La Spa 10 Month Update

[fisrt timer]

Okay, some of you remeber me from many months ago. I was the one always insulting the Costco threads. Well, that got tireing eventhoguht it appears more people have come forth on having problems. Well, I didnt come back to talk about those. I dont even care about them anymore. Instead I am giving a 10 month review of my hot tub. I dont see the LA spas on here very often so I decided to give my review. So far after 10 months of owning, there have been absolutely no problems. I am very happy. The lounger is awesome and fits me perfectly. All 63 jets work good. I am happy that I got the (3) x 5HP pumps. Alot of pressure that I like. I am big guy and so I wanted something that didnt feel flimsy. The construction is great. It holds the temp to within a degree. Everytime I go out to it, the temp is always right there. The jets turn on and the fun begins. I do wish that I didnt get the neck jets on one seat. I dont use them as much as I thought that I would. However I use the lounger alot more than I thought I would. I almost didnt buy a spa with a lounger. The gatlun gun jets like used in master tubs work great. My energy bill jump is so small we had to work at tracing its consumption. It cost next to nothing to run. I use it atleast 3 times a week. I sit in my backyard and have a view of the hills behind me. All in all, the jets are very well placed and extremely comfortable. I would highly recomend this product to anyone. I will say that I spent the extra 200 bucks for the light show but I dont turn the lights on that much. It was a bit of a waste of money. I took everyones opinion and did not but the stereo. I am happy becasue to hear it well, I would have to turn it up so loud my neighbors would hate me. The tub sits close to me neighbors house. What I have done is bought a waterproof case for my ipod and some waterproff headphones. It works great!!!!!!!!! I play my tunes and I dont disturb the neighbors. It cost a whole lot less than the stereo option. Well, happy tubbing. I hope this may help anyone shopping. I figured that this forum is to share information.

[wesj53]

I recently looked at an LA spa at a store my wife and I never visited. They looked good and I found out they offer some interesting alternatives such as the type of insulation method. Therefore, let me ask the following questions. What model did you buy; which insulation package did you get - full foam or foam perimeter wrap; and what are your thoughts about the variety of jets offered. In other words, does each one of the seats have a distinctive feel to them? Also, the reverse neck jets looked great. Why do you wish you had only ordered one seat with them?

[pg_rider]

Where are you located? In a cold climate? I'm jealous that your electricity consumption is negligible -- mine went up $50 for my first month of ownership here in cold Colorado. I don't mind paying it as it's well worth it, but I'm curious to see how other folks' bills are affected by their tub and the climate they're in...

[fisrt timer]

The spa that I bought was an 8x8 LA spa HEAT model with the 3 pump 63 jets. The options I got where the lighting package, Ultimate Water Management System, Stainless jet rings. The foam is a full foam but they do there packaging different. The foam is not a structural member like many tubs. The floor of the tub is structurally supported by the frame and then filled in with foam. They do a 2 layer foam. One layer open cell and one layer closed cell. They also put another layer of insulation on the inside of all panels so there are no big air gaps. So far my energy consumption is very little and it has a little effec ton my bill if any. I am located in Sacramento California. Out summers can reach the 100's on normal but our winter can reach the 20's at night like they have been recenctly.

The jet configuration is very nice. An assortment of all sizes, not just a bunch of small jets to get the jet count up. The placement is very nice. I even have one big volcano jet that can put out a ton of force for getting the one spot that needs alot of force. We use that jet alot. The lounger doesnt let me float and has jets placed throught the entire length.

Overall a two thumbs up. I would give the tub a 4 3/4 out of 5 stars becuase nothing is perfect. I did test probably about 15 - 20 tubs before buying so I think the research and testing I did is what made this purchase so good. There were so many tubs that looked good on paper and were comfortable dry but were lousy wet.

[wesj53]

You mentioned you wish you had got the neck jets on one seat. Why not? I wish my unit had reverse neck jets. I understand they spray less than other configurations. Can you give us your opinion on those and also of the foot jets in the lounger and the footwell area? Also, how is the corner seat with the fixed jets? Do you find that they work for you or do you wish they could be adjustable?

