I've started the process for my first hot tub purchanse by looking at Hot Springs Vanguard, Tiger River Caspian, Jacuzzi J-365 and Sundance Chelsee. Frankly, I'm not sure I'm comparing apples to apples (it depends on who you talk to). The Sundance dealer down here says that the Chelsee is comparable to both the Tiger River and Hot Springs; I would have thought the Hot Springs would have matched up with the 880 series on Sundance (and the 400 series in Jacuzzi). The Hot Springs dealer seemed to think so too.
Frankly, I'm not sure my budget gets me to the Vanguard level (though the price quotes seems closer than I expected, and coupled with the ozone and power box included, it's probably the same). I don't like the Caspian's jet package as much as the other two so it could be that the 365/Chelsee/Vanguard are the most likely scenarios.
Are there "natural" competitors here?
Does the Jacuzzi 400 series match up with Hot Springs and Sundance 880
and therefore
Does the Jacuzzi 300 series match up with Tiger River (and Limelight, perhaps) and Sundance 780 series?
I'm guesing that maybe it's just not that simple. I haven't pushed too hard on any of the intial quotes but the 365 and Chelsee seem to be around $1,000 less than the Vanguard (again not factoring in the electrical box and ozone that the Vanguard comes with).
Looking for some opinions on how to compare these tubs. Are they true competitors? I've read a similar post regarding Tiger River and the 365....and one on the 365 compared to the Majesta, but haven't seen the Vanguard thrown in there.
Thanks!