Clare

Thank you. That's very helpful. It was another dealer who told us about the Dimension One Spas going out of business- I see from looking at the website that there is a dealer near us (I will need to check if still active though). We didn't get to test a Sundance Optima or Cameo this weekend, only an Altamar which was too small. So next weekend, we are wet testing the Optima and Cameo as well as the hydropool 800. Although very comfortable we found the marquis Epic's controls confusing (tri zone). From the reviews I have seen, I seem to recall that DImension One was up there with Sundance (?) in terms of quality so I think we will add it to our list to wet test. We were also thinking of giving Coleman's a go... May I ask what spa you finally decided to go with?

My husband and I are looking at purchasing a hot tub. We live in the UK and so the range of makes available to us here is not as great as the USA (+ they are twice the price than the US). I have found this forum very useful in identifying which makes were worth looking into. We originally got the idea of getting a hot tub by visiting a Coleman showroom which was adjacent to a garden centre we were "visiting". We really liked the Coleman 471 and were ready to purchase it there and then. Coleman's does not seem to be rated very highly or mentioned in any of our Spa review magazines over here. I don't really understand why... After several hours looking through internet and magazines, on the advice of this forum, we lined up a number of wet testings this weekend. Today we wet tested the Marquis Epic (2007) and a Hydropool (can't remember the numer). I'm 5'11 and my husband's 6'6 so we were keen to ensure that seating positions, depth and jet positioning were all OK. Tomorrow we are wet testing a Sundance Cameo or Optima and a Hot Springs Envoy (although the saleswoman advised us to get a Summit because of our height). We would have liked to try out a Dimension One but the dealer over in the uK went broke I believe. Based on today's tests, the Hydropool 800 is looking attractive. Per the salesman, the main advantage of their system is that the filter is not in the tub so that when you take it out, you don't "rinse"it through the tub water, hence avoiding putting the particles back in the water. Also it only gets changed once a year. The tub also runs on a 12 hour cycle, does not have air blowers so not so noisy on circulation... (we live in a built up area so want the tub to make the least noise possible when not in use) I have not seen anyone mention Hydropool on this forum - these are Canadian tubs per the literature. Please let me know if you have any experience of this make. Thank you