Are Thermospas All They're Cracked Up To Be?

[Devon]

Hello everyone,

I am in the market for a new hot tub and have been doing some research. I've narrowed it down to the D1 Sarena Bay or Amore Bay or thermospas Park Avenue Platinum or Diamond. I had the thermospas salesman at my house for nearly 3 hours telling me how nothing compares to thermospas and I want to check the veracity and relevance of his claims. It is very hard to navigate in the world of hot tubs because of the wealth of information out there so please help me. Please tell me what you guys think by explaining the veracity, significance, and importance of each claim or whichever you have knowledge and experience with. He claims the following:

1. Thermospas has the 3-layer insulation, Thermofoil, thermoblanket, and Thermoboard. He claimed that foam is really bad because repairing a leak takes days and they have to rip out the foam and it's a whole lot of work with refilling the spa and that it can be home to rodents. How true is this? Is foam really that bad? How often do they leak? Does it cost a lot more time and effort to repair than a leak in a thermospa?

2. They use 3 times the fiberglass that any other manufacturer uses. How important is this? Does this fiberglass make the spa more durable than a D1?

3. The shell is made out of Continuous Cast Acrlyic. This is the best out there. Is this true? How does this compare to D1 shells?

4. A vinyl ester resin helps it adhere to the acrylic. Is this true and/or important?

5. They offer the best warrantee in the business

6. Other hot tubs pump in cold air whereas thermospa uses the heat trapped within the insulation.

7. Fixing a leak is very easy because it's accessible on all 4 sides of the tub and eahc panel is reversible.

8. The cover is twice as thick as the competitors and is a 2 lb cover whereas others are 1 lb (even though it weighs 50 lbs)

9. Heater has titanium coils which is better than the stainless steels of the competitors which corrodes.

10. The pumps have 22 psi and the competitors have 17 psi and have a .25% failure rate and the competition has a 7% failure rate. The pumps have viton seals, corrosion resistant. How important is that? They pump out 40 gallons a minute as opposed to the competitors 4 gallons per minute. Is this true and does it make a difference? The pump weighs 17 lbs and competition weighs 2 lbs. Diameter is twice as big. 5 times the size and 8 times the weight.

11. The ThermOzone is supposedly weigh better than other ozonators because it goes through a mixing chamber and a charcoal carbon canister so no ozone actually eneters the water. Filters water 144X a day whereas competition does it 16X per day. Reduces chemicals by 90% instead of competitors 25%. 6,000 mg of ozone produced a day as opposed to 450 mg/day by the competition. It eliminates harmful gasses, eliminates ozone odor, protects covers and pillows, which the competition does not. How important is this ThermOzone and is it really that much better than all the others?

12. The quietest hot tub out there.

13. Has a bubbler or a wave lounger. Are these actually that great?

14. Wide variety of jets, laser jets, pulsating jets, therapy jets, swirl jets, whirlpool jets. How great are they compared to the D1 jets?

Basically, the salesman just told me for 3 hours how there is absolutely no competition. I'm here to find out the truth. He's saying that the thermospa is built way better, will last way longer, and is the best hot tub out there. If i'm going to spend 15 to 25k on a hot tub, I want to get the best quality out there. I know this is a lot of information, now you know how I felt when taking all of these notes and listening to him. Thank you so much for your help.

Devon

[hot_water]

Hi Devon,

I did a bunch of research when I bought mine, and have a technical background, but I'm not in the spa industry in any way. I'll offer my two cents on some of your questions and then conclude with an editorial comment.

>> "1. Thermospas has the 3-layer insulation, Thermofoil, thermoblanket, and Thermoboard. He claimed that foam is really bad because repairing a leak takes days and they have to rip out the foam and it's a whole lot of work with refilling the spa and that it can be home to rodents. How true is this? Is foam really that bad? How often do they leak? Does it cost a lot more time and effort to repair than a leak in a thermospa?"

