IL Parrothead

Merry Christmas everyone!

Can we all just choose to ignore him? I'm ready for him to just say "Nah-nah-nah-nah-NAH-nah!"

Yeah, it's become obvious by his lack of logical argument that Soaker is either: a) a Costco employee; or a very stubborn person who bought a spa from Costco that refuses to believe he may have bought a lower quality or lower featured spa than the other ones discussed on this forum.

My Jacuzzi salesman indicated that the lighter shell colors definitely show the lights better.

And, Soakerman, there have been a few past threads about the difference between a full-featured HS and the Highlife (or whatever it was called) manufactured by HS for Costco. Big difference. Hence the large price difference. And, I had heard HS stopped selling to Costco. Looking at the Costco website, it doesn't appear they're selling those tubs anymore. To echo what I believe Chas said (and what I said earlier), I hope Mike LOVES his spa. We all do. But let's compare apples to apples. You can buy less and pay less. And if you don't insulate it, you'll end up paying the same (or more) than if you had gone with one of the top tubs, which admittedly initially cost more. And you may not have the same level of reliability or service. That's it.

Yeah Soakerman, I'm not a dealer. I'm just a consumer looking to buy a hot tub soon. But I have no delusions that the tubs you're buying at Walmart, Costco or other big box stores are equal quality to HS, D1, Marquis, Jacuzzi, Caldera, Sundance, etc. You definitely get what you pay for. Costco could probably (assuming one of the top tub manufacturers would agree to it) sell a top-notch tub less than a small dealer could, but not for thousands less -- maybe hundreds. Costco obviously chooses to sell a much lower cost tub, but I haven't heard anyone argue that it's the same as the top tubs. Even the HS designed tub Costco was selling for a while had significantly fewer features than HS's regular tubs. That's not to say someone couldn't buy a Costco tub and enjoy a nice soak. But if you're looking for top therapy, top quality, top service and top energy efficiency, almost all of the people I've chatted with on this site and others would say go to the top manufacturers.

I agree with Chas. They're both well-made, well-respected tubs. It's very subjective, which is why wet testing is the king. I personally slightly prefer HS over Sundance, but they're both nice.

Waterboy, I know nothing about Pacific Spas. I'll only comment that Sundance is consistently ranked in everyone's Top 10 list of spas on every forum I frequent.

Actually (and I am a lawyer), you can limit your liability before something happens. Warning signs are a good start. But -- in the same vein as not wanting to appear commercial -- your supervision of your guests and not filling their gullet with booze or letting them get in the tub if they're sloshed can help quite a bit as well.

I recently wet tested J480, Sundance Optima and Maxxus and Marquis Epic. My faves were J480 and Epic. Sundance jets were definitely stronger than Jacuzzi, but not necessarily in a good way. My wife had the itchy -- pins and needles sensation with Sundance. I did feel itchy, but nothing painful. Jacuzzi and Marquis both gave me very relaxing, thorough hydrotherapy. And my wife LOVES the idea of the therapy pillar on the Epic.

Very nice! What make/model?

Waterboy, I'm 5'11", so we might have the same experiences on fit. Consider wet testing the following, that fit me well (if there's a dealer near you): Marquis Epic, D1 Chairman II, Jacuzzi J480 Or, because of the height difference between you and your wife, look at the no-lounge models (HS Vanguard and Grandee, for example). From what I've read elsewhere on this and other forums, our US pricing could be substantially different than you in BC.

Very nice!

Matt, I wouldn't worry about buying a wet floor model. The only thing I'd say is that a lot of dealers will discount their tubs more than yours. Although, I will say the Jacuzzi dealer in my area didn't come down a whole lot on his wet floor model. But he moves a lot of tubs, so he probably doesn't have to. J470 is an awesome tub. No matter what, you can't go wrong!

Thanks Spatech and Roger.

Saw a 3 y/o LA Spas Esteem for sale for $2495 obo. Any opinions on tub or price?

The easy answer, on legal liability, is if you cause the person to get hammered, or invite an obviously smashed person into your tub you could be held liable. Otherwise, soaker beware!

But all of this fighting was unexpected. I really wasn't talking about whether consumers believed all 325 sq. ft. of filters were being used by the circ pump. I was just asking for someone to support the argument how WHEN THE JETS ARE MOVING THE WATER other tubs can accomplish (assuming they can) similar clean filtration with 100 sq. ft. or so of filtration versus the HS 325 sq. ft.

Tiny, I'm not a HS person, but how I understand bypass versus non-bypass is this: If you look in the footwell area of most tubs you see circular screened intakes or domes -- they have a plastic housing -- almost like a mesh. When the jets are turned on in those types of tubs, water is drawn through those intakes. The theory I've always heard is it allows the jets to have more power with less of a strain than the HS system where all the water gets pulled into the filter compartment before it goes to the jets. Hope that helps.

TravelingSpaGuy, just curious about your comment, as Marquis is one of the tubs I'm narrowed down to (along with HS and Jacuzzi). First, upon what do you base your overpriced comment? Marquis seems to follow the same price point as HS. I could see if you were talking Jacuzzi (J400 Series), Sundance (880 Series) or D1 (Bay Series), but otherwise I'm lost. Second, as to taking things out, are you referring to circ pumps?

Tyler, the tri-zone demo is there, but it's hard to find now. You have to click on Marquis difference, then powerful relief, then trizone therapy. My wife and I spent a while looking for it yesterday. And rel, my wife's favorite feature was the therapy pillar, which your tub does have. Enjoy.

I just answered my own question. Epic has the Tri-Zone and 3 sets of neck jets.

Congratulations! That's an awesome tub! My wife and I are thinking about the Epic. It seems the Euphoria is the same, without a lounger. (Any Marquis dealers -- is that right?) Let us know how you like it, please post pics when up & running. And for me, please let me know how you like the bromine frog system.

Slash, what kind of price point or range did you see with Master?

Medic, why don't you tell us what brand you have versus the other grandparents. Maybe we can start a thread on the tubs most desired by 2 y/o's. LOL