 from Catalina or the Great Lakes Leelanau or Manistee.  Does anyone have a preference?  Thank you.

[Tman122]

I own a GL and it has been a great value so far (3 years) but isn't a Catalina a bit more pricey? GL is a mid level product and I consider cat an upper middle. Or lower upper class. Either way you won't go wrong with GL, simple design, quality non proprietory components, waterway, balboa, fiberglass backed acrylic. It should cost less than the cat though. Those you mentioned should be less than 5 grand or right around there.

[stuart]

IMO, Catalina is all about the flash and flam. They always have been.

Great lakes new line of smaller spas seems to be pretty good but the jury is still out....I just brought in a couple to try  and will keep everyone updated. They certainly seem to be better technology and more advanced than anything GL has done in years!

[Tman122]

Stew, Ray at the factory has been great to work with for me. My dealer has no service department, and the problems I have had ( jet bearings, sticky neck jets, rubber long 90 between pump and heater) have all been easy 10 minute fixes. And he has sent everything I have needed ups.

When the bearings went bad in one of my jet faces he sent me a whole set of jets for the entire tub, when the neck jets got hard to turn he sent me the tool to loosen them and new jets, when the long 90 that was rubber started to leak he sent me the redesigned hard PVC 90 with new gaskets out the same day (even though I built one and installed it). So I have got no complaints as far as service. Now I understand that not all people can do the service them selfs and the dealer has provisions for that, but I prefer to do my own service as I can do it faster and I get to learn the tub for the future. But my factory support has been outstanding. 3 years old 4200 bucks.