I don't know exactly what all this thermo this-or-that is, but it sounds like the spa is what is called a “thermal pane” design. These can work very well, but as always the devil is in the details. The most important is probably how well the spa cabinet is sealed against air leaks, but there are many other details that can make or break the effectiveness of an insulation scheme.

As for foam, there is quite a debate here on the board. Some people swear by foam. Personally, I would very strongly prefer to avoid a foamed tub. It's common sense that having to excavate through foam is going to be a pain. That is, after you locate the leak, which can also be a pain. It is probably true that leaks aren't all that frequent. But, consider that you have a plastic shell with 30 to 50 penetrations. Each of them is an opportunity for a leak. Sooner or later, if something bad can happen... well you know the rest. For this reason, I would strongly opt for an open design.

Your best bet is to get referral from your dealer for a few customers in your area (same climate – very important). You can contact those folks and inquire about energy costs. I's a good idea to talk to a few or several people because how they use their tub, how frequently and for how long, do they use the jets a lot, etc. all has an effect on the energy consumption.

>> "2. They use 3 times the fiberglass that any other manufacturer uses. How important is this? Does this fiberglass make the spa more durable than a D1?"

This statement could mean different things. Fiberglass cloth is available in different weights. Or is he saying that the fiberglass is three times as thick? And compared to whose competitive shell? With a CCA (continuous cast acrylic)/fiberglass tub, the most common failure is will be formation of blisters, which occur when the CCA separates, or “delaminates” from the fiberglass. Every spa maker claims they have the best shell, because the shell is a non-replaceable part.

More important than nebulous sales statements about "three times the fiberglass" is the quality of manufacture of the shell. I have seen fiberglas applied using a device called a “chopper gun”, which isn't a good way to build a spa shell no matter how much fiberglass is applied. You want the fiberglass to be “hand layed up” or “hand rolled” (same thing) by skilled persons. The materials, particularly the resins, need to be fresh. And the surface of the acrylic has to be almost surgically clean – even a bit of finger oil can cause a blister to form later on. I would read the reviews of Thermospa on this and other message boards, see if you can locate owners of older Thermospa tubs for comment, and draw your own conclusions.

Check the warranty. You will usually see that there is a structural warranty and a surface warranty, the latter being usually shorter. I pay attention most to the surface warranty, which is the one that deals with blisters and delaminations. In my view, plastic shells are the achilles heels of spas, because it can't be replaced like a pump or heater. And since their longevity is hgihly dependent on the manufacturing process and not just the material, I conclude that the manufacturer's warranty is a good thing to look at.

Many people like the D1 shell. It seems to get good reviews from Customers. I personally do not like their materials, as they use unfilled (no glass or other fiber) plastic resins rather than fiberglass. These shells are much weaker and much less stiff than fiberglass. Shells of this type generally need the cabinet to be fully foamed to provide structural support. It generally does not blister, but some flavors can crack or display discoloration and staining, especially if the chemicals in the water get a bit out of whack. These materials are less expensive – the resin costs less and the manufacturer avoids the expensive hand operation of applying the fiberglass.

Hotspring also uses coextruded, unfilled (i.e., non-fiberglass) material. Sundance, which is a fully foamed tub, uses CCA/Fiberglass. The point is there isn't widespread agreement. As I see it, Neither is trouble free, but personally I prefer the CCA/fiberglass as it is overall a stronger and stiffer structural solution and doesn't require full foam..

>> "3. The shell is made out of Continuous Cast Acrlyic. This is the best out there. Is this true? How does this compare to D1 shells?"

See my comments to #2. CCA/ fiberglass is, however, not unique - it's probably the most common shell type out there. The material doesn't make it a good shell.... kind of like a car. A Lexus and a Yugo are both made of steel, if you get my drift.

>> "4. A vinyl ester resin helps it adhere to the acrylic. Is this true and/or important?"

