pattyb

We ran into these during our shoppping this summer. Appeard to be a great spa.. super construction, nice looking, price was right. However we dry tested and found the jets not recessed enough for our liking and were uncomforatable. I'd recommend that you wet test. In fact shop around and wet test as many models as you can so you know what works for you. There are many great brands ... Hot Spring, Marquis, Artesian, Caldera, Sundance, Arctic, Jacuzzi to name a few.

We looked at D1 for about 10 minutes. I thought the adjustable head rests looked hokey and the cabinet was devoid of style. IMO the fake tiling looked out-dated (like a 10 year old Hot Spring classic). That said, I understand they are well made tubs. It's just the appearance did not impress me enough to linger around waiting for a salesperson to come 'sell' me. I believe there were also a few colored/marbled tubs, but I'd already moved on to the Calderas. If I'm going to spend 8-9K on a spa, in addition to high quality, I want it to LOOK like an 8-9K tub. Sorry I can't comment more on D1 'internals' but no salesperson ever bothered to approach us at the D1/Caldera dealer so we didn't get the pitch. Re Sundance - we just purchased a Sundance Optima.. anxiously awaiting delivery in the next week or so. For US it's the perfect tub: comfortable, roomy, excellent therapy, VERY high quality and high-end looks. I have no opinion of the sideways filter.. time will tell. If we're in the tub every day/every other day... rotating the filter once in a while is a non-issue. Maybe I'm wrong here (and someone please correct me if this is the case) but I believe all the jets can be on at once in the 800 series Sundance. Botttom line is they are both top of the line. The 'better' one would depend on the buyers requirements and how it feels to them in a wet test.

THANK YOU for stepping up to keep it clean!!! Quite honestly I was absolutely appalled by some of the things I've seen/read here. Many times I sat here mouth open, jaw on the ground... in utter disbelief that ADULTS (professionals????) would behave that way. How embarrassing for the spa industry. Thanks again .. now I won't have to cringe when I open up a post or page through pages of a hijacked thread.

We're in upstate NY area (Rochester). NOt sure on your warranty question. I would think the dealer would honor warranty if you purchased elsewhere. What if you had purchased in a different city, then moved and brought your hot tub with you? THe question may be whether the other dealer would sell to you. Some dealers are very particular about territory. We went to Buffalo to check out Artesian spas. There was a Hot Spring/Tiger River dealer right across the street from the Artesian dealer. We'd wet tested HS locally and it didn't work for us... but hadn't paid much attention to the Tiger River brand & I wanted to take a look at the Caspian (after testing Optima decided foot jets were a must have!). We made the mistake of mentioning we'd driven in from Roch to see Artesian and wanted to take a quick look at the Caspian. The dealer was the rudest I've run into... Basically said we could look around but there were service issues and that we had to shop at our local dealer. Then he yelled over to another guy working in the store that these folks are here from ROCHESTER (emphasizing that we were not local)... As I type it doesn't sound all that rude but his tone and attitude spoke volumes. Even my husband commented how rude the guy was. (And we were only LOOKING.. had absolutely no intention of buying!) Good luck with trying to buy from a different dealer if that's what you decide to do.

SquiresF1 - if you haven't already done so - search this board and whatsthebesthot-tub dot com on these brands. There is also a review section on whatsthebest... You can also check epinions. We just shopped for 4 months. We looked at Caldera and it made our Top 3 list, they are great spas. The deal with Golf Coast is that they advertise as being a 10K spa which is 'on sale' for 5K. They look flashy but the general consensus is that they really only are 5K spas to begin with. There are folks out there who have them and love them. Cal Spas doesn't have the best reputation on the boards but, again, there are many happy owners. Not familiar with Superior. We finally purchased on labor day. My best advice is to try to stick with one of the dozen or so major brands... and look at as many different ones as you can. Bring your suit and WET TEST! I doubt we would have wet tested if I hadn't read how important it is. We wet tested 5 or 6 brands and found the one that was a perfect fit for our family. Good luck.

srmthg3 - thanks for the info,. Wow that seems high! For Optima our dealer posted a retail price of $11 something,, then 'sale' price of somewhere around $9,500... Then came down to 8,800. Re. Bahia - there has been quite a bit of discussion on Bahia pricing on http://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/cgi-bin...oard=wtb-hottub in the last few weeks and 8K is way high. I would think your dealer could do MUCH better than that. Good luck spa shopping.. it's a royal PITA. Headed back to the dealer this week.. anyone else have a fairly recent price on Optima?

