cooold ohio Posted July 12, 2007 Report Share Posted July 12, 2007 I live in Northern Ohio and I am looking to purchase my first hot tub. I would like to know which tub I should go with between Arctic, Sundance and Coast. The prices for the tubs I am looking at are within $600.00 of each other so I am not concerned about the price. I am concerned about which tub is the best built and has the least amount of customer complaints. Each salesperson that I have talked to has had there good points about their tubs and I am going to wet test the tubs that I am interested in. Out of these three hot tub manufactures that seem to be of quality should I just go with the one that I like when I wet test them or is there one manufacture that is just a better quality tub and I should go with them? Any help would be very much appreciated. Always cold in the winter OHIO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newbie4Now Posted July 12, 2007 Report Share Posted July 12, 2007 Having spent most of the afternoon reading through this forum, I'll go out on a limb and tell you that most of what I've read here puts the heaviest weighting on personal feel and fit of the spa. Nothing else makes a poor fitting tub a good investment ! That being said, I completely agree with those who have written on the value of having good service and support available should you ever need it. Although I've noticed a certain fervor people have when writing about the wisdom of their own decisions, I think this site should be commended for being fairly even-handed (that is, I think many people will agree that there are a lot of well built products out there and ultimately some of your decisions may just be personal preference). I've evaluated Jacuzzi, Sundance, Dynasty, Arctic, Beachcomber and some others. My personal preferences led me to Jacuzzi and Arctic, both of which I went to test. Arctic completely won me over in a direct comparison to Jacuzzi. I've now been to Arctic for additional wet tests as I've zeroed in on the model I want. As you wait for replies to your post, you may want to search these forums (again, a great research tool for gonna-buy-any-minute people like you and me) for the specific topics of service and support on the brands you're getting serious about. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooold ohio Posted July 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2007 Thanks, I am wet testing Arctic and Sundance this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newbie4Now Posted July 22, 2007 Report Share Posted July 22, 2007 Always curious to find out what other shoppers have discovered along the way... How did those wet tests turn out ? FYI / While "round one" went to ARCTIC [for me], I've made some course corrections in my own thinking which I'll explain here. I've found ARCTIC to be a very high priced product. When I got done to investigating pricing more seriously, my galaxy of choices widened back out to include ARCTIC, Hot Springs, Pacific Spas and a quick reexamination of Jacuzzi. I've since dismissed Jacuzzi again (really was not impressed with the J-480, and again LOTS of C$$$) Hot Springs had a certain appeal with strong local support but -- completely personal decisions, these -- I just didn't care for the feel and design of their tubs. I've got some additional information coming on the pricing of the VISTA model (I started a separate thread for HS Pricing/Configuration discussions ) but I think I'm done looking there for now. I bumped into Pacific Spas (didn't realize there was yet another Canadian manufacturer...) and like what I see so far. While I've only plunged my hand in the tub, I expect to do a full WET TEST this coming week. The price points here lead me to believe I might be able to swing a "completely loaded" setup. I'm most intestested in massage therapy and filtration -- my wife likes the water features, lighting and music... Still talking to ARCTIC but I am concerned about the noise and vibration issues with their builds since I'm leaning towards a placement of the spa directly on a newly built deck. I've been wet in their tubs a couple times -- did seem noisy compared to some other brands, this is based on my own direct experience. Finally, with ARCTIC, pricing seems high and my prospective dealer has never mentioned service or support once in 5 discussions... My criteria have evolved somewhat : 1. FEEL 2. Filtration/Maintenance 3. Service/Support (experience and quality of local dealer and technicians) 4. Price (a unique variable in that -- outside of realistic boundaries -- it can outweigh higher-ranked variables) As always, the input from specific community members (all but one, actually) has been instrumental in my process thus far. I would expect that to continue as I have learned lots and lots and lots from the active, constructive community here at P&S. At any rate, back to the topic. How did ARCTIC and SUNDANCE compare in your head-to-head tests ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted August 16, 2007 Report Share Posted August 16, 2007 How did ARCTIC and SUNDANCE compare in your head-to-head tests ? I'm curious too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artic Cub Posted August 17, 2007 Report Share Posted August 17, 2007 I am also interested, as Newbie knows, I like my Artic Cub; My priorities were design/build/quality/wet test feel. I do find my tub loud, but really didn't think about noise or do any comparisons for this....and thus far, I can understand why your dealer has never mentioned service......they don't expect you to need service and if you do need it; in my experience, it's painful......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooold ohio Posted August 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2007 How did ARCTIC and SUNDANCE compare in your head-to-head tests ? I'm curious too! Sundance won hands down. My wife was blown out of the arctic lounger on the Kodiak the lounger was to long also the Sundance Cameo when you put the jets on (even on low) she floated out of the longer again it was to long but on the Sundance Altamar her feet were able to touch the end of the lounger and she was able to stay in that lounger. I tested all the tubs and it was the exact same for me too. I floated out of all loungers except the Altamar + the jets at our feet on the Altamar felt FANTASTIC absolutely well worth the wet tests. My wife was leaning towards the Sundance cameo but the wet test made all the difference. WET TEST WET TEST WET TEST before you buy any hot tub!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted August 20, 2007 Report Share Posted August 20, 2007 Sundance won hands down. My wife was blown out of the arctic lounger on the Kodiak the lounger was to long also the Sundance Cameo when you put the jets on (even on low) she floated out of the longer again it was to long but on the Sundance Altamar her feet were able to touch the end of the lounger and she was able to stay in that lounger. I tested all the tubs and it was the exact same for me too. I floated out of all loungers except the Altamar + the jets at our feet on the Altamar felt FANTASTIC absolutely well worth the wet tests. My wife was leaning towards the Sundance cameo but the wet test made all the difference. WET TEST WET TEST WET TEST before you buy any hot tub!!!! Thanks for the report, which shows the importance of a wet test. Every manufacturer designs for a wide range of folks (which is why we offer many models--my wife, for example, disliked the Fox lounger but finds the Frontier a good fit) and we know that any single design will not suit everyone. Glad you found one you like! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingSpaGuy Posted August 20, 2007 Report Share Posted August 20, 2007 How tall are you and your wife? When selling sundance the sales person needs to stress if you or your wife is 5'8 or less the cameo is NOT the tub for you and should lean you in the direction of the altamar or marin depending on what size of spa your looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted August 20, 2007 Report Share Posted August 20, 2007 How tall are you and your wife? When selling sundance the sales person needs to stress if you or your wife is 5'8 or less the cameo is NOT the tub for you and should lean you in the direction of the altamar or marin depending on what size of spa your looking for. Good point, Traveling Guy. There may be a lot of difference between the Kodiak lounger and those of other Arctic models. My wife (5'2") didn't like the Fox lounger but liked some of the others, for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattie Posted August 21, 2007 Report Share Posted August 21, 2007 Did you purchase the Sundance tub? How do you like it? How about operating costs? Do you like the filtration system? We are considering the Optima. Thanks. I live in Northern Ohio and I am looking to purchase my first hot tub. I would like to know which tub I should go with between Arctic, Sundance and Coast. The prices for the tubs I am looking at are within $600.00 of each other so I am not concerned about the price. I am concerned about which tub is the best built and has the least amount of customer complaints. Each salesperson that I have talked to has had there good points about their tubs and I am going to wet test the tubs that I am interested in. Out of these three hot tub manufactures that seem to be of quality should I just go with the one that I like when I wet test them or is there one manufacture that is just a better quality tub and I should go with them? Any help would be very much appreciated. Always cold in the winter OHIO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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