I don't know if they use it but yes it's important. I believe most if not all reputable CCA/fiberglas manufacturers use vinyl ester resin or something similar as the bonding layer. Without a proper bonding layer, you are quite likely to have shell problems. Having vinyl ester, though, is not a guarantee that you won't see delamination, as there are many other factors, as previously mentioned. But yes, it's a good thing – although not unique.

>> "5. They offer the best warrantee in the business"

I briefly visited the website and didn't find much detail on the warranty. It did mention “pro-rated” -- which makes me run fast and far. You need to get the actual warrantee text. Pro-rated... well, the word "scam" comes to mind.

>> "6. Other hot tubs pump in cold air whereas thermospa uses the heat trapped within the insulation."

This might help a bit but I don't think it's as big of an advantage as it's touted to be.

>> "7. Fixing a leak is very easy because it's accessible on all 4 sides of the tub and eahc panel is reversible."

See my comments against #1.

>> "8. The cover is twice as thick as the competitors and is a 2 lb cover whereas others are 1 lb (even though it weighs 50 lbs)"

I haven't seen their cover but I don't believe that it's twice as thick. Spa covers are generally 3, 4 or even 5 inches tapering (for water runoff) to the edges. Are they saying that their standard cover is 6 inches thick? I doubt it.

There is more to a quality cover than the thickness (although thickness IS important) or the foam density. The fit must be good, the center hinge seam needs to be well designed to prevent excessive heat loss, vinyl needs to be durable, means of keeping water out of the foam needs to be effective, etc. I have no idea what they are providing so I will leave specific comments to someone that knows about Thermospa covers specifically.

>> "9. Heater has titanium coils which is better than the stainless steels of the competitors which corrodes."

I have no direct experience with this, as I have stainless coils. Some expensive spas tout titanium coils. Depending on the specific alloys used, it could be very good, as titanium is often used in aerospace for high temp (i.e., jet engine) applications. Stainless, again depending on the specific alloy, is also very good but heaters do fail. Fortunately it's mostly not a huge operation to replace one. I will leave it to someone with direct comparative experience to comment on whether titanium heaters actually do last longer.

>> "10. The pumps have 22 psi and the competitors have 17 psi and have a .25% failure rate and the competition has a 7% failure rate. The pumps have viton seals, corrosion resistant. How important is that? They pump out 40 gallons a minute as opposed to the competitors 4 gallons per minute. Is this true and does it make a difference? The pump weighs 17 lbs and competition weighs 2 lbs. Diameter is twice as big. 5 times the size and 8 times the weight."

I put no stock in the presure and or flow figures, they don't make a lot of sense.

>> "11. The ThermOzone is supposedly weigh better than other ozonators because it goes through a mixing chamber and a charcoal carbon canister so no ozone actually eneters the water. Filters water 144X a day whereas competition does it 16X per day. Reduces chemicals by 90% instead of competitors 25%. 6,000 mg of ozone produced a day as opposed to 450 mg/day by the competition. It eliminates harmful gasses, eliminates ozone odor, protects covers and pillows, which the competition does not. How important is this ThermOzone and is it really that much better than all the others?"

No comment. I would look hard at this one, though. I would never reduce my chems by 90% based on ozone. This is your health!

>> "12. The quietest hot tub out there."

Doubtful, but that's an opinion and not based in having heard it run. Generally the thermal pane spas are louder than foamed tubs. My tub is a thermal pane and the noise level is one of the few things I really wish was better.

>> "13. Has a bubbler or a wave lounger. Are these actually that great?"

Never tried either.

>> "14. Wide variety of jets, laser jets, pulsating jets, therapy jets, swirl jets, whirlpool jets. How great are they compared to the D1 jets?"

It's all subjective. I like enough jet power so that it hurts... my lady friend always runs the thing on low. A lot depends on where the jet hits your particular body and whether that is where you need a jet to hit.

>> "Basically, the salesman just told me for 3 hours how there is absolutely no competition...He's saying that the thermospa is built way better, will last way longer, and is the best hot tub out there."

