Hot Tub Forum
Original => Hot Tub Forum => Topic started by: marianb on July 16, 2006, 02:46:00 pm
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I am very new to the world of hot tubs! My husband and I are planning to get one and I like to be sure I get the best one for us ... and that means research! I don't really know what I want other than a lounger, good therapy jets, and something we can keep for years without problems. There's a Marquis dealer and a Vita dealer in our area. We have friends who swear by Caldera, others who like Hot Springs and CalSpa. I am learning from your forum about remotes and monitors - and I have been reading here about some of the price comparisons. I'm in the northern Virginia area. Can anyone offer any advice on reliable dealers and spas?
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Forums like this are absolutely wonderful!! My wife and I just bought our first hot tub. We ended up with a Hot Spring Jetsetter and it is awesum!! One thing I learned from this forum is to WET TEST at the dealership. At first I thought it was a crazy idea and my wife really thought it was crazy. That was until AFTER we wet tested. We tried about 5 different tubs, some Hot Springs, some Tiger River, some 6 person tubs and some smaller ones. The weird thing about it, is that the smallest tub, the Jetsetter was the most comfortable for us. We have two small children (3 & 7) and it's perfect for us. I know as they get bigger, the tub will get smaller, but we're family and we'll figure it out, or squeeze in together :o My wife is only 5'2" and just about drown in the other tubs. Thanks to this forum we ended up with a hot tub that we love and know is a quality product. I went from looking at Wal-Mart tubs to ending up spending a lot more than I wanted to for a Hot Spring, but after having this baby for a few days now, we know it was a great investment. So, keep looking around this forum, ask questions and WET TEST!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Yes you always want to wet test. We ended up going with a brand that you do not hear alot about on here. It is a Catalina Stealth Raptor. I am not sure why you don't hear much about them on here but they are a well known tub company and seem to make a very good product. I did alot of research before my wife and I bought our tub, it can be a pain hunting and searching all of the brands.
We have a lounger and 5 seats with 66 jets. It is 93x93x40 large tub. We did have it upgraded and had the stereo with the amp and subwoofer, fiber optics, Misters, etc.
There are alot of great tubs out there and this forum speaks about alot of them and you will get great advice on here. I just wanted to tell you about Catalina and suggest that you may want to check into them as well.
www.catalinaspas.com
Good luck on whatever tub you end up with, all I can say is hurry and get it done because you are missing out on something great until you have one sitting in your back yard.
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Thanks so much for your response. Although I will have no trouble hopping into my suit for a wet test when I suggest it , my husband will look at me over his glasses with one eyebrow up. Everyone knows the look. I am hoping I can convince him to try them out.
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Welcome to the forum. You mentioned you had a Marquis dealer in your area. We own a Marquis Epic and love it! As far as therapy I don't think you can beat it. It's the flagship in the Marquis line so it may be pricey but it's a great tub. They also have an everyday line and their 530 and 630 have gotten great reviews as well.
Best advice is to look at as many manufacturers as you can and WET TEST. You'll find what's right for you. Good luck.
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If you're looking for the Cadillac of Spa's, get any Hotspring model, or a Tiger river caspian.
:o
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Or, you could try and find a used artesian. Most of the time they work pretty good, and if you are on a tight budget, or don't have a lot of extra money, they are not too bad.
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If you're looking for the Cadillac of Spa's, get any Hotspring model, or a Tiger river caspian.
:o
Of course this is his or her opinion!
There are MANY quality brands out there ... some maybe even better than Hot Springs or Tiger River ... of course this is my opinion.
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Of course this is his or her opinion!
There are MANY quality brands out there ... some maybe even better than Hot Springs or Tiger River ... of course this is my opinion.
That's sledjunkies way of busting me.
He was givving cass a hard time because her TR has a problem and when i reminded him that even cadilaics have problems, he took it to mean that I belived TR to be a cadiilac.
Eh. What ever.
But I did mean what I said about Artesian, despite what a lot of folks think, they're not too bad, and surprisingly I've actualy met a few Artesian owners and I was pleasntely surprised to find that not all Artesian owners have thier head up thier back side.
Yea, I was surpirsed too.
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marianb -
My advice, be careful these forums are loaded with dealers.
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Drew -
You're right, Cadillac is the wrong term.
Hotsprings is more like a Lexus, same thing as Toyota just paying extra for the name.
