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Hello there! Although we've been talking about it for a long time, last Saturday my wife and I, on a whim, went into our first spa store in West LA, Pacific Spas and Sauna. We looked around at their spas, and (after dry tests only) we're focused on the Sundance Cameo and the Caldera Cantabria. Although the tub will mostly be for me and my wife, we want a big tub for social gatherings. We like the idea of a lounger, but as I said, no wet tests yet. I started doing research soon thereafter, which led me to this place. And I've already done enough reading in the Hot Tub Water Chemistry to almost scare me off the whole thing. I think I might be a bromine kinda guy, but that's another discussion... I've seen that both Sundance and Caldera seem to be top brands, but other brands like D1 are also getting my attention. I looked on Yelp and saw a bunch of negative reviews of PS&S, which scared the crap out of me. So I wanted to check here. PS&S has a "deal" on a 2011 (?) new Cantabria that was apparently ordered and then the buyer had to back out...whatever. Doesn't matter. The offer on the table is $10K, which includes the spa, hydraulic cover lift (don't know the brand), Durastep, the first batch of Aquafinesse (which, according to what I've read, I may not even use), tax, and delivery. Anyway, I'm here to see if anyone on the boards here have dealt with this dealer. We have a wet test planned for sometime this week, but I'd like to know whether to keep the appointment. I don't want to spend that much money and have the dealer abandon me if I have trouble (which is what almost all of the negative Yelp reviews say). Is this a good price? Is the dealer reputable? What other dealers do people on this board like in SoCal? What other tubs should I be looking at? Thanks in advance.

Hello and thank you in advance for your help. We are purchasing a new hot tub - not our first, but the first time we've purchased ourselves. We are trying to stay under $7000. Powerful jets are my number one concern because I use the tub for serious therapy. I've been looking so far at Caldera - the Vacanza Series, Vanto ($6500 quote), fits our budget but I'm a bit concerned about power and its warranty. The Bullfrog is intriguing - I realize I'll never buy new jetpacks, but it is nice to start with a customized tub (I have a $7500 quote on the R6) I'm hoping to go look at the Dimension One tubs tomorrow but I have no idea if any are in my price range. I had thought the Costco Evolution and/or Divine series tubs looked good, but after reading some posts here I'm not so sure. One local company sells Riviera Spas - haven't been there yet. Also, we need to have at least one side at 84" or less due to space restrictions. Being a small-sized family (all under 5'4") a lounger is probably useless for us - I know our last Caldera spa lounger went unused. Any suggestions/ comments are much appreciated.

I just thought I would share that my search for a spa had ended! After getting frustrated when despite talking to several D1 dealerships in the Twin Cities I was unable to secure a chance to wet test a tub from their Reflections line, I noticed Dolphin Pool and Spa on the side of the highway as I was heading home from another, unhelpful D1 dealership. I decided to pull over and stop in. Right away I noticed their low key attitude and I liked that. My salesrep, Margo was friendly and helpful. She seemed to answer questions honestly and in a straight forward manner. Since I liked what I saw, I made arrangements to come back the next day to wet test the Cantabria, the largest tub in their luxury line, the Utopia series. So yesterday, with a friend along for the ride, we went to test out the Cantabria. This is a big tub with lots of features. Some key points for me was that I seemed to stay in the lounger and the deep captains seats. Often, I feel like I'm floundering around in tubs, trying not to bounce around like a superball! Caldera was smart in their design and there always seemed to be a place for my feet where I could brace myself gently in place. The jets were vigorous and seemed to hit me in the right places to sooth some of my worst trigger points. Margot gave us an initial orientation to the jets and diverter functions so that we knew how to control the tub, and then left us to enjoy it. She handled that perfectly in that she was helpful but not intrusive. There are a lot of hot tub salesmen in the Twin Cities who could learn from her example how to make a customer happy! After the wet test I talked with her about price. She told me the initial prices they had set for the two Cantabria models they had available without special ordering. I told her which one I was interested in and where I needed the price to be as this tub is being covered on an insurance claim and the insurance company has given me a budget. She excused herself, then came back and said they would accept my price! So I signed papers and wrote a check right then and there. I am now the proud new owner of a Caldera Cantabria with all the bells and whistles! The price Dolphin accepted is a very reasonable price for what is Caldera's flagship, top of the line, luxury tub! At so many dealerships, I would get this uneasy feeling that I was being manipulated and taken advantage of, particularly because I was a woman shopping alone it seemed. At other dealerships when I would try to negotiate with them for a spa in their luxury lines they would act very snooty and direct me to their mid-level line. There was a HotSprings salesman in particular that looked very angry at me when I tried to discuss price on their Grandee tub, and they had it tagged thousands of dollars higher than what I have read on this board is a good, honest price for a new Grandee. I will never forget that man's face! And needless to say I walked out of there and didn't bother to return. If someone is going to be angry that I will not allow myself to be taken advantage of, then I don't need to have anything to do with them. Another dealership didn't want to bargain on their price as they said the State Fair is coming up and they needed their new tubs to bring to the fair, so it wasn't worth it to them to bargain at all. I thought that was an odd way to look at the situation to say the least, especially when the fair is still 6-7 weeks away! At Dolphin, I felt like I was respected, appreciated, and given a good price and an honest deal. They seemed to be happy to treat me well! In fact, Margo described herself to me as a people person who got her job satisfaction from making people happy. Well, she did make me happy, without a doubt! Dolphin not only sold me a spa, but as a pool and spa owner they won my loyalty for purchases for years to come!