Well, of course he did.

>> I'm here to find out the truth.

Oh... be careful. People have agendas. Listen to the comments, but go to to other web resources, talk to other owners and do lots of research on your own. Personally, I have heard enough negatives when I was researching tubs that I wouldn't look at a Thermospa, but you shouldn't take my word for it.

>> "If i'm going to spend 15 to 25k on a hot tub, I want to get the best quality out there."

Yikes. That's way too much money.

>> "I know this is a lot of information, now you know how I felt when taking all of these notes and listening to him. Thank you so much for your help."

Yup. It is really tough to make a choice on these products. Again, I would be afraid of Thermospa, but notwithstanding that, as you do your research you'll see that there isn't widespread agreement on almost ANY aspect of what you should buy. And, these products – none of them – are failure-proof or trouble free. Some are better than others, though.

Wish I had more specific information on Thermospa to share. I can only comment, as you've seen, on the general construction stuff. This is because I read enough on the web that I eliminated thermo from my short list. Doesn't mean I was right. As I mentioned, I'm just a consumer like you. I'm an engineer by profession and that helps form some of my opinions but by no means do I claim that everything is clear-cut.

If I could make a suggestion though .... take a look at Arctic. It's a well designed in my opinion, carries a good shell warranty, seems to get very good reviews.... although it's a bit pricey. I don't have one but that's because there isn't an Arctic dealer in my area.

Those are my comments for what they are worth. Hope they are useful.

Good luck.

hot_water

[dlzc]

You have a really good response from hot_water, so I'll add another "cent"...

10. The pumps have 22 psi and the competitors have 17 psi and have a .25% failure rate and the competition has a 7% failure rate. The pumps have viton seals, corrosion resistant. How important is that? They pump out 40 gallons a minute as opposed to the competitors 4 gallons per minute. Is this true and does it make a difference? The pump weighs 17 lbs and competition weighs 2 lbs. Diameter is twice as big. 5 times the size and 8 times the weight.

So what they are saying is they have a higher recirculation rate, use more electricity, use larger piping, and end up taking more room "under the hood", to use a generic pump designed for multiple uses. You'll pay more to operate it, and possibly less to replace it / them.

11. The ThermOzone is supposedly "way" better than other ozonators because it goes through a mixing chamber and a charcoal carbon canister so no ozone actually enetrs the water. Filters water 144X a day whereas competition does it 16X per day. Reduces chemicals by 90% instead of competitors 25%. 6,000 mg of ozone produced a day as opposed to 450 mg/day by the competition. It eliminates harmful gasses, eliminates ozone odor, protects covers and pillows, which the competition does not. How important is this ThermOzone and is it really that much better than all the others?

The higher flow rates do the filtering, not the ozonator. The ozone is added to the water, so it does actually "enter the water"... but you / he probably meant "enter the pool proper". Adding more ozone, then killing it immediately will NOT reduce chemical usage, and will consume more power. Additionally, the offgas from a larger ozone generator is *nontrivial*... you will have to maintain the carbon filter they use for offgas destruction. You will save chemicals by using an ozonator, by your choice of secondary sterilant, and by good stewardship. Like as not, they will run the larger ozone generator less often... and if they don't, it will end up costing you more money than a competing unit (which sounds like a UV-based one, whereas the one they quote sounds like corona-based).

Make sure you get a dealer that is reputable, and that is not on his "last legs". No matter what brand you get, you will get support form someone other than the salesman... Meet them.

[usguys spa service]

>>Are they saying that their standard cover is 6 inches thick? I doubt it.

