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schielrn:
I am one that likes to dig into a lot of details and put it all in spreadsheets to do my research and comparison.  We are looking for a 5-6 person spa in the sub $10,000 range is where I feel comfortable.  My wife and I both have decided our priorities are lounger, lighting, jet power, water feature.  With that being said, I am guessing I am in the mid-level range with most manufacturers based on a little research of that price point and what series were considered mid-level.  There are 9 brands within 30 minutes of me and that have good store reviews or personal feedback from friends.

Great Reviews online and Friends Feedback Dealer Brands (2 Dealers)
Marquis - Celebrity Elite, Vector21
Artesian - South Seas
Hot Springs - Limelight
Bull Frog - R Series
Viking - Elite

Great Reviews online Dealer Brands (2 Dealers)
Sundance - 780/880 Series
Caldera - Paradise

Good reviews online (1 Dealer)
Vita - Didn't really see series with these
American Whirlpool - Didn't really see series with these

My guess is I am going to drop the bottom dealer, but it is the closest one to my house (within 5 minutes), which is the only reason I have left them on here.

Can anyone tell me if the series I have listed above would be correct for the price range I am looking in?  Or if I am missing any series as I start to do a lot of my research?  I plan to do wet tests, but don't want to wet test 20 different hot tubs, so I'd like to get it narrowed down to maybe 3-5.

bud16415:
Lighting is nice as are water features but in a short time I have found you leave the lights set to one color and don’t bother with the waterfall.

As you like to study before you buy I have found some tubs are more therapeutic and some more social. For a tub to have the very powerful jets the seats need to be designed to hold you in. social tubs can be more upright. Our tub is a Caldera Geneva and of the 6 seating locations 3 are therapeutic 2 are social and 1 is the cool down seat that sits a little higher, it also is the flattest seat bottom and makes the safest spot to enter and exit the tub and where we have our steps.

Think about location and views and where the steps want to go and also where the cover lifter will be attached and where the cover ends up blocking the view. I don’t like having the lifter attached to the access door/hatch for the equipment area.

We bought our tub 6 person but 95% of the time there is only 1-2 of us in it. we move around between the 3 seats and get a full massage taking about a half hour by that time you will be getting hot and it is nice to set the flow on the slow whirlpool setting and sit in one of the upright seats and just talk and drink some water.

People use their tubs in different ways and we use ours different summer to winter even. Try and think it thru good and welcome to the world of hot tubs.

All the major brands you have listed are well received here.   

swilly1000:
First time buyers (including me at first) are enamoured by loungers but they take up a lot of space especially in the footwell area and lots of people tend to float in them.  Be wary of that in your wet testing.

I agree with bud on the lights and water features. Nice but they diminish in importance over time.

schielrn:
Thank you both for the feedback.  The more you say it the more I think about the water feature being cool at first and losing its luster.  Probably same can be said for lighting.  We just had a new patio and fire pit put in and I think the wife thinks we are going to party every weekend now lol.  I more plan to use it most evenings after work to wind down and relax and realistically probably use it for parties/gatherings maybe every other month, so maybe 6 times a year.

I do plan to wet test to see how the loungers really feel, but we have another friend that said they would not do the lounger if they get another tub since it takes up so much space, but I know when we go away to gatlinburg or other places I sit in the lounger for a good 15-20 minutes each night while on vacation.

BullFrogSpasMN:
Bullfrog R7L...it's the best spa on your list, a wet test easily proves this...Good Luck!

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