Looking to buy...

[Noggin]

I'm new to the forum and I'm looking for some advice on a new tub.

I'm looking at the mid size tubs.

I've been looking for a few weeks now and I think I've narrowed the brands down to Master Spa and Royal Spa. Both tubs are made in my home state of Indiana. Both companys have a service department in my town.
I'm thinking Royal more than Master, does anyone have and advice? I think both spa's are very nice but I lack the knowledge and experience of owning a tub.

[cappykat]

I'll say what I'm sure others will tell you.  Look at other brands. There are a LOT of quality spas out there; HotSprings, Sundance, Marquis, Jacuzzi, D1, Caldera (by HS), and some of those have less expensive lines also.  

You're probably going to hear the pros/cons of full foam versus insulated panels on the Master Spa.  I would look at as many brands as you can find and then you can start narrowing it down.

Good luck on your search.

[salesdvl]

Cappy has named the popular ones but there are many other brands that are good quality as well.  As she said, look, wet test and decide what features you want.  

Quick summary of the 2 you have named.  

Master builds an OK quality tub but relies on alot of bells & whistle to make it seem better than it is.  Also, they are notorious for their less than admirable sales tactics.   They dont offer anything that you cant find on other brands that are better quality.

Royal.  Very interesting approach.  They use ancient building techniques( but charge for current pricing)  and then sell the customer on the idea that THEY can run down to Radio Shack to get parts to fix it themselves, and not have to pay for a service call.  I guess I look at it like a car.  Would you pay a premium price on a brand that pitched itself as "so simple, you can fix it yourself" ?

In our case ( I'm in IN too) , buying from a local manufacturer is not a benefit.  EVERYONE has service departments to fix their spas.

[jnsjr58]

Ditto to what copycat says. My first inpulse was to buy on ebay.Thanks to this fourm I have gotten deeper and deeper into the world of "Tub Knowledge" I still haven't bought. but I am better equiped to make a more educated decision. If you do your shopping you are able to get what you pay for, and if you don't shop and educate yourself you're setting your self up for a royal screwing. I have looked at some r-e-a-l crap tubs for 8 grand. At first look, I thought they were great, it wasn't till I began learning that I found out what I was looking at. ( they were probably worth 3 grand at best )
Take your time and do your homework.

[Kyle]

I agree with Royal critique.  There is a reason they are distributed to only two or three states.  Dealerships that have to pay more for shipping feel they aren't worth bringing in.  There are other dealerships in your area that would be worth shopping.

[wmccall]

Master was on my short list before I bought. Royal was at the Ohio State Fair last year, and left me unimpressed in tubs and sales people.  Wisoki here owns a dealership in Indianapolis he might shed some insight.

[Noggin]

Thanks for the help, I'm going to look for a while. I'll keep reading in this forum to learn more.

I really didn't think this would be this hard, but as I've read here I better do my homework !

Thanks again !

[jdheffer]

I really didn't think this would be this hard, but as I've read here I better do my homework !

I didn't think it would that hard either, but it is.  Just look at all of them and then wet test the ones you like the best.  Wet testing is the key.  You will hear that from everyone on this forum.  You will be able to narrow it down to a couple from the wet test.

Good luck!!