6in-4in covers are avail standard by some manufacturers

your thermospa salesman likes to pick choose and compare from mutipul "competitors" to suit his needs. put his claims up against a specific make and model and see how he does. most internal workings of spas come from outside vendors, pumps, packs, jets etc if you look carefully you will find alot of the same internals in alot of spas. have you wet tested a theromspa? how do you know it fits you and your lifestyle. what will you do after you sign on the dotted line what are the future costs. trip fees, chems, replacement covers, filters, ozone etc. think of the future you should own it for a long long time. find a reputable dealer talk to the service dept and or a local independant tech they have seen them all. you are not only investing in a spa but also the dealer/ manufacturer that you purchase from.

><and that it can be home to rodents:

only if the salesman moves in (sorry couldn't resist)

[Trigger]

From talking with people who own thermal spas, the product itself is ok. Nothing special.

They have a reputation for being very very overpriced, and not very energy efficient.

They're sales tatics are very aggresive.

From all the I read, you can get a lot better spa for less money from you local quality spa dealer.

[D.P. Roberts]

If i'm going to spend 15 to 25k on a hot tub, I want to get the best quality out there. I know this is a lot of information, now you know how I felt when taking all of these notes and listening to him.

Wow! $15 to $25,000! That is a LOT of money! I really have two questions for you:

1) Why have you narrowed it down to these two brands? In no particular order, I would also check out the following brands:

Hot Spring

Sundance

Jacuzzi

Artesian

Arctic

Caldera

Marquis

Just go to their web sites - they all have dealer locators and will tell you if there's a dealer in your area.

The main point to this is that almost all of these brands will have very good spas for about $10,000. At least around here, the top-of-the-line spas will be about $12,000, maybe $14,000 if you live in an expensive market. Either way, I don't see any reason to spend more than $15,000 on a tub.

2) When checking out whether a salesperson's claims about the quality of their product, I often go to the Better Business Bureau's web site (BBB to see how many complaints have been filed against that company. If there are hardly any complaints, I would say that the salesperson's claims generally hold up. If there are many complaints, I would say that product doesn't do what the salesperson claims it does.

Check out the Thermospas page here: Thermospas According to this report, Thermospas has had 112 complaints in the last 36 months.

Check out the Dimension One page here: Dimension One Spas According to that page, D1 has had 10 complaints in the last 36 months.

From what I've heard Watkins Manufacturing: the company that makes Hot Spring Spas - is the largest manufacturer of hot tubs. So, to use them as a reference point, here's their report: Watkins Manufacturing Hot Spring Spas

According to that report, Watkins has had 19 complaints in the last 36 months. D1 only had 10, but they're also a smaller company, so I would say those two are about the same. I'm not sure where Thermospas fits, but if it's a SMALLER company than Hot Spring or D1 and has ten times as many complaints - that's not a good thing.

3) THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT POINT: The previous posters are correct in stating that what you heard is a $25,000 sales presentation. The proof is in the pudding - or in this case, the SOAKING. Have you actually tried out either of these spas? The great thing about a lot of hot tub dealers is that you can go to their store, where they have working tubs with hot water in them that you can actually try out. Many have dedicated rooms with sample tubs so you can try them out privately. Personally, I would not buy a hot tub without taking a "test soak".

[spatech (the unreal one)]

I wouldn't recommend Thermospas to anyone (except my ex-brother-in-law). Overpriced, sleezy sales tactics, not energy efficient, questionable qualty, no dedicated local service (despite what they may claim)...

You can get a great spa for $10k so this talk of $15k-$25k is crazy. D.P.'s post pretty juch sums it up IMO.

[Dan.The.Spa.Man]

From talking with people who own thermal spas, the product itself is ok. Nothing special.

They have a reputation for being very very overpriced, and not very energy efficient.

They're sales tatics are very aggresive.

From all the I read, you can get a lot better spa for less money from you local quality spa dealer.

Trigger nailed all 4 points that I have come to profess about Thermospas over the years.

The only thing I would add is about 4 more "very's" in front of overpriced, and the phrase "grease-ball" in front of sales tactics.

