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Caldera vs. Saratoga vs. Four Winds- help, please!

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Annecal:
Hello,
I have autoimmune arthritis, neuropathy and fibromyalgia, and am looking forward to having a hot tub. Finding useful reviews is proving tricky. We looked at the Four Winds Titanium II, Caldera Martinique, and the Saratoga Spas Canfield. I liked the passive therapy in the Saratoga.  We'd planned to look at the Artesian spas, but a dealer at the first place we visited said he's not carrying them anymore, because they had too many problems with Artesian since they came under new ownership.
I'd be so grateful for thoughts and advice, including other brands we should consider. I'm seeing a lot of customer service issues reported with the Four Winds, which is the brand the dealer who warned us off Artesian carries, but am seeing a lot of good things about Artesian, and am feeling conflicted there.


I'm also on immunosuppressants, so a clean tub is crucial, if that's a factor.
Thank you so much for your time and advice,
Annie

castletonia:
I have no experience with Four Winds, but have not heard a lot positive about them.  Saratoga is a more regional brand to the East Coast.  I sold Saratoga from 2001-2005 and have nothing bad to say about them.  They make a quality product and stand behind it.  The Canfield was and I believe still is their best seller. 

I now sell Hot Spring and Caldera.  The Martinique is a great spa.  Comfortable lounger, great therapy in my opinion, well insulated and backed by a great company.  So long as you do not need the hot tub to fit more than 4 people, I really like the Martinique.  It's been so long since I have sat in a Canfield that I cannot offer an accurate comparison.

You're never going to find a lot of information about Saratoga, but as long as the hot tub fits your needs and the dealer is reputable, I think they could be a good option.  Wet test the Canfield and the Martinique and make your decision based on which hot tub fits you better and which dealer is more reputable.

Sam:
I'm calling BS on them saying they dumped Artesian for Four Winds.  In my opinion Four Winds is nowhere near the caliber or quality of Artesian.  There's something else going on here.  Four winds is like bottom of the barrel in our industry and Artesian is among the top tier.  As a matter of fact, out of the 10 plus brands I have significant experience with, Artesian is probably the most reliable.  Hard to say without having hard data side by side, but we really don't have many service issues with them at all.  Of course we have the few odd spas that have multiple failures, but that is the exception not the norm.  That, and they tick all of the right boxes with energy efficiency, therapy, water  quality, etc.  I'm thinking this guy is hiding something. 

What city?  My rep actually told me he dumped a few dealers in the last year or 2 due to poor service and shady business tactics.

Of the brands you mention, I would certainly put Caldera as the lead based on what I consider important criteria for recommending a brand.  Nothing bad to say about Saratoga but they are definitely a smaller east cost brand.  Obviously a brand recommendation means squat if you don't like the feel of the spa and lack confidence in the dealer.

Annecal:
Thank you both for your feedback.  The dealer didn't say they'd dumped Artesian for 4 Winds, they also carry whirlpool and another 2 or 3 brands I can't recall, but just that they weren't carrying Artesian anymore because they'd had so many problems. We'd gone specifically to look at Artesian, so this surprised us. Another dealer said the same about Jacuzzi.

I've asked the dealers for a wet test on the Caldera and Saratoga (I'm near Boston, so that might be why the latter is popular around here). I loved the positioning of the seat in the Saratoga dry, but I know it could all be different in a wet test and the Caldera Martinique is more affordable, though I'm tempted to also at least consider the Caldera Tahitian, for the ozone system. My immune system is terrible, so cleanliness is very important.

And, finally, do you think we should put Artesian back on the list and look again?
Thanks!

Spatech_tuo:

--- Quote from: Annecal on May 14, 2018, 05:41:54 pm ---Thank you both for your feedback.  The dealer didn't say they'd dumped Artesian for 4 Winds, they also carry whirlpool and another 2 or 3 brands I can't recall, but just that they weren't carrying Artesian anymore. Another dealer said the same about Jacuzzi.

I've asked the dealers for a wet test on the Caldera and Saratoga (I'm near Boston, so that might be why the latter is popular around here). I loved the positioning of the seat in the Saratoga dry, but I know it could all be different in a wet test and the Caldera Martinique is more affordable, though I'm tempted to also at least consider the Caldera Tahitian, for the ozone system. My immune system is terrible, so cleanliness is very important.

--- End quote ---

Take your time to get the right one and try to wet test the Caldera and Saratoga the same day or at least the same weekend. After 25 years of RA and probably a lot of the same issues you have I can attest that the hot tub will help and for my issues the hot water itself is the key, the jets are the bonus. Ozone can be added to any spa by the way, its just that on some its standard and others an add-on.

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