cokenbeer

Then please explain to me your statements about 5 years of Jacuzzi /Sundance posting a loss and being almost bankrupt when they were being acquired. Apollo Management sure thought they were worth 1.25 billion when they acquired them. So the dealer near you closed and you generalize that to the whole world? A quick search showed a dealer about 24 miles away from downtown Denver. The closest dealer to me is 6.7 miles. What does that prove? Absolutly nothing. How many dealers have dropped the Sundance line? Give me some numbers. What trouble are they in? They have seemed to make 75.1 million dollars in the past five years when you said they had been loosing money for the last five years. Are you implying that most large corporations are breaking the law and the whole stockmarket is based on made up performance numbers? Has Jacuzzi Brands filed inaccurate information with the SEC? Please show us the proof. If you have proof there would be a major lawsuit from the stock holders and legal action from the SEC. Apollo Management, L.P. went through the books with a fine-tooth comb before closing the deal. I'm sure they found nothing wrong with the books or the deal would have not gone through. Let's also look at the stock price for the last five years before the were acquired. It seems some people thought they were a good investment. This "managment" group, Apollo Management L.P., is a private equity L.P. firm with major holdings including GE Advanced Materials, Harrah's Entertainment Inc., Smart & Final Inc., Linens 'n Things, AMC Entertainment, ... I think they know what they are doing when they invest in a company. Claims based on fact don't faze Jim in the least. I actually did a little research based on his claims. I looked at a Costco spa here in Canada, I'm not sure if they're the same you have in the states, and I can see why there is a market for them. There will always be a market for a bargain shopper and that's great. However, I also looked at several other spas from companies that make "crap", i.e. Hotspring, Jacuzzi, Sundance, etc. and even stopped into my local Arctic dealer. Problem number 1) When I bought my spa I wet tested about 7 models before deciding on the Sundance. They all worked well but I will say the remote with the stereo in the hotspring was confusing to say the least, the tub itself was great. They ALL seemed to be great quality, and they had models there with all the side panels off so I could check the insides. The shell on the Sundance should hold up well to anything, I even got in and jumped, and I weigh 250 lbs. Costco however... I was alone, unable to test it, the controls felt cheap and flimsy, and when I asked to look inside, they said no. Number 2) The costco spa was obviously offering no dealer support whatsoever. Since our spa was delivered our dealer stopped by twice. Once to add an ozone system and interface so the jets would be controllable from the remote. A second time to just check and see how we liked it. He also ordered us two new side panels as ours were scratched at some point in transit. I'm more than pleased with the service we're getting. If my spa from costco were scratched it would definitely be more of a hassle. However, to each his own! The costco spa came in at about 6000 less than our Sundance Maxxus. However when you throw in the extras we recieved for free plus the fact that our dealer picked up our old spa and gave us 2000 for it, it was REALLY a no brainer. I also did a little research based on claims of their financial hardships, and found reports similar to what Egbert posted earlier. If they are going through such a difficult time why are all financial reports indicating otherwise?

It seems more and more clear that Jims goal is to spread misinformation and tout it as a factual statement. I still don't understand why somebody with nothing helpful or positive to post is still allowed to post.

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I think people should entirely ignore posts by Jim. He's clearly just a cranky person by nature. I've never visited a forum where one person made so many statements without a single fact to back them up.

I would like to know what Jim bases his opinions on. I'd also like to know what HE considers to be a quality spa. I see a lot more negativity out of him than everybody else here combined. To the OP, I just bought a Sundance Maxxus and am very happy with it thus far. I really don't see how you can go wrong with a company like Sundance, Jacuzzi, D1, Hotspring, or any other of the tier 1 manufacturers. Keep in mind, that it's you who will be sitting in the spa every night not anybody on this forum so it's you who should be happy. Take the opinions of posters on here with a grain of salt, and come to your own conclusions. Definitely some good info on here, but you have to be able to make your own decision. Wet test it, if you like it, go for it!

I believe your combined chlorine is too high. Try shocking it with bleach bringing the Free Chlorine to about 12 ppm and it should clear things up. Also, your TA is too low. You should try to bring it up to above 50. On a side note, I had an infinity spa before. I had a hell of a time keeping that thing clean.