As far as the insulation and rodent claims......I've taken back 4-5 Thermospas for disposal after delivering new tubs to customers and every one of them was jammed full of dead rodents, droppings, and acorns, leaves, nesting material...etc.

Whatever the term is, one of the layers of insulation is fiberglass based, and from the ones I've seen it can usually be found shredded and laying soaked on the floor of the tub cabinet. One of the other layers is equivalent to a pool solar cover, which can also be found dry-rotted and flaking.

I went out on a service call to fix one and all of this horrible blue fiberglass insulation had disintegrated from the walls and had fallen down on all of the equipment. I refused to remove it myself, and when I came back the homeowner had filled 6 contractor garbage bags full of it...and probably took about 5 years off his life in the process. Seems like a Thermalpain in the butt to me.

[East TX Spa]

Here is a post from a few years ago on this very subject. I have always found it to be very enlightening and I hope that it provides you with some helpful information, as well:

you must be one of the hired guns they use to respond to bad posts on the internet. let me tell you that thermospas is the best sales job anyone can get. salesman make $150,000 plus per year.

they are given a price sheet where the par price(the rock bottom price thermospas can sell a spa for with the salesman making only a flat $100 commission)is listed in between the model numbers on the price sheet, it's hidden in between the front and last number on the fake serial number. the salesman can sell a spa for any number they want above par and than they split that amount 50/50 with the company!

they usually start with showing the highly inflated "retail" (they don't have any dealers that sell thier spas anywhere close to the high prices they charge with thier in home program)price sheet and than offer you a first night discount called the "factory direct" price.they usually give thier pitch than at the end they do the classic "drop" where they call in and ask the sales manager for a better price if the customer buys that night! its the old tin man routine and it makes alot of money

the head of the outfit is andy tournas and he does extensive training with the salesman and teaches them how to alway make the sale that night, if they dont sell that night than a manager will call the customer a few days later and offer a "special" deal and sell it fot par, its called the rehash program

i found all this out the hard way, i paid way too much for my spa. my friend got the exact same spa for thousands less than me. dont fall for thier trade in scam either, all they do is raise the price of thier spa and reduce it by the supposed amount they offer you for your trade. its a laugh, as i said they have salesman making thousands in a single night, not bad if they can sleep with the guilty conscience.

good luck but i would never buy from them again

Terminator

[dtherio]

Just curious why you used different BBB locations for BBB reports? Were you trying to find high numbers for specific companies?

Check out the Thermospas page here: Thermospas According to this report, Thermospas has had 112 complaints in the last 36 months.

Check out the Dimension One page here: Dimension One Spas According to that page, D1 has had 10 complaints in the last 36 months.

From what I've heard Watkins Manufacturing: the company that makes Hot Spring Spas - is the largest manufacturer of hot tubs. So, to use them as a reference point, here's their report: Watkins Manufacturing Hot Spring Spas

According to that report, Watkins has had 19 complaints in the last 36 months. D1 only had 10, but they're also a smaller company, so I would say those two are about the same. I'm not sure where Thermospas fits, but if it's a SMALLER company than Hot Spring or D1 and has ten times as many complaints - that's not a good thing.

btw, Manata.com is a good site to find out basic information about many companies, employee size, sales, etc.

Thermospas

Dimension One Spas

Watkins Manufacturing

[D.P. Roberts]

Just curious why you used different BBB locations for BBB reports? Were you trying to find high numbers for specific companies?

No.

When you go to BBB.org and search for a company, it automatically redirects you to the bbb office where the company headquarters is located - I would guess that the file & the reporting of each incident is done at the local office nearest to the company's headquarters.

Thermospas and D1 came up pretty easily. I had a little bit more trouble with Hot Spring because many of their dealers have "Hot Spring" in their name, so I narrowed the search to California, because I know they are headquartered in Southern California.