[fisrt timer]

When I ordered my HEAT model the floor room demo had the neck jets in both corners. I opted for the neck jets only in the deeper seat because the shorter one would be useless to me or my wife. My wife enjoys the neck jet seat alot. I am still a bit tall for them at 6' 1" but I can still squeeze in even though I am a taller torso. My biggest issue with the neck jets is that it puts your nose so close to the water that all you smell is the chemicals coming off. I can only sit in it for about 5 minutes before have to move. The jets are pleasant. No issue there. It is nice because its the only spot that will work the top of the shoulders. In fact one nice thing is that you can put parts of your left leg on the volcano jet while in that seat. I like the gatlin gun style foot jets but I do wish there was an option to convert it to a single volcano style jet at times. Right now there is only that one option. Dont get me wrong, I like the gatlin gun style, I just would like to mix it up. If I do feel the need for more pressure I put my foot on top of the volcano jet, so the option is already in the tub, just in a different location. The gatlin gun jet in the lounger is awesome and make positioning my foot in the right places better in that position. I find myself prefering to run either just the seat jets or just the foot jets at one time. There is so much force that if you are running both and moving your legs around, the jets will start to move you around in the seat. Its fine if you arent moving around but I like to move my legs around the foot jets alot. Adjustment ion this tub is never a problem. Each indidvidual jet is adjustable and then the diverter valves can be used for adjustment as well. The only jets not adjustable are the tiny jets in the corner seat with the neck jets. However, the neck jets are adjustable so you can turn them on and off. Getting in and out of the spa could not be easier. There are two steps in the tub that are wide enough for easy in and out. The display was smartly laid out so that it is turned around to be read while in the tub. This is the only time I find myself using them so that was a smart feature on LA's part. The surface finish was excellent from day one and even after draining, cleaing and refilling does not show wear. The only problems have been from me trying to get the whole chemical equation right. I have let it sit for a few days in the summer with not enough chemicals and the water turned green. Not the tubs fault. The seat I use the most is the center seat beteeen the 2 corners. 6 very large twirling jets with alot of pressure thoughout the entire back. It also puts the feet right in front of the 2 foot jets. Perfect for me. I love it.

[wesj53]

It sounds like you got it right the first time, first timer! And it appears you purchased their Thermal Pane option of insulation if I read your first thread correctly. That is, foam on the floor and then on all the walls forming a perimeter of foam but leaving the inside cavity free of foam. Did I understand you correctly. Even with my months of research, I did not know there was a mfg that offered both types. MY BAD for being incomplete.

May I ask how much you paid for it and how much your dealer negotiated with you? My understanding is that the Concord runs about $10k. And just our of curiousity, why did you select the HEET model? Also, the description of that Ultimate Water Managment System sounds very much like the Peak Ozone system from Arctic. Does your ozonator run continuously as long as the pumps are off? That's how Arctic has their units designed and my water is crystal clear. I'm a little surprised you had some problems with yours. And how do you find those filters to work out for you? They sound quite unique in that you clean them by throwing them in a washing machine! Sounds like a great idea.

I'm in agreeement with you also on the lights and sound options. The basic light would be sufficient and I too did not order a stereo for the same reason you did not, as well as the price. A grand or so for tunes is a lot to charge by most mfgs. Keep us updated how your system continues to work and I look forward to some more answers. Great review of your spa by the way - very specific which I like.

[fisrt timer]

As for the ozone, I bought it becasue it gives a 24 hour re-circulation pump and the dealer told me the heater unit has a big upgrade because of it as well. I took his word for it. My water stays crystal clear! I cannot complain at all. The filters work good. I do two rinses in the dishwasher eventhought it says one. It gives better results IMO. I have no problem removing them. It barely takes any effort. Much better than having to take the hose to a cartridge and scrub. I chose the HEAT model becasue it fit well and I liked the jet configuration and the lounger. I did negotiate the price heavily. They were asking around 10k for the spa without the UWMS but it included the stainless jets and light package. I negotiated for quite a while and made multiple teaser visits. By the time the negotiating was done my price was 8200 out the door with real wood steps (not plastic), HEAT model 3 pump version, light upgrade, UWMS, stainless jet rings, cover lifter, chemicals, delivery and set up, cover. The price before tax was like 7800 dollars if I remeber. So, I did a custom order and chose my colors. Mine is a blue swirl (grey pillows) with fake redwood skirt. They also gave me a price garuntee that if it was cheeper at the fair that year they would refund the differance. I went to the fair and the best price they were offering was 8800 plus tax without any options. I think that I got a good deal.

[wesj53]

Wow, that sounds like a great price. Final question for you. What are your thoughts about the neck jets in the seat that you fit into? Is it really great on the neck and shoulders or is there more splashing than benefit?

[fisrt timer]

Wow, that sounds like a great price. Final question for you. What are your thoughts about the neck jets in the seat that you fit into? Is it really great on the neck and shoulders or is there more splashing than benefit?

There is little to none splashing. I am impressed with the design from that point. There is benefit to the neck jets I fit into. I did find that some of the brands I tested, there was so much splashing, the seat was unusable. This is not so in the LA. I just dont like smelling the chemicals coming off the water. My gripes have nothing to do with the design/placement of jets. There is a benefit to using the seat. I know that my wife really enjoys the seat so I guess if I were to buy it again, I would still get the neck jets.