Why does the manual (Caldera) say "DON’T use household bleach (liquid sodium hypochlorite)." and what am I supposed to use in the 3 Step Bromine from the Bromine For Beginners which says that I need to use household bleach to shock the system to get it going. I believe one alternative is to use a non-chlorine shock, but I'd like to understand why I'm not supposed to use household unscented bleach like the Bromine For Beginners thread says. What other Chlorine Shock options do I have? I don't mind spending a little bit more if there is a decent reason, but I'd like to understand what's going on. I am buying a used Caldera tub with the Spa Frog System in-line. It seems to have been maintained well but I am going to do a thorough Nitro Decontamination anyway and I want to make sure that on my first REAL fill after the Decontamination that I do the best job I can with the 3 Step Bromine Method while still attempting to follow the manufacturer's "rules" assuming they are legit. Maybe I'll stick with a non-Chlorine based shock, but I like learning instead of following blindly. I have started learning and I'm already making a whole shopping list of things to buy, first and foremost is the Taylor K-2106, Second Filter, SeaKlear Spa System Flush, Hose Prefilter (semi-rural water system, so better than a well, but probably more metals and calcium than the city.), maybe a digital meter as a sanity check on the Taylor or as a "quick check" but I need to do more reading to see if any of them are really accurate enough. I'm also buying the Spa Frog cartridges for the minerals and the bromine dispenser, but I really like the idea of adding the initial fill bromine required to set the level without the cartridge and maybe make the cartridge last a little longer, and the shortlist of other chems I'll need to manage the water qualities as per the Bromine for Beginners thread. I think everything is making sense except that pesky Don't use household bleach versus use household unscented bleach conflict. Disclaimer: I did a silly thing. I attempted to do a search for Caldera Bleach, Household Bleach, and other variations and I either found nothing or I looked through the staggering results and didn't see anything that addressed my Hot Tub Manual telling me no. So, please forgive me if I missed something. I tried. Really. (I even enlisted Google.) Thanks!

Hey everyone, So I've been doing a good deal of research on a new spa purchase. I know I want a larger tub, that is preferably deeper(I'm a larger fella, tall and heavy, but not huge). A big plus for me in a tub is easy maintenance, with lower to no odor, and minimal skin irritation. I'd like something my girlfriend and myself can stretch out in, but also that will accommodate several people for when we have parties. I intend to build a Sauna in close-ish vicinity to the tub, not that this is all that relevant, but I'm assuming you guys and gals have more experience with this, so who knows, perhaps it's a point to be made. Anyhow, build quality and energy consumption are huge selling points for me, as I'd like a tub that is low maintenance, durable in southern Michigan winters, won't cost me a ton to maintain in both price and time, and will cause me less hassle in the long run. I know that a good relationship with a dealer is extremely important, so that aside, assuming they all give equal service, what are your thought on Models, and brands I should be looking at, methods for getting the best price, and filtration and sanitization methods and add-ons for these models, to make maintenance as easy and cost effective as possible. Also, are there any brands that simply just blow the competition out of the water in terms of any of these specifics? Thanks for your input, and try not to make this a soap box for disdain.