lucyinpa

We decided it was very important to wet test, and so we went to a showroom much further from home the other night to wet test the Sundance Hartford. We really really liked it, except for a couple of things. 1. We are both very tall, and found the next jets did a great job of massaging our upper backs and it comes with a stupid waterfall, which we really could care less about, and it's just another thing to break, and take power away from the rest of the jets (it doesn't turn off). We are going to wet test the LA Spas Maui this weekend, but the more research I do, the less inclined I am to go that route. I think we'll probably buy the Sundance because other than those couple of little things, it meets all our needs, and the jets really do feel good. We both have bad backs...and we would rather get a basic good tub than a fancy crappy tub for our limited budget. Thanks for the advice. Have you been wet testing to this point? I saw in your original post you decided against one brand because you said Sundance has the better therapy but now I'm wondering if you determined that in a wet test or whether you were just convinced of that by a salesperson. If it’s the latter, let them give you their take on their spas but let the wet test decide for yourself. Don't rule out or in any spas by their factual sounding statements. I've seen many people wet test 2 spas for instance where one was the obvious winner before the test and the other was just being tested for the heck of it and the customer did a 180 after the wet test.

Thanks to both of you for your comments. We really like the two dealers that we have found, and feel that it is likely that after sales service will be good, so we are sticking with these two choices. The Hawthorne is not an option for us as we are pushing it size-wise with the Hartford...we had originally planned on a 6'6" tub, and 7'4" is the outer limit we can do given the shape of the area designated for it on the deck, if we want to be able to have access on all sides for repairmen! So the Hartford is the one. Am glad to hear that there should be some wiggle room in the price. We are planning on just offering $6500 and see what they do...we are going to see if one of their other locations has the hartford available for a wet-test...

Good afternoon all, My husband and I are in the throes of deciding what hottub to buy. Our experience is only with an old Jacuzzi that we bought on Craigslist, used the heck out of it for 6 months, and then scrapped it when it died and the repair bill was too high. We were originally going to go totally budget conscious and buy one from Leslie's or a big box store. But after reading this forum, we decided to do a little better than that. Our budget is really only $6000 but we have found we will need to go over that a little. We are not interested in bells and whistles - hydrotherapy is most important, along with having room to move. And we haven't found anything in our price range with a long enough lounger (we are both very tall) so decided to go with a tub without a lounger. We have narrowed it down to two tubs - we looked at Dimension One as well, but weren't at all impressed by the dealer, so walked away from that. Also looked at Hot Springs Limelight, but understand that the therapy value isn't as high as with the Sundance 680 range, so nixed that option. 1. LA Spas Maui - they have the 1 pump version in stock, and we will wet test this week. No frills, except it includes steel reinforced cover, steps, lifter delivery and setup. It is partial foam - which of course the dealer thinks is better due to servicing issues with full foam. 2. Sundance Hartford. No extra frills, but price includes ozonator, cover, steps, lifter, delivery and setup. This one is fully foamed. The dealer of course thinks this is better as it gives better support to the plumbing, thus resulting in fewer leaks. We can get the LA Spas Maui for $6500 including 6% tax and everything, and may be able to push it down another $100 or so. And it's in stock, so we could have it on our new deck the day after it's finished (in a couple of weeks). The Sundance has to be ordered, as they don't have any in stock, but have another we can wet test that they say will feel similar. The dealer, with no negotiations yet, came up with just short of $6900 including tax and everything. We like the Sundance model better - 2 pumps, and a slightly nicer jet setup - but can't wet test it. And really don't want to go that high. So would have to see if we could get the price down. Any advice on these two models and whether the prices seem right...any dealers who can tell me if there's any wiggle room in those prices? Many thanks for any advice you can offer.