[Brulan1]

There is little to none splashing. I am impressed with the design from that point. There is benefit to the neck jets I fit into. I did find that some of the brands I tested, there was so much splashing, the seat was unusable. This is not so in the LA. I just dont like smelling the chemicals coming off the water. My gripes have nothing to do with the design/placement of jets. There is a benefit to using the seat. I know that my wife really enjoys the seat so I guess if I were to buy it again, I would still get the neck jets.

Congrats on your hot tub and happy holidays. I wish the best of years to come.

[fisrt timer]

Congrats on your hot tub and happy holidays. I wish the best of years to come.

Thanks Brulan, I used alot of information I got here on making my descision. I am now a happy camper. I cant stress enough at how import wet testing is. My wife and I went to go buy an Artesian spa. It was comfy dry and we loved the specs on paper and build quality. Well, we went to wet test as more a formality. We both looked at each other and hated it. Vey uncomfortable and poorly laid out with water in it. Way different experience with water. You need to wet test. The LA spa I bought attracted me instantly with the jet layout/design and value. I was expecting to either find bad things about them as if the value was too good to be true or it was going to be very uncorftable. I was supprised to find my research to uncover only praises for the product and my wet test to be the best out of any. It turned out, that all i could find was satidfied owners and that LA was truely a premium spa maker. I dont know if they are mainly only well known on the west coast but I also realize that what makes a good spa comfort wise is only the one that fits you well. I do not take offesn to anyone that would say my tub is uncorfortable becasue to me it is great but my body shape/size is comletely different than me. My mom was in my tub and I had to turn the power down for her becasue she is not that heavy and for me the power of jets is great. Different stroke for differnt folks!

[Roger]

There is little to none splashing. I am impressed with the design from that point. There is benefit to the neck jets I fit into. I did find that some of the brands I tested, there was so much splashing, the seat was unusable. This is not so in the LA. I just dont like smelling the chemicals coming off the water. My gripes have nothing to do with the design/placement of jets. There is a benefit to using the seat. I know that my wife really enjoys the seat so I guess if I were to buy it again, I would still get the neck jets.

What type of sanitizer are you using to smell so bad. With a good dichlor routine you will be soaking in .5 or less PPM chlorine and there is very very little smell at that level (tap water)

[Brulan1]

What type of sanitizer are you using to smell so bad. With a good dichlor routine you will be soaking in .5 or less PPM chlorine and there is very very little smell at that level (tap water)

Probably a musty smell from the cover. Just use the OLD LYSOL trick for the inside of the cover. Just spray the hell out of the inside, let sit 15 minutes and wipe off. Good luck

[fisrt timer]

Probably a musty smell from the cover. Just use the OLD LYSOL trick for the inside of the cover. Just spray the hell out of the inside, let sit 15 minutes and wipe off. Good luck

I just realized that what was really bothering me is the steam coming off the water more than anything. I do use nature 2 stick, renew and chlorine granules. The chlorine is what I smell all the time. I have had a tendancy to add too much chlorine at one time.

[northern virginia tub researcher]

fisrt timer, or anyone else, I just completed my selection process and also settled on the LA Spas HEET model. I came down to the Caldera Niagara and LA Spas HEET as the final 2. I also wet tested hotsprings, artesian, marquis, master, jacuzzi, clearwater. I have a lot of problems with my neck/shoulders and these two seem like they solve my problems the best, and the HEET and Niagra seemed to fit me (6'1") perfectly in each seat. (assuming no neck collar in the 2nd corner seat on the HEET). The clearwater looked awesome on paper, but the performance was disappointing. I felt like I was floating out of the jacuzzi seats. The Marguis was solid. The Masters seemed to make me itch instead of relax. The hotsprings was uninspiring compared to others and the artesian just didn't fit.

However, I'm not having much luck in the negociating process. I have a quote on the table for $9600 for the HEET 3 pump/61 jets/113 ports, 5in cover, lifter,steps, ozone,start up kit, delivery/install. This seems like a mile away from the $7800 quote including the WMS (water mgmt system) and stainless jet rings that fisrt timer got 10 mths ago. I am in virgina so shipping out east is probably worth something, but seems like I got a good $3K gap.

Any advice would be great!!

[spatech (the unreal one)]

fisrt timer, or anyone else, I just completed my selection process and also settled on the LA Spas HEET model. I came down to the Caldera Niagara and LA Spas HEET as the final 2.

