Down East Spas

[ems]

hi - just put money down on a down east spa at one of those expo shows ... did not know about this forum and now feeling uneasy about the decision after reading all comments (wish i would have known about this site) anyway, is it the marketing scam that is objectionable or the spa itself? the spa seemed great and had a lot of features we liked. would appreciate feedback.

thanks

[ncspa]

hi - just put money down on a down east spa at one of those expo shows ... did not know about this forum and now feeling uneasy about the decision after reading all comments (wish i would have known about this site) anyway, is it the marketing scam that is objectionable or the spa itself? the spa seemed great and had a lot of features we liked. would appreciate feedback.

thanks

Hope it works for you. I just about did the same (had my money ready for a Down East Exeter), but was rescued by this site just in time! I ended up going with a Marquis and we love it (was about 1.5K more).

I think you'll find the following, but see what others say:

1. Many of the complaints with Master have to do with sales tactics rather than quality (of course you've figured that Down East is a Master brand).

2. That said, I don't find that many put Master in the same category with 'top tier' brands such as HS, Marquis, Sundance, Jacuzzi, D1, etc.

3. One of the big issues with these tubs is insulation, and that seems to be the most common complaint. In fact, you'll find others that write in reporting that they're happy with their tubs (check out BODark for one). But, Master doesn't seem to have 'mastered' (sorry!) the isonine insulation business. You'll get some debate about this, but most folks agree that full foam is the way to go, and no one (except, from what I've read, Arctic - maybe a few others?) does the partial foam well.

So, if it turns out that insulation is your major issue (causing high electric bills, which is what you'll find here), you may be able to do some supplemental insulating. See other posts in the forum for ideas on how to do this.

Good luck - hope that it all turns out great for you.

[ems]

hi - just put money down on a down east spa at one of those expo shows ... did not know about this forum and now feeling uneasy about the decision after reading all comments (wish i would have known about this site) anyway, is it the marketing scam that is objectionable or the spa itself? the spa seemed great and had a lot of features we liked. would appreciate feedback.

thanks

Hope it works for you. I just about did the same (had my money ready for a Down East Exeter), but was rescued by this site just in time! I ended up going with a Marquis and we love it (was about 1.5K more).

I think you'll find the following, but see what others say:

1. Many of the complaints with Master have to do with sales tactics rather than quality (of course you've figured that Down East is a Master brand).

2. That said, I don't find that many put Master in the same category with 'top tier' brands such as HS, Marquis, Sundance, Jacuzzi, D1, etc.

3. One of the big issues with these tubs is insulation, and that seems to be the most common complaint. In fact, you'll find others that write in reporting that they're happy with their tubs (check out BODark for one). But, Master doesn't seem to have 'mastered' (sorry!) the isonine insulation business. You'll get some debate about this, but most folks agree that full foam is the way to go, and no one (except, from what I've read, Arctic - maybe a few others?) does the partial foam well.

So, if it turns out that insulation is your major issue (causing high electric bills, which is what you'll find here), you may be able to do some supplemental insulating. See other posts in the forum for ideas on how to do this.

Good luck - hope that it all turns out great for you.

thanks for the reply ... what marquis did you end up with?

[ncspa]

hi - just put money down on a down east spa at one of those expo shows ... did not know about this forum and now feeling uneasy about the decision after reading all comments (wish i would have known about this site) anyway, is it the marketing scam that is objectionable or the spa itself? the spa seemed great and had a lot of features we liked. would appreciate feedback.

thanks

Hope it works for you. I just about did the same (had my money ready for a Down East Exeter), but was rescued by this site just in time! I ended up going with a Marquis and we love it (was about 1.5K more).

I think you'll find the following, but see what others say:

1. Many of the complaints with Master have to do with sales tactics rather than quality (of course you've figured that Down East is a Master brand).

2. That said, I don't find that many put Master in the same category with 'top tier' brands such as HS, Marquis, Sundance, Jacuzzi, D1, etc.