We're still shopping for first spa, so by no means am i answering from personal experience. However.... I believe it's going to depend on the chemicals you use... Here's a link to another forum where there is a recent (today) thread that is related to your question http://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/cgi-bin...;num=1154288722 Truthfully, I hesitated to reply to your question because of your RANT on the Elite Platinum/vibration topic. Just a thought, but maybe you could try to be more positive? The owner came to this site for information/assistance and is aggrevated enough, no? Not everyone that buys those spas is being cheap... there a lot of folks who can't really can't afford more than 3-4K for a spa.

Hi, looking for any fairly recent quotes/prices that anyone has received for Sundance Optima (no stereo, no ozone). We have a quote for $8,800 USD including steps, cover/lifer, chems, delivery & setup. I've seen prices on various forums ranging from $6,900 to $7,600 to $8,300(w/stereo) all the way up to $9,500. Just trying to get a feel whether $8,800 is a fair price, or if we should be able to do better. We told the dealer this was a cash deal but he said that did not matter. We're upstate NY. Kicked off our deck expansion ... dug 6 48" holes for footers last night.. Now we have to close the deal on the spa. In advance, thanks!

FWIW I was never able to get the Hot Springs deck builder tool working either. We are adding a free standing 10x12 extension to our existing deck for the new hot tub (at this point looking like Sundance Optima, but have not sealed the deal yet). After downloading a more current version of JAVA I was able to get the deck design tool working on LOWES.COM We created several designs using 6x6 footers - with 2x8 and 2x10 joists. When you are done the tool provides a 12 page report with several diagrams, material list, and specifications. The live and dead loads are provided on page 7 of the report. For our new deck using 2x8 the PSF was 99, using 2x10 the PSF was 151. To be on the safe side we're going with the 2x10 joists. Not sure this tool is 100% accurate, but it helped us in our decision. Good luck.

Can't believe I forgot to add.. Sundance is owned by Jacuzzi.

We're also in the market for a spa.. Can't remember pricing on the J335.. however we got pricing on J345 and J365 and I think they were 6,400 and 6,700... all inc. So 5,999 sounds right. We wet tested the 400 series w/. the lounger and it was great, but too pricey for us. Do you have a Sundance dealer nearby? If so you might want to take a look. We're leaning toward an Optima which is higher end, but they make several different lines and the spas are very high quality. And I did not float in the Optima like I did in the Hot Springs. I found I could not stay seated in HS.. think Sundance seats have more depth to the seat.. less flat. Happy shopping! Patty

I was all set to love the Hot Springs but I found that it was hard to remain seated (tested the Grandee, Vanguard, Envoy). No matter how the diverter/jets were set they kept pushing me out of the seat and I fought to stay seated (not relaxing). Did not have this problem in the Sundance Optima (and Bahia). I think the seats in the Sundance position you so your center of gravity is back and lower. Also, re. the moto jets: I didn't care for the speed .. they moved waaaaaay too fast for me.. again, not relaxing. We asked the salesman if we could change the speed (twice) but we he did not seem to understand what we were asking so I took his answer as a 'no'. But keep in mind this is very personal and what works/feels good for me doesn't necessarily work for everyone. Re: lounger.. Initially I wanted a lounger but the way the tub we're leaning toward (SUndance Optima) is designed.. you really don't need one. You are reclined enough in the corner seats so that you are virtually in the same position as a lounger.. and you don't lose all that space to the lounger! Looking more like the old Kirsty Alley than the new (thin) one I thought I'd be very self-consious wet-testing but it was not that bad. Figured if I'm spending nearly 10K on it I'd best try it out!

We wet tested both the Optima twice and Jacuzzi (actually it was the one w/ the lounger which I think is the 480). No fragrance in the aroma therapy when we tested. The tubs were fairly similar. Here are the memorable differences: Optima ($8,800, but I've seen posts where people have gotten for quite a bit less) - 8 foot jets not four. Once you have one jet per foot its seems inconvenient to have to switch your feet - separate air bubbler - very enjoyable... also nice to cool off the water if it gets too hot - liked varied seat heights (we have an 8 and 13 yo so we need a few seats where they can sit comfortably) Jacuzzi ($9,600, w/ stereo 10.8K?) - Two waterfalls - provides more of a light show (when at lower setting) - lighted volcano jet on foot mound - 'champagne' bubbles is a cool feature (but not as easy to see w/ a family of 4 in the tub) - lighted cool off seat - custom cover required because one side is higher than the rest jets were fairly similar on both We liked both tubs but we're leaning toward Optima because it's cheaper and I prefer having the 8 jets on the foot mound and air. My overall impression is that the Jacuzzi is 'showier'... I'd love to get the stereo option but nearly 9K is already stretching my budget so I can't justifiy. And then there's the deck expansion and electrical work! Hope this helps. Good luck.