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Drew -
You're right, Cadillac is the wrong term.
Hotsprings is more like a Lexus, same thing as Toyota just paying extra for the name.
;D
The day I start reading about folks on here raving about their 15 -25 year old off brand spas is the day ya'll MIGHT convince me that someone builds a better spa than HotSpring.
Until then, I'll just keep getting a chuckle out of the snide little remarks directed our way while me and my very satisfied customers enjoy ourselves and our spas.
:) :) :)
Terminator
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As Spiderman mentioed, wet test. There is no substituition. What looks like it may be comfortable could turn into a very uncomfortable big box with water sitting on your deck.
Many times the dealer will let you come in after hours so no one else is there incase you dont want to be seen in your b-suit.
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;D
The day I start reading about folks on here raving about their 15 -25 year old off brand spas is the day ya'll MIGHT convince me that someone builds a better spa than HotSpring.
Until then, I'll just keep getting a chuckle out of the snide little remarks directed our way while me and my very satisfied customers enjoy ourselves and our spas.
:) :) :)
Terminator
Of course someone needs to be around to fix those COSTCO spas! ;D
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That's sledjunkies way of busting me.
He gave was givving cass a hard time because her TR has a problem and when i reminded him that even cadilaics have problems, he took it to mean that I belived TR to be a cadiilac.
Eh. What ever.
But I did mean what I said about Artesian, despite what a lot of folks think, they're not too bad, and surprisingly I've actualy met a few Artesian owners and I was pleasntely surprised to find that not all Artesian owners have thier head up thier back side.
Yea, I was surpirsed too.
From where I sit a lot of folks think that Artesian is WAY better than any HS/TR or HS not HS COSCO spa. That's even after removing my head out of my backside! ;) ;D
Don't get me started ... >:(
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Thanks to everyone who wrote!
Today I went back to the Marquis dealer. Here are the
prices: Reward - $10,500, Epic - $11,500, Quest - $8,500. These are all with delivery, a cover and steps.
The cover lifter is $200 more and a monitor is $100.
I asked my neighbor who bought a Marquis 2 years ago - she thinks it was no more than $6000 at the time.
The dealer says the next sale will be over Labor Day. I have no idea what it will be. Should I wait for it? Should I look elsewhere? ???
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As far as what to consider in a tub, note the following when shopping and narrow things down prior to wet testing (unless you want to test every tub known to man):
- Are you looking for therapy or just relaxing soaks? If therapy is there a specific type (back, neck, feet, etc.)? This answer will help you narrow down things a bit, i.e. if feet therapy is important you'll want to find a tub that has devoted some jets and power to a foot dome. If therapy is not important you can probably eliminate some of the therapeutic spas that seem to generally cost more. In my case I sat in some tubs with palm or hand jets for carpal tunnel therapy and depite the fact that therapy of that nature is useless to me the contour of the tub designed for the things made the seating awkward and unacommodating, therefore I ruled those out.
- How many folks are going to use the tub? Take that number and add two or so to convert to tub manufacturer's capacity (i.e. if "tubco" says their tub seats 6 it probably only seats 4 comfortably). If several people will be in it look to see how big the footwell is, many people will equate to a need for a larger footwell, a tub that seats twenty but only has room for two pair of feet will be no good.
- Lounger vs. no lounger, I prefer no lounger, they take up space and most I sat in weren't comfortable. If you do want one, make sure it fits you and that you don't float in it.
- I would make sure you have contoured seats for comfort and at different levels (I'd look for tubs with some deep seats and some higher "cooldown" seats).
- Extras - personal opinions vary greatly on these but mine has a stereo and LED's and they greatly add to the atmosphere and were worth the $, the waterfall I could take or leave (wish I had the catalina? misters I've heard of on here). If you want these things you can weed out lines that don't have them.
This isn't an exhaustive list, but I think it should help, answer these ?'s before wet testing and see if you can narrow things down a bit, hopefully it will help you out.
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Since they dragged me into this! :)
If you can afford those prices (I'm not trying to be sarcastic or funny) - Wet test if you are inclined to and do it. Marquis makes a good spa!
If you're on a budget as a lot of people are - look around and you can find less expensive spas. I own an Artesian as do others here and it is a great tub. Artesian has three levels - Platinum, Gold and Island that most people purchase. I bought the Island Cayman and it's one great tub, I was able to get it pretty loaded (no radio or multi LED lights) for a 2004 price of about $7000 with tax. Prices have gone up but it seems you can still get this tub for about $6,000 or so depending on where you live.