3. One of the big issues with these tubs is insulation, and that seems to be the most common complaint. In fact, you'll find others that write in reporting that they're happy with their tubs (check out BODark for one). But, Master doesn't seem to have 'mastered' (sorry!) the isonine insulation business. You'll get some debate about this, but most folks agree that full foam is the way to go, and no one (except, from what I've read, Arctic - maybe a few others?) does the partial foam well.

So, if it turns out that insulation is your major issue (causing high electric bills, which is what you'll find here), you may be able to do some supplemental insulating. See other posts in the forum for ideas on how to do this.

Good luck - hope that it all turns out great for you.

thanks for the reply ... what marquis did you end up with?

Marquis Reward. It's been fantastic so far.....

[ems]

hi - just put money down on a down east spa at one of those expo shows ... did not know about this forum and now feeling uneasy about the decision after reading all comments (wish i would have known about this site) anyway, is it the marketing scam that is objectionable or the spa itself? the spa seemed great and had a lot of features we liked. would appreciate feedback.

thanks

Hope it works for you. I just about did the same (had my money ready for a Down East Exeter), but was rescued by this site just in time! I ended up going with a Marquis and we love it (was about 1.5K more).

I think you'll find the following, but see what others say:

1. Many of the complaints with Master have to do with sales tactics rather than quality (of course you've figured that Down East is a Master brand).

2. That said, I don't find that many put Master in the same category with 'top tier' brands such as HS, Marquis, Sundance, Jacuzzi, D1, etc.

3. One of the big issues with these tubs is insulation, and that seems to be the most common complaint. In fact, you'll find others that write in reporting that they're happy with their tubs (check out BODark for one). But, Master doesn't seem to have 'mastered' (sorry!) the isonine insulation business. You'll get some debate about this, but most folks agree that full foam is the way to go, and no one (except, from what I've read, Arctic - maybe a few others?) does the partial foam well.

So, if it turns out that insulation is your major issue (causing high electric bills, which is what you'll find here), you may be able to do some supplemental insulating. See other posts in the forum for ideas on how to do this.

Good luck - hope that it all turns out great for you.

thanks for the reply ... what marquis did you end up with?

Marquis Reward. It's been fantastic so far.....

hi - that is great and you were lucky that you walked away from the master spa deal. i am having a hard time getting my deposit refunded. apparently the distributor for master spas is very shady and after some research it seems that i am not the only one who this has happened to ...

i am in california and it seems that master spa's distrbutors conduct business this way in other states. the wisconsin department of justice has filed legal action against a firm that sells spas at wisconsin state fair park, alleging the firm failed to tell customer of their right to cancel sales. i found this at the www.whatsthebest-hotub.com site. so buyer beware ...

[Chris W]

I own a Down East Windsor SE, and I've been quite happy with it. So far the spa has performed flawlessly, It has two seats with heavy therapy, three with moderate therapy and a couple cool down locations. I love the fact that it has no diverter valves and you can have full therapy at all of the seats at the same time. I've had a bit of fun swapping in different combinations of jet patterns (Waterway storm series.) The standard jets were good, but I like to tinker and experiment So far I've been able to find a variety of jets for next to nothing on E-bay. I live in the Phoenix area so my bigger concern is not ultimate insulation, but the ability to avoid heat build-up in the cabinet in the summer. During the winter months, I have figured out a few quick and simple tricks to eliminate the worst heat "leaks" In the summer I will take advantage of those "leaks" to allow me to ventilate the cabinet in hope of keeping the water from going over 105. Considering I've had my 14,000 gallon IG pool up to 103 (left the solar turned on at the wrong time ), it will likely be a challenge. Although I can't deny that my sales experience was a bit out of the ordinary, the salesman I worked with was more knowledgable than any of the local spa dealers I shopped at before I bought. At least the Master Spa Dealer is still in business, even if he's not close by. Most of the local stores I shopped have gone out of business since I was shopping The only place in town that looks really solid is Paddock Pools and the only stable line they carry is Sundance for an outrageous price. They carry less expensive lines too, but they seem to have a different mid-range line in stock every time I stop by and most of them I've never heard of before. Even Paddock has closed stores in my part of town The Jacuzzi dealer seems to be hanging on, but the store is eerily quiet just like the L.A. Spas dealer was right before it had the assets siezed by the landlord.

Chris W