Hot Springs Vs. Caldera

[Mark in Portland]

I wish I had found this forum a few weeks ago! Reading the threads has been very enlightening.

We're building a new house, have wanted a hot tub for quite a while, but had no place to put one at our current place. We're planning to locate one on a paver patio under some pine trees in our back yard. Yes, I realize there will be pine needle issues. We tend to be pretty conscientious about maintaining the things we own, so I feel like we can handle doing a good job on tub maintenance.

We plan to use it ourselves (no kids) and with friends, so we're considering a 5-6 person tub.

So we went out hot tub shopping in Portland last Saturday, after talking to a few dealers at a couple of home shows last Fall. After talking to the dealers we met, and based on very little else, it seemed to us like Hot Spring and Caldera were the two we were most interested in. Both manufactured by Watkins.

Last Saturday, went to the Hot Spring dealer, spent about an hour there talking to the sales guy, didn't wet test, and felt certain enough that we put down a deposit. The things about Hot Spring that sounded good were that it sounded lower maintenance than other spas, the five filter idea and greater filter area sounds like a good thing, and the ceramic filter option also sounds like a good thing.

Just like someone has been talking about in another thread, the Hot Spring dealer was pretty clear that only so much dealing was possible. We didn't really have any grounds to compare with other brands at that point, so he mainly focused on the selling points for Hot Spring.

The Caldera dealer's story was much more about how it compares to other brands. It was interesting that he said Caldera was the top of the line manufactured by Watkins.

My impression, without wet testing or anything, and doing sort of a side-by-side comparison of features on paper, is that Hot Spring COULD be more expensive because of lower maintenance requirements -- although after reading several threads on here, sounds like NOT maintaining it much would be a mistake.

The Caldera seemed like a very nice spa, perhaps more focused on therapeutic use (there were way more diffierent types of jets in the different seating position, and more jets), a little deeper. I liked that the LED lights are on the outside of the spa as well as the inside.

So I'm puzzled -- what's the rationale for spending $2-3K more for a Hot Spring than a Caldera? Would one of them be distinctly better than the other in a backyard under pinetrees sort of environment? One of them be better for heavier use? One of them require a greater or lesser amount of maintenance?

Are there other brands of roughly equivalent caliber that I should really be considering?

[Chas]

what's the rationale for spending $2-3K more for a Hot Spring than a Caldera? Would one of them be distinctly better than the other in a backyard under pinetrees sort of environment? One of them be better for heavier use? One of them require a greater or lesser amount of maintenance?

I sell both - I think that they are very similar in quality and longevity, and very different in jetting.

The Caldera has much more power - and you can shut off jets you are not using and add that 'oomph' to the remaining jets. You can make it hurt good.

The HS has a wider variety of jets, including the Moto Massage. The HS has better filtration, but it is not that big a difference in day-to-day care or use.

The warranty is about the same, with one minor difference - the Caldera has a ten-year structural warranty. Thas is the hidden, fiberglass part of the shell. Both tubs come with a seven-year surface warranty and five years equipment - and five-year no-fault heater warranty.

Not all the Caldera tubs come with ozone, all HS do come with it.

In my store, they are priced about the same.

[ivieisme]

In my shopping experience, they were priced about the same as well.

Read through previous posts........don't buy without wet testing first. It is the golden rule!!!!

Other brands of the same caliber as Hot Springs and Caldera would be Sundance, Jacuzzi, D-1, Marquis and perhaps Arctic and Artesian.

Wet test....WET TEST.....WET TEST!!!!!!!!!!

[Tailhooker]

what's the rationale for spending $2-3K more for a Hot Spring than a Caldera? Would one of them be distinctly better than the other in a backyard under pinetrees sort of environment? One of them be better for heavier use? One of them require a greater or lesser amount of maintenance?

I sell both - I think that they are very similar in quality and longevity, and very different in jetting.

The Caldera has much more power - and you can shut off jets you are not using and add that 'oomph' to the remaining jets. You can make it hurt good.

The HS has a wider variety of jets, including the Moto Massage. The HS has better filtration, but it is not that big a difference in day-to-day care or use.

The warranty is about the same, with one minor difference - the Caldera has a ten-year structural warranty. Thas is the hidden, fiberglass part of the shell. Both tubs come with a seven-year surface warranty and five years equipment - and five-year no-fault heater warranty.

Not all the Caldera tubs come with ozone, all HS do come with it.

In my store, they are priced about the same.

I am glad that I looked back in the forum, this was the question that I was hoping to get answered. I'll see if I can try both but I am looking for the little extra "oomph" I think (Caldera). Still going to try Jacuzzi, D1, Sundance if able too (no Marquis w/in 200 miles)

[thestallion]

what's the rationale for spending $2-3K more for a Hot Spring than a Caldera? Would one of them be distinctly better than the other in a backyard under pinetrees sort of environment? One of them be better for heavier use? One of them require a greater or lesser amount of maintenance?

I sell both - I think that they are very similar in quality and longevity, and very different in jetting.

The Caldera has much more power - and you can shut off jets you are not using and add that 'oomph' to the remaining jets. You can make it hurt good.

The HS has a wider variety of jets, including the Moto Massage. The HS has better filtration, but it is not that big a difference in day-to-day care or use.

The warranty is about the same, with one minor difference - the Caldera has a ten-year structural warranty. Thas is the hidden, fiberglass part of the shell. Both tubs come with a seven-year surface warranty and five years equipment - and five-year no-fault heater warranty.

Not all the Caldera tubs come with ozone, all HS do come with it.

In my store, they are priced about the same.

I am glad that I looked back in the forum, this was the question that I was hoping to get answered. I'll see if I can try both but I am looking for the little extra "oomph" I think (Caldera). Still going to try Jacuzzi, D1, Sundance if able too (no Marquis w/in 200 miles)

Both are highly respected tubs. Myself personaly strongly prefer the HS, however I would not put much stock into the lower maintenance cost claim. Also if you are not going to wet test be careful of just using your hand. Again this is just my personal opinion but the Caldera jets made me itch, for me they are to small again just my opinion.

[spatech (the unreal one)]

I would say they are both very good options and therefore IMO there really isn't a need to figure out which one is better, just figure out which one is better for you (which may include dealer preference, wet test results and even things such as appearance). In this case you're not choosing between a Yugo and a BMW so unless one of the dealers really stands out as superior over the other base it on what you see/feel in the spas.

Also, you mention putting this under some trees. That may be a great spot in general but one key for planning a spa is to have it as close to the entrance to the house as possible. When the weather is less than great (which I know happens in Portland) you'll appreciate being able to zip in and out of the spa without having a long cold jog.

[Dan.The.Spa.Man]

I would say they are both very good options and therefore IMO there really isn't a need to figure out which one is better, just figure out which one is better for you (which may include dealer preference, wet test results and even things such as appearance).

Exactly, I sell both and actually prefer the jet massage of the Calderas a little bit better. Wet test them both.

[Porter]

I wet tested the Caldera and was disappointed to find it didn't fit me at 6'2". I couldn't get under the collar seat and the jets on the lounge hit the bottom of my neck. The lounge neck jets are not recessed, forcing me to lean forward (bad design). They could recess these and still have them aimed downward a little bit. Too bad because we really liked everything else about this spa. We were quoted $6,700 for the C45.