And as for "trying to find high numbers": I looked up Thermospas and D1 because the OP is looking at those two brands. I looked up Hot Spring because I know they're the largest, so I thought it would be a good reference point for the number of complaints. I'd be happy to look up other companies if you thing the links I posted are somehow biased or unrepresentative. Of course, you or others can just go to bbb.org to look them up yourselves too.

Also, I really don't think there's anything "magic" about the BBB numbers or reports. I just like using the BBB as a reference because they actually research every complaint. With other web sites & "spa industry awards", you have no idea why a company is ranked the way they are, or whether complaints are truly legitimate and representative.

[dtherio]

Ahh... I never use the BBB as they are pretty much useless in my opinion. Years ago I had purchased a high dollar item and had a complaint. I tried to file a complaint with the BBB and they refused to take it as they had a contact person listed for the company in their files. As a result, they would not take any complaints about that company - even when I told them that the owner of the business threatened to shoot me if I ever stepped foot on their property again (the only thing I ever did was complain about the product not working and the install being done wrong).

I apologize for implying that you may have been complaint hunting - due simply to me not using the BBB.

Regards,

Just curious why you used different BBB locations for BBB reports? Were you trying to find high numbers for specific companies?

No.

When you go to BBB.org and search for a company, it automatically redirects you to the bbb office where the company headquarters is located - I would guess that the file & the reporting of each incident is done at the local office nearest to the company's headquarters.

Thermospas and D1 came up pretty easily. I had a little bit more trouble with Hot Spring because many of their dealers have "Hot Spring" in their name, so I narrowed the search to California, because I know they are headquartered in Southern California.

And as for "trying to find high numbers": I looked up Thermospas and D1 because the OP is looking at those two brands. I looked up Hot Spring because I know they're the largest, so I thought it would be a good reference point for the number of complaints. I'd be happy to look up other companies if you thing the links I posted are somehow biased or unrepresentative. Of course, you or others can just go to bbb.org to look them up yourselves too.

Also, I really don't think there's anything "magic" about the BBB numbers or reports. I just like using the BBB as a reference because they actually research every complaint. With other web sites & "spa industry awards", you have no idea why a company is ranked the way they are, or whether complaints are truly legitimate and representative.

[Jason Mullins]

Thermospas are a fraudulent company, they use high pressure tactics like “you can only get this deal tonight”. They bring brochures to your home that show different models than what you are actually buying. If you go to their website it shows the same models that are in the brochure but the salesman doesn’t tell you that you are actually getting a lower model with less features (jets).

When the salesman came to our house he showed us a brochure and we picked out the Atlantis model which in the brochure at 41 jets and we were told that was what we would be receiving. The picture showed jets in the back and in the seating and leg area. When our tub arrived it only had 14 jets and none in the seating or leg area at all and now the company claims that we didn’t want to spend the extra money on the jets so they sold us a lesser model…keep in mind that these lesser models are nowhere to be found in their brochures or on their website. So even if they say it will have less jets it would not be the same model because they don’t just take a couple of jets away from each area they take all of the jets away from the seating and the leg area so you literally get a completely  different layout of jets that they don’t tell you about.

They claim that what we saw in their brochure was an Atlantis 400 and we ordered an Atlantis 200, we were never told of the differences between the two models and their brochure and website do not even show different models of the Atlantis so it is obvious that they are pitching one product and selling another.

We feel we have been lied to and misled and robbed of $8000 for a very inferior tub from what we were shown in the brochure and what we could have bought much cheaper elsewhere. They should take the tub back and refund our money. We will be seeking legal action against this fraudulent company that is robbing americans of their hard earned money.

 

 

ThermoSpas, Inc.

 

10 Research Parkway, Ste 300

 

Wallingford, Connecticut 06492

 

United States

 

(800) 876-0158

[RDspaguy]

It seems you have a good bit of info to base your decision on.

I will add that, as a 25 year spa tech, I consider thermospas to be a mid-grade product. Nothing special or great about them. I have never had the sales experience, but have repaired many because I service all brands and often get referrals from the stores for the ones they don't want to mess with. You are on your own with a thermospa, they have no repair network to speak of and, if you do get "their guy" he is new to the business or he would not work for so little. They have approached me before, and I laughed at their offer.