When it's all said and done - soaking in hot water with jets on is GREAT and it doesn't matter what brand you're in ... as long as YOU are happy!
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marianb: What part of the country are you in?
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Im in northern Virginia. I wonder if that is why the Marquis prices are so high. I hope that some of you who are dealers can give some advice here. Will it help to wait til the Labor Day sale or shd I be able to get a decent deal with Marquis sooner than that?l
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marianb: Marquis has never been the cheapest spa on the market, but you do get what you pay for. I found a quote from one of our dealers websites that sums up Marquis:
"Over twenty years of extensive research and development have distanced Marquis from the competitors, as pioneers in the industry. Marquis was the first company to receive the industry's two most prestigious awards- The John Holcomb Silver award for technology and innovation and the Eagle Award for leadership.
Quite simply, Marquis Spas are the best built, best designed spas in the business. A straightforward, comprehensive warranty is a reflection of the confidence Marquis has in their product. It is a warranty designed to protect the customer, not the manufacturer.
With no fads or gimmicks to fade or fail over time, Marquis Spas are designed with the more therapeutic, easy to maintain, energy efficient spas available. Every Marquis tub has the Underwriter's laboratories sticker- just another example of their commitment to quality.
When you finally slip into your new Marquis Spa, you can truly relax, knowing you have invested in the most efficient, reliable spa out there- one that will provide you years of carefree maintenance, relaxation, therapy and entertainment."
The prices you were quoted are in line with the Marquis retail stores in Oregon. Remember that it costs a dealer about $600 to have a spa shipped from Oregon to Virginia. If you are serious about getting a tub and you don't want to wait, ask to talk to the manager, tell them your situation, and have them offer you the sale price that they will be offering for their labor day sale. Also, I would print out the internet coupon located at www.marquisspas.com.
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MarKee, I believe I spoke with the owner yesterday. She seemed pretty firm in her pricing. I asked about floor models and that was a no. Will she know in advance what the Labor Day sale is? The coupon is good only until August 15th so if I wait, it'll be useless.
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Don't just narrow it down to one spa manufacturer like Marquis. Look at them all. I myself didn't care of Marquis as I didn't like how they were only 34" tall.
I also found I didn't care for Hotsprings or Jacuzzi. They felt underpowered. All the jets seemed to be precision jets (smaller ones). They just didn't have much therapy to them. They seemed to be quality, but just overpriced for what you got with them.
I almost bought a Sundance, it was just bit out of my price range.
NittanyLion makes all good points. I will also add that the foot dome is also beneficial for women. My wife seemed to want a foot dome as it helped her not float as much. She could brace herself against the dome which she liked.
I guess what you need to do is look at more models, shop around and narrow down what style tub you’re looking for.
Don't buy into the sales jargon you will hear. Stuff like:
Best built
Best designed
Best insulated
Most efficient
etc, etc..
Just stick with the name brands and you will get a quality hot tub. And don't forget to shop around for the best price. Names brands include:
Hotsprings
Sundance
D1
Jacuzzi
Artesian
Arctic
Caldera
to name a few...
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sledjunkie: The Epic is actually a 35.5" height and it is by no means a "shallow" spa. I've had customers that were 6'6" buy that spa. The Reward is an even deeper seating spa than the Epic, if that was a concern for you. The main reason Marquis Spas are generally a little bit shorter in profile: Marquis thinks it looks better and there is no plumbing underneath the footwell of the spa.
marianb: When a dealer knows a buyer is serious, most of the time they will work with you on the price. Also, you might consider the Marquis Everyday line which has spas that range from $5-8000.
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We're also in the midst of buying our first tub-- and in the midst of a major home remodel (with about half of the house out of commission all summer). I'd add one more reason to wet test:
It sure makes hot tub shopping more fun than most other forms of home remodeling decisions. Take, for example, dishwashers or cabinet pulls ... :P
Seriously. AFter a few different dealers and models we quickly learned that:
- We weren't quite as enthused about loungers as we'd thought we'd be.
- number of jets wasn't nearly as important as type and layout
- There is such a thing as a jet that is TOO strong (or, at least, too focused).
Etc.
--Gholead