So, I've wet tested the following spas in the past two days: Hotspring Grandee Hotspring Vista Caldera Niagara Caldera Genava Jacuzzi J-480 Sundance Maxxus Catalina XL 26000 LA Spa HEET Myself, my girfriend, brother and sister all went to wet test, to make sure that it was comfortable with several people. The Jacuzzi, and Caldera were disappointing to everybody. The Jacuzzi lounge chair was too short, and there wasn't as much space in the footwell as we'd like to have. The Caldera had a few nice features, and a few not so nice. The footwell was great and kept people from floating, however, the seats that went over the shoulders were too small for anybody over 5'6". Those seats also made you feel like you were in a neck brace. The LA spa and Catalina XL were alright. They were relatively comfortable however we all found that we floated out of the seats in the LA spa, and found the Catalina to be overly claustrophobic. The catalina's footwell was crowded, not by feet, but instead by the jets and the bump in the floor. The two hotspring spas were great. There was a little floating in the seats for the lighter people but for the most part everybody was comfortable. We all liked the moto-massage and the aesthetics. The Grandee was more comfortable than the vista for larger people as the lounge in the vista was kind of small. Also the jets for your shoulders were too low on larger people. The Sundance was by far the best. Everybody fit very comfortably in it and there was nothing that we could find wrong with it. The lounge was great even for somebody who's over 6'. In all the chairs there was no problem with floating and the jets were very comfortable. The large size would allow us to have 6 people quite comfortably, and the footwell was great. We've decided to go with the Sundance. For all those people looking at a spa, make sure to try it before you even consider buying it! Had I not tested all the spas I'd have nothing to go on and probably would have bought the Jacuzzi or Hotspring. It could have been a lot of money spent for something that wasn't right for us.

1) I was making a point comparing hyundai to BMW, get over it, I won't buy a hyundai. 2) I don't want a costco hot tub, there are plenty of people on here who given the disposable income would buy a hotspring over a Hydrospa. 3) Please don't hijack the thread, I thank you for your input, I hope you enjoy your hot tub, however it's not for me.

I haven't checked out the costco tubs, but in reality I think I'm going to stick to one of the larger manufacturers. Money isn't an issue as much as convenience and quality. I definitely think that if I were in a position where there was a budget I'd check out the costco spas, however, to me and my family, the time saved adding insulation or any other DIY jobs far outweigh the difference in price. I'm not knocking the costco tubs in any way, just going by what I've read on here. Also, with the dealers I'm looking at, there are 24 hour technicians available and they look after delivery, install, and are going to start the spa up for us. I compare it to hyundai commercials, where they compare their car to a BMW. Sure the Hyundai has some of the features for a lot less money, and even offers some things that are optional on the bimmer, however, BMW is the car for me each and every day and no Hyundai will match the quality. No hyundai dealer will change my brakes under warranty, and no hyundai dealer will give me a 70k loaner while mines in the shop. You work hard for your money, so you have to enjoy the little time you get off.

Alright, so tomorrow I'm going to be wet testing the Hotspring Vista and Grandee, also the Jacuzzi J-480 and Sundance Maxxus. Hopefully this narrows things down.

I'm going to try to wet test the Hot Springs Vista, and the Jacuzzi J-480. I guess I'm kind of turned off Clearwater based on the fact that they are a smaller company, not enough is known about them, warranty work could be a hassle, and it will cost me more. At least Jacuzzi or Hot Spring will have some sort of support.

What other spas should I look at? I'm not worried so much about the money, just want to make sure that it is good quality and something we can enjoy.

I was quoted 15.5k CAD on the Orlando, that's with all features possible. It has the Salt Filtration system, speakers, includes the cover, stairs, and a few other things. It was regularly priced at 18k, but it has been on the floor. No visible damage and includes the full warranty.

Hmmm, not too popular I see,,,

Hey there, I've just started looking at new spas and am wondering what the opinion is on clearwater spas? I've mostly read good things about them and it is very comfortable and well equipped. The model I'm looking at is the Orlando. It's got all the options and is sitting on the dealers floor. I'd also like to know about the Salt Filtration system that it uses. The dealer said it's very simple to use and requires a lot less work than the traditional filtration systems. If anybody has any thoughts on this spa and more importantly any info on the filtration system it would be greatly appreciated. Also if there are any suggestions for other spas we should be checking out. We looked at the Hotspring Vista, however were not impressed by the moto massage.