What criteria do you look for when buying a used spa? We're shopping for a spa, mainly new, but we saw a used spa for sale by a private individual. He says the spa is approx years old. It was left at his house by the previous owner (who bought 6 months prior to moving). He claims to have used it only a half dozen times. We were told the most important consideration when buying used is how well the owner maintained the chems. Of couse we have no way to know this. Looking for feedback from those with experience. The 'deal' is around $3,700 including a brand new cover. Personally its worth it to me to buy new for the warranty and piece of mind.. but my husband would like to save 4-5K. Thanks!

>>What'd you think of the Hydro and Coast spas? Was the Hot Springs spa much more expensive than the others? Some history. Two of our friends have Hot Spring so that's where we started our search. ... $7.7K for Soverign, $8.5/Vanguard, $9/Envoy. Very nice spas. Went on-line to see if these prices were competitive. Found Spaspecialist who totally bashed HS & full foam. Found poolandspa.com spa manufacturer comparison charts (and ratings). Noted the 5star rating on Hydro and Golf Coast. Assumed they were similar in quality to HS. I was elated to see we could buy a Hydro Spa Lexxus (mid size w/ lounger) for only $4K (including delivery, cover etc). So we went to look at Hydro Spa with very HIGH expectations. The Lexxus & entire MarkIII line LOOKS absolutely beautiful and has all the bells & whistles (circ pump, ozone, chrome jets, waterfall, aromatherapy etc). VERY impressive! Almost left a deposit but held off. Couple days later began searching for Hydro Spa on-line... Many posts to the effect that they are not bad tubs for the money, but don't think you are getting a HS, D1, Sundance, etc. My biggest concern was, and still is, energy cost (not full foam). If our electric bill goes up $100 I'd end up resenting the spa and the dealer I bought it from. Went to a few other dealers.. Coast spa... pitch is made in the North, for the North. Shell is made like a tank, reinforced with steel, weighs a ton. $5.7K for Tahiti/Paradise model... Mid-large size. (Have not done any wet tests..on any spa .. but we noticed some of the jets on the Coast (and Hydro) gouged our backs, very uncomforatable and annoying. The salesman said w/ water in the tub we would not feel it). We believed him, of course, and selected the colors ... certain the Coast spa was "the one". Then went to 'one more' dealer. Dealer at next store told us no circ pump on Coast spas, and bashed the filtration system (old technology...if a spring goes it's an expensive repair) and that shell warranty meant that if there was a problem we had to ship spa back to BC Canada - at our expense. That dealer had Sundance, Cal Spa and Golf Coast. Golf Coast (non full foam) is eye-catching. About $5.2k for LX-7000 if memory serves. But the shell flexed too much for me.. felt flimsy. IMO Golf Coast and Hyrdo Spa are in the "fake rolex" catagory. Nice looking spas, great value, but not really comparable to the higer end spas. You do get a lot for your money if that's all your budget permits. Beside Golf Coast this dealer also had CalSpa and Sundance. As I mentioned earlier, we really LOVED the Sundance/Optima, but not the $8.8K price tag. This is larger tub (480 gals) than the Hydro Spa $4K tub, the Hydro similar in size to Optima was nearly $6K... so we're to the point of thinking the few addiional thousand may be worth it. Have not heard of Wyndham Spa. Hope that helps.

yes it IS quite a mix! We started off looking at the lower cost ones. But after a closer look at the quality and sturdiness we concluded that you really DO get what you pay for when buying a spa. Also, I'm feeling that if we buy "chevy" or "hyundi" or "wannabe" type spa (think fake rolex), we'd probably have end up kicking ourselves... (especially if/when we had problems). I do think we'll be happier increasing the budget and getting a "cadillac" spa.. And while on the car analogy... I've been joking with friends that we've spent more time looking at spas than we did for the last 4 cars we bought (combined!!!) Why is that? Thanks for all the great info (fact & opinion) on these boards. It's helped us tremenously!

Hi We live in the NorthEast and are looking at buying a Sundance Optima spa. I'm wondering if anyone owning a similar Sundance model living in cold climate could provide thier average montly electical cost? From what I've heard it sounds like avg montly cost is approx $30.. Our friends own a HS Grandee and tell us thier bill increased by only $20... Also, looking to find out what the going price is for this spa. We were quoted $8,880 incl delivery, steps, cover & cover lifter (no ozone). Glad to read that many others are finding spa shopping as overwhelming and stressful as we are! I was beginning to think we are total losers because we'd look at a tub, like it - think it was "the one". Then go into one more store...like another - and think IT was "the one" ... and so on! And then there is the foam/thermo barrier issue! We've looked at Jacuzzi, Hydro spa, Gold Coast, Coast Spas, Hot Spring, Cal Spa... When we sat in the Optima we absolutely LOVED it. But we won't know for sure until we wet test. In advance, Thanks for your feedback.