However, I'm not having much luck in the negociating process. I have a quote on the table for $9600 for the HEET 3 pump/61 jets/113 ports, 5in cover, lifter,steps, ozone,start up kit, delivery/install. This seems like a mile away from the $7800 quote including the WMS (water mgmt system) and stainless jet rings that fisrt timer got 10 mths ago. I am in virgina so shipping out east is probably worth something, but seems like I got a good $3K gap.

Any advice would be great!!

So what exactly accounts for the $1800 difference? I've often seen people get quotes from multiple dealers where they were not quoting apples to apples and that can get confusing. You should have asked for all your quotes to be for either just the spa (and then haggle on the accessories later) or have them all quote the entire package up front. Delivery, steps, chem kit and cover are almost always in the basic quote and shouldn't be add-ons. The only thing you list that I'd expect to be separate from the base price is the lifter and possibly the ozone (some manufacturers/dealers have ozone as standard equipment, others have it as an option). What quote did you get on your other finalist(s) and what did it include?

[northern virginia tub researcher]

So what exactly accounts for the $1800 difference? I've often seen people get quotes from multiple dealers where they were not quoting apples to apples and that can get confusing. You should have asked for all your quotes to be for either just the spa (and then haggle on the accessories later) or have them all quote the entire package up front. Delivery, steps, chem kit and cover are almost always in the basic quote and shouldn't be add-ons. The only thing you list that I'd expect to be separate from the base price is the lifter and possibly the ozone (some manufacturers/dealers have ozone as standard equipment, others have it as an option). What quote did you get on your other finalist(s) and what did it include?

In the 12/19 post, "fisrt timer" lists the features in his HEET. So taking his price/features at (7800 before tax), and comparing it to my $9600 quote +625 (list price for water mgmt system)+350 (24+3 LED lights)+ 305 for stainless steel jets=$10,880. So I think that looks like apples to apples and shows a $3K gap. I understand pricing is based on numerous factors like inventory, volume purchase agreements, timing, etc, but 3K sounds way off. Or even 2K if I go by the price at the fair.

As far as the caldera goes, my friend bought one this summer so i have his exact pricing and understand the differences between the two spas, so I have a strong position.

What I'm looking for is the strategy on how to haggle. Both the dealers called me again today.

Thanks for any help.

[spatech (the unreal one)]

In the 12/19 post, "fisrt timer" lists the features in his HEET. So taking his price/features at (7800 before tax), and comparing it to my $9600 quote +625 (list price for water mgmt system)+350 (24+3 LED lights)+ 305 for stainless steel jets=$10,880. So I think that looks like apples to apples and shows a $3K gap. I understand pricing is based on numerous factors like inventory, volume purchase agreements, timing, etc, but 3K sounds way off. Or even 2K if I go by the price at the fair.

As far as the caldera goes, my friend bought one this summer so i have his exact pricing and understand the differences between the two spas, so I have a strong position.

What I'm looking for is the strategy on how to haggle. Both the dealers called me again today.

Thanks for any help.

I'd say just use an up front approach such as "I've researched a few spas and have narrowed my search down to your spa and another brand. I'm sure I'd be happy with either so at this point I'm basically looking at getting as good of a deal as I possibly can. I'm ready to buy so I wanted to know what your best deal is." After they tell you what their "best" price is you can still go ahead and counter if you'd like until you get to a point where they won't budge further and that way you'll probably find the best deal they're willing to give. BTW, sometimes when they indicate they won't go any lower in price you can sometimes sweeten the deal by having them ADD things like "Well, if that's your best price how about throwing in X (maybe $100 in chemicals or a better set of steps, etc.) and we'll call it a deal".

[fisrt timer]

If I remember right the prices were as follows for mine, this is just from rough memory so dont quote me:

What the listed prices were:

9999 for spa with 3 pumps stainless rings and LED lights, no UWMS

8999 sale price for above

800 for UWMS

Price for individual options:

250 for Stainless rings

200 for 4 LED light kit that change colors

I cant remember all of the prices becasue I went back and forth on whether or not to do the 3 pump version and same with the UWMS. I was always negotiating an OTD price and the reciept doesnt show a breakdown of price. It just shows the OTD price and price before tax. The receipt does break down all of the options ordered. I realized that I had a typo after going though my previous post. My price was 8300 OTD, not 8200. That isnt a big biffernce but just wanted to note that.

If I was trying to save money, I would not get the LED lights or the Stainless rings. I always like the Stainless rings as I thiink it makes the tub look fancier. I did just realize were some of the price difference may be. I live in Northern California which is about 6 hours from the factory. The cost difference to ship a tub from LA to virginia will be alot more than Sacramento. My dealer may have had more room to play with because of the cost to get it here. Just a theory.