I have had an Elite tub from Costco for about six months now, and i can honestly say there hasnt been a single problem with it, coupled with the lifetime Costco warranty what more could u want, and lets face it if u can afford to buy a luxury item like a hot tub then u should be prepared for ur elec bills to rise.
Apart from anything else my tub cost me £3000 (Sterling), which is considerably less than than a secondhand tub here in the UK, so i could have got a better more featured tub for around £6000 to £8000.
The way i see it is if it costs me a a little more to run than a "better" brand so what it cost me a hell of a lot less (about £4000 less!!) and i can always sell it if i want to upgrade and probably get my money back!