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Decisions: Hot Springs, Jacuzzi, or Bullfrog, others?

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dw886:
Looking for a first spa.  Saw Bullfrog at Costco a few times over the years (and as recently as about 3 weeks ago), and being from the cold states, I like the "efficiency" story.  Not sure if it's really true or not with all of the 90% less plumbing or not, but I also don't want to start a war. :-)

Anyway, looking for a 6+ seater to complement an outdoor pool.  My wife is really the driving force because she hates being cold, but she absolutely refuses to "wet test" anything.

Hot Springs:  There's a decent Hot Springs dealer in town.  They seem to have great looks for their tubs, but I'm not crazy about the corner layout with the filters in the corner.  Seems like if you had 4 people, it forces 1 person into the "awkward middle seat of the couch"...  I haven't been to the store to talk to anyone about Hot Springs, but I know of a number of friends that have them and love them.

Jacuzzi:  There's a Jacuzzi dealer in town, but my wife doesn't like the older style look of their cabinet with the vertical slats.  She likes the look of the new J485 that has the new cabinet, but I'm not sure if that's even shipping yet.

Bullfrog:  A8 is what we'd likely lean towards.  It fits the footprint of our location, and allows us the most room in the event that we have a decent number of people over in the pool that want to warm up.  Also seems to have most of the bells and whistles.


* Am I looking at the right brands, or are there others that I should consider?
* Are we completely nuts not wet-testing?  I know it's like not test driving a car, but my wife thinks I'm completely crazy when I bring this up, and I'm more of the caretaker of this than the person who's likely to use it...

* What's the comparable Hot Springs to the J485 and A8?

Jacuzzi Jim:
  Welcome to the forum!  Your looking at all good brands, try and wet test if you can.   As far as Bullfrog & Costco, the pricing (for us anyway) is anywhere from 12 to 1400 off retail.   That said you have to pay for the ozone and lift, unless the A series which EOS comes std on it through Costco. 

dw886:
Thanks Jim - good to know that at least we may be starting in a decent spot with what we've looked at.  Are there any other brands that we should consider?

Here's what I'm currently talking in terms of price.  Not sure how competitive these are, but hopefully someone can chime in.
Hot Springs: Haven't been there yet - not sure what model compares the best - probably the Vanguard?
Bullfrog: $12,900 for an A8 out the door with cover/lifter, steps, premium cabinet, delivery, and tax included (no radio, I don't want it).
Jacuzzi: $12,000 for a J485 out the door with smartspa, cover/lifter, steps, delivery, and tax included (no radio here either).

Is there anywhere that shows actual energy consumption of these units?  I'd want a recirc pump on the bullfrog to even things out with the other two...

Hottubguy:
The three brands you are looking at are all great brands.  If you wanted to widen your search look at Marquis, Caldera, Sundance and artesian as well if you have dealers nearby.  If not the brands you are considering are great tubs.

dw886:
Thanks - it's interesting looking at all of these websites - many of them look really familiar, like they're almost the same company.  The Caldera website feels like Hot Springs website - closest dealer is 60 miles.  The Sundance website looks like Jacuzzi's, and there's no dealers in my area.  It feels like there was at one time a really large number of companies, and they've been bought-out or acquired leaving a few parents with a number of children.

Marquis looks interesting, but the closest dealer is 200+ miles away.

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