Get a spa from a local dealer with good reviews. All spas have their issues, what matters most is how they handle them.

[north_of_boston]

A bit late to the dance here but ... in the late summer of 2009 -  we were making a decision between Arctic and Jacuzzi.    We had seen the DVD about ThermoSpas and decided to allow a pitch.    

I was impressed with the insulated cabinet - yes,  I prefer that to foam.   I informed the sales rep that he was in a competitive situation.    He began to say that there had been some financial situations at Jacuzzi ,  I told him I hadn't heard.       He then says    "and Arctic -- why would you buy anything Canadian?" ... yet he did not pick up on our accents,  and he must have NOT seen the Canadian flag in front of the house.     I then said - "you can still make your pitch,   I'll forget I heard that."     He also said that if we did not buy tonight he couldn't honor the price - and I said "hosssh**.... if I have a check for the amount and tell you to come get it,  tomorrow,  you WON'T?"

Long story short,   the product was OK,  but we felt that the value for the same money was with Arctic and Jacuzzi and we chose Arctic - technology over some luxury features.

[ratchett]

2 hours ago, north_of_boston said:

  He began to say that there had been some financial situations at Jacuzzi ,  I told him I hadn't heard.       He then says    "and Arctic -- why would you buy anything Canadian?" ... yet he did not pick up on our accents,  and he must have NOT seen the Canadian flag in front of the house.     I then said - "you can still make your pitch,   I'll forget I heard that."     He also said that if we did not buy tonight he couldn't honor the price - and I said "hosssh**.... if I have a check for the amount and tell you to come get it,  tomorrow,  you WON'T?"

Lol, yeah, screw that.  I visited a dozen different dealers.  The one I bought from literally told me the first time I visited their shop "this is our price for that tub, it'll be the same next month", meanwhile on the other side of the county another dealer for the same brand told me their price was valid only for the "holiday weekend" (president's day sale??), yet coincidentally their price was over $2000 MORE than the other larger dealer down the street hahaha.  Yeah right get the heck out of here. 

Thanks for your feedback! I see a lot of ads for TS on Facebook - clearly they are pushing their product hard.  I love hearing from other people so when my friends ask "What about [XYZ]!?" I have some knowledge to share.  

[CanadianSpaTech]

Vacuum Cleaner Sales...Get your foot in the door and do and say whatever you have to to get a sale. 

[north_of_boston]

rratchett,  I expected an aggressive hard-sell pitch; and, I'm resistant to such things.   I just felt that I was going to get a better value for the money by going Jacuzzi or Arctic.     And even though I had issues with the salt-sanitizer system - and just shut it off and went all-chemical  after six years-- I was still better off.    

[saxdogg]

On 3/5/2020 at 10:59 PM, RDspaguy said:

It seems you have a good bit of info to base your decision on.

I will add that, as a 25 year spa tech, I consider thermospas to be a mid-grade product. Nothing special or great about them. I have never had the sales experience, but have repaired many because I service all brands and often get referrals from the stores for the ones they don't want to mess with. You are on your own with a thermospa, they have no repair network to speak of and, if you do get "their guy" he is new to the business or he would not work for so little. They have approached me before, and I laughed at their offer.

Get a spa from a local dealer with good reviews. All spas have their issues, what matters most is how they handle them.

I would greatly like toh ear your opinion on best built models too! (bang for buck kind of things, don't need a Bentley...and can't afford one lol)

[RDspaguy]

Well, I can tell you who makes a well built long lasting tub, or a mediocre tub, or a POS, but since I don't buy them or sell them new I really don't know about bang for the buck. I also rarely see newer spas still under warranty, so my opinions are of older tubs. I will say that, in my experience as a repair tech, they all break and cost money to fix. 😉