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I live in Minnesota, and am thinking about purchasing my first hot tub. Today we looked at Sundance, Marquis, and Jacuzzi products. Liked them all, but Jacuzzi is at the top of the list right now. Are there any special considerations for installing a hot tub in a cold climate? Features I should look for? Brands that offer better insulation/energy efficiency? Thanks!

Thanks to all who responded. I am definitely not trying to buy champagne for the price of beer, just overwhelmed by the wide array of manufacturers and price points on the market and wondering at the reasons for the disparity. I'm planning to hit some local dealers this weekend. My take on the big box stores...I work in IT for a well-known US manufacturer. We have a high-end consumer products line which is sold primarily through dealers. We do sell some of lower-priced products through a couple of big box outlets. The products we sell at the big box stores have the same quality as the high-end models, just not all the features. However, the big box store can offer a price lower than I can get with my employee discount because of their volume purchasing. I was wondering if the same model holds true in the spa industry. We live in Minnesota, so the advice on budget spa performance is cold weather is very helpful. Thanks for all your help!

Today we looked at spas from Calspas and Gulf Coast. We are considering purchasing the Gulf Coast, but after looking through this forum that doesn't seem like such a great idea. Is it possible to purchase a decent quality spa in the $5-6K range? Which brands should we be looking at? How about purchasing online from Home Depot or Sam's Club? Thanks!