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Curious about LPI / Aqua Living / Dr Wellness

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bachman:
* I know nothing about these names but I think they are linked by distribution or "factory outlet" marketing ?

I recently discovered a guy I know from work had started a hot tub project around the time I started mine and his is a gangbusters $$$$$ set up from what I hear.  ;D  We shared the same electrician who we also know 'from work'.
The bits and pieces I gather is a custom deck of around $20 k and a tub of the same price or at least a "list" of around $20 k since the factory outlet marketing is geared toward guise of huge discounts. My guess is $15 - 16 k for the tub.
I know nothing specific of the tub since they have many models and the Catalina brand as well I think. Anyways, was perusing the sites and links or forums to see what I could find and nothing really rang up for reputation or client experiences until …… I seen a bunch of hits on Yelp.

Again, no mention of the specific models that I recall but two really great reviews about the tub although mostly the dealer / sales person experience. However, out of the 2 good reviews, they were met with 6 or more terrible experiences and probably half of those mention the tub quality itself where the other negative reviews might have revolved around a dealer or two in one area of the country. I sounds like a dealer or two around the Maryland area were not meeting delivery times , good delivery experiences or including the steps and chemicals as promised, in some cases , damaged tubs or steps and no remedy or help for months in some cases.

At first read, I was nearly horrified to think of anyone spending that level of money only to have such heartache or as some stated, "going months with out follow up, a working tub or saleman dodging phone calls" etc...
Then I realized much of it may just boil down to a a few bad apples in the case of dealerships. One new tub was delivered with old dirty water and hair in the pipes. Another leaked and yet another had a jet that wasn't screwed in properly and they just gooped it with sealant or caulk since the screw threads didn't reach the part to bite in.

I'm hopeful this other tub project isn't going a similar direction. He has the tub in place and just wired up a few days ago but waitng a week to do the fill and set up. As always, tub photos and promo info looks impressive and sharp but I never found much of any mention when looking for user reviews. I'll add, these Yelp mentions were all very current almost all being 2018.

Any word on the street about this brand or company ?

Hottubguy:
I don’t think Dr Wellness has a tub anywhere near 20k. They are on Craigslist in my market. They are all under 5k. You get what you pay for with these. They are cheaply made and are not very energy efficienct. They are made In Tennessee under a number of names. I remember seeing them 2 years ago at a trade show in New Orleans and was shocked at how cheap they weee wholesale. One of those you get what you pay for. There are probably 50 brands better. And if he paid that much then he got taken bad by them. For 15k or whatever he paid for it he could have gotten almost any brand he wanted

The Wizard of Spas:
LPI is also moving away from dealer-based sales and going customer-direct.  Its not how most major manufacturers do it, but that is how they are going.  Wonder what the long-term implications on quality, service/warranty is. . .

MarKee:
I know of a few dealers that sold Catalina swim spas before they were sold to LPI, and have since stopped selling Catalina because of leaks and other frequent quality control issues.  Very risky in my opinion.

bachman:
Thanks for the comments... the site has a big array of models and I'm not sure we are talking of Dr Wellness or Catalina only ….. but one thing I can do for sure is update info when I get a chance to go visit the project one of these days.

I'm hopeful to at least offer some positive early experiences and cite a specific brand / model. So much of what I see and read are broad generalizations and negative comments regarding various brands or models if that is even included.

ADDED- Aqua Living Outlets/  Tranquility series,  Lifestyle series,  Hudson Bay,  Catalina

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