spjordan

I recently had a deck built around my Sundance Altimar, and the contractor left almost 18 inches all the way around the spa. Then they built a step that covered the opening. Now if I need access, all I need to do is slide the steps away. It looks very professional, and is very functional.

I can only speak for the Sundance Altamar as I just purchased ours three weeks ago. I love the spa and the service that I've received so far from my dealer, but it is not in the same price range as your other options. I paid $7995 for the floor model (with acccesories, chemicals and no stereo). I highly recommend wet testing those spas if you haven't done that yet. It makes a big difference in my opinion.

I looked at the same two spas. Actually, I looked at what seems like hundreds of spas at a recent homeshow, and we decided on the Altamar. We liked some of the features of the Jacuzzi; like the LBI lights (Low beverage indicatators) but it really came down to fit, and the Sundance fit my wife and I perfectly. We've had the spa for two weeks now, and we absolutely love it. Bought the Altamar with the mahoghany finish. It looks stunning, and it is extremely comfortable. Service from our local Sundance dealer couldn't be any better. The whole process was smooth. We purchased the floor model from the homeshow, and wet tested the same model a few days later just to make sure it was the right fit. The dealership was extremely accomodating and would have refunded our purchase price if we had decided that we didn't want it. Jacuzzi purchased Sundance, and they are similar in many ways. We paid $7995 for ours with the Coverlift III, chemicals, Microfilter, Silveroxide "Spa Frog" and Ozonator. They threw in a spa pillow, which is helpful for my 5 year old, and some really nice Sundance robes. This was AFTER the sale. We didn't get it with a stereo because it wasn't important to us. We preffer silence and conversation while soaking. To each his own. I can't say enough good things about both the experience and the tub itself. We've been soaking happily and hope to for many years. Go with either one and you'll be happy. If you're on the fence between both spas, pick the better of the two dealers for your deciding factor. Hope this helps!

Kind of funny how far off the subject of pricing this went. Patrick asked about spa prices and recieved a whole lot more than he aksed for. I won't claim to be an expert either, in fact, I'm new to all this. I'm sure there are pros an cons either way, and I gave a lot of thought to this before I puchased my Spa last week. It seems to me though, that using a fully foamed spa would act almost like a thermos. If I were relying on waste heat from a motor to help heat my spa, then two things come to mind. What keeps the water temperature from rising above the desired temperature, and two, if the spas shell was made of quality materials, wouldn't the shell repell or block the heat anyway? My neighbor has a fully foamed Sundance Optima that he's had for the past eight years. In that time he's never had any problems, and has moved his spa twice. His electric bills are between 8 dollars in the summer to 18 in the winter with heavy use in a cold climate. By the way Jim, the Phoenix spa which you highly tout, is fully foamed.

Anyone had any experience using spa pads to set their spas on? I'm sure results may vary depending where you are in the country with some being exposed to frost heaves, etc. Any thoughts?

Chas, VTX1800CMan, Chris H and Jim the Jim. Thanks for your thoughts and opinions. I feel confident that I made the right decision. I'm learning Jim that you have some stake with Phoenix, and that's fine. Maybe they do offer some good products. I did see the photographs of the Phoenix plant however , and I think its apalling. You said they've made improvements. It would be nice to see those updated photos. I think that those photos says volumes about the kind of company they are running. I seriously doubt you'd see a Jacuzzi or Sundance factory looking like that. Thanks again.

Thank you to those who replied regarding the Phoenix Spas. After countless hours of research both here in this forum and at the dealerships and home show, I decided to go by way of the Sundance spas. It came down to two contributing factors. #1, I just couldn't find enough information about the Phoenix Spas to feel comfortable. Do a google search or visit their website, and you don't learn a whole lot. With the exception of the few people who replied here, I just didn't have a good enough "gut" feeling about them to want to spend the $8,000. Reason number two; after sitting in almost every manufacturers model at a recent home show, I was impressed with the quality of the Sundance/Jacuuzi brands, and most importantly, they fit like an old pair of comfortable sneakers. We knew as soon as we stepped into it and tried out every seat. Going for our wet test today, which I'm sure will confirm what I felt at the home show. I think that overall, buying a brand like Sundance or Hotspring is like buying from Toyota or Honda. You might pay a bit more and have a few less shiny options like you would in a Cadilac, but you are buying a well made product from a reputable company. Any thoughts???

Jim, thanks for the reply. For a minute, I thought you were the salesman that I talked with yesterday! After reading your reply, I was totally convinced that I should buy the model that I saw yesterday, then I came across this link: http://www.selberg.org/~speed/havenspas/fi...ory/factory.htm Now I don't know what to think. I doubt the Hot springs or Sundance factorys look like this!

I've spent the past few days looking at spas, and I've been contemplating purchasing a Phoenix spa for around $7300. I came across the Costco spas yesterday, and it looked like a pretty decent deal; until I read the posts on this web site. I looked at the other top brands in the area, Hot Springs, Arctic, and Clear Water, and they were good spas but very pricey in my opinion. The Phoenix spa has everything I'm looking for for about 2,000 less than comperable tubs from the competitiors. Does anyone have any advice to offer?