artdecoqueen Posted August 23, 2007 Report Share Posted August 23, 2007 We'd originally started out pricing small pools, but realized a large hot tub was going to be more in our price range. My husband wants a larger unit because he's pretty tall and doesn't want to "be on top" of everyone else so size/price have driven our search. Since we have elementary school age kids, this will primarily be for parties/recreation and not for therapeutic use. We've done the research and tests to narrow the field down to a Sundance Maxxus for $13,765 (7'6" x 9'2" x 41.5" with 55 jets) and a Cal Spas Classic (7'9" x 10'8" x 39.5" with 36 jets for $11,200 or 51 jets for $11,900). We were actually hoping to spend less than $10,000 but I guess we really didn't know how much the larger hot tubs costs. Prices include stereo options, cover, delivery, startup chemicals, and steps. Both dealers are great so we're comfortable going with either one. Are these good prices? My husband is inclined to go with the Cal Spas because it's bigger AND cheaper. Is there another large model we should try to locate and test? Any comments would be appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spatech (the unreal one) Posted August 23, 2007 Report Share Posted August 23, 2007 We'd originally started out pricing small pools, but realized a large hot tub was going to be more in our price range. My husband wants a larger unit because he's pretty tall and doesn't want to "be on top" of everyone else so size/price have driven our search. Since we have elementary school age kids, this will primarily be for parties/recreation and not for therapeutic use. We've done the research and tests to narrow the field down to a Sundance Maxxus for $13,765 (7'6" x 9'2" x 41.5" with 55 jets) and a Cal Spas Classic (7'9" x 10'8" x 39.5" with 36 jets for $11,200 or 51 jets for $11,900). We were actually hoping to spend less than $10,000 but I guess we really didn't know how much the larger hot tubs costs. Prices include stereo options, cover, delivery, startup chemicals, and steps. Both dealers are great so we're comfortable going with either one. Are these good prices? My husband is inclined to go with the Cal Spas because it's bigger AND cheaper. Is there another large model we should try to locate and test? Any comments would be appreciated! There aren't too many spa makers that sell spas that big. Cal and Master do but I'm not a fan of either. If the Sundance seems too pricy see if there is an Artesian near you as they have a new large spa called the Pelican Bay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pathfinder Posted August 23, 2007 Report Share Posted August 23, 2007 $11,200 seems high for a 36 jet newporter. In all honesty check out all the tub makers that have an 8' tub with 4 corner seating and make sure they have multi level seating. I have seen many 8' tubs accomodate 2 or more people over 6'. You need to find a deep tub with a large footwell. Go back to your Cal dealer and look at the footwell in an 8' Avalon. Then start looking for a tub with a similar footwell that suits your taste and wet test the tub, that is key. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spatech (the unreal one) Posted August 23, 2007 Report Share Posted August 23, 2007 $11,200 seems high for a 36 jet newporter. In all honesty check out all the tub makers that have an 8' tub with 4 corner seating and make sure they have multi level seating. I have seen many 8' tubs accomodate 2 or more people over 6'. You need to find a deep tub with a large footwell. Go back to your Cal dealer and look at the footwell in an 8' Avalon. Then start looking for a tub with a similar footwell that suits your taste and wet test the tub, that is key. I assumed he was looking for something bigger than an 8 footer. If an 8 footer will do look at all the major brands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoer13 Posted August 23, 2007 Report Share Posted August 23, 2007 Diamante has spas that are as large as the Cal spas, unsure about the quality but from what I have seen I would say they are at least on par with the Cal and you should be able to be under 10,000.00. Sundance is a upper end spa that you are going to pay more dollars for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Summer Buyer Posted August 23, 2007 Report Share Posted August 23, 2007 From the research I have done in our spa searching, Cal Spas has an awful reputation for not living up to their warranty when, and they all do, the spa breaks down. Most customers report that the customer service blames them for any problems and will not cover it. We personally are looking for a large tub and have seen that the Pelican Bay is a really nice tub. The thing for us is that its pricey, although in the range of the prices you've shown above. We really didn't want to break that 10K mark either, but if we decide on any of the platinum line of Artesian, it looks like we'll have to. We were quoted just under 12K for an in stock pelican bay, and over 13K if they had to order different colors or upgrades. Personally, I think this tub is the best one we've seen even compared to the Sundance Maxxus. The Maxxus just didn't impress us, especially how low the seating capacity is, and remember whatever they say it is, subtract 2 to get the real picture. For instance, the Maxxus supposedly sits 6-7 people, but I doubt 5 adults could be comfortable in that tub. On the other hand the Pelican Bay supposedly sits like 9 people. While there is 9 seats, I doubt you would ever want 9 people in there, I would say 7 could probably be comfortable. Also, Artesian has these cool pillowfall features where two of the headrests have waterfalls coming out of them, so you can actually get some use out of the waterfall instead of it being just a decoration To sum it all up, if your willing to spend that much money, don't waste it on Cal Spa (check epinions.com or ripoffreports.org to see what I mean) and I personally don't think the Maxxus is worth it. Our search is down to the sundance Optima/Cameo or any of the Artesian platinum (Pelican Bay, Piper Glen, or Dove Canyon depending on how much we can negotiate price) Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artdecoqueen Posted August 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2007 $11,200 seems high for a 36 jet newporter. In all honesty check out all the tub makers that have an 8' tub with 4 corner seating and make sure they have multi level seating. I have seen many 8' tubs accomodate 2 or more people over 6'. You need to find a deep tub with a large footwell. Go back to your Cal dealer and look at the footwell in an 8' Avalon. Then start looking for a tub with a similar footwell that suits your taste and wet test the tub, that is key. I assumed he was looking for something bigger than an 8 footer. If an 8 footer will do look at all the major brands. AFTER TESTING SEVERAL, INCLUDING THE AVALON, WE *ARE* LOOKING FOR SOMETHING LARGER THAN 8' X 8'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artdecoqueen Posted August 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2007 To sum it all up, if your willing to spend that much money, don't waste it on Cal Spa (check epinions.com or ripoffreports.org to see what I mean) and I personally don't think the Maxxus is worth it. Our search is down to the sundance Optima/Cameo or any of the Artesian platinum (Pelican Bay, Piper Glen, or Dove Canyon depending on how much we can negotiate price) Your post was very helpful...we will check into other options! We are really letting size and price drive the process at this point and I'm not sure that's a good thing. The Sundance Optima was not comfortable to us and the Cameo was too small. We liked the Maxxus, but the nearly $14K price is a deal killer as far as I'm concerned. We haven't found a local retailer for Artesian but I will look outside of our area to check out the Pelican Bay. Regarding CalSpa, I hadn't really found an overwhelming amount of negative info about them. The dealer has their own tech, but I guess that doesn't really matter if the company doesn't stand behind the warranty or blames the buyers for spa malfunction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artdecoqueen Posted August 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2007 $11,200 seems high for a 36 jet newporter. That price includes a waterfall and stereo. What is a more reasonable price for this model? They did offer us $200 off if we buy before August 31st so that would make it $11,000. Could we talk them down to $10K and would that be a good deal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pathfinder Posted August 23, 2007 Report Share Posted August 23, 2007 If the stereo is included then the pricing isnt bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kayak22 Posted August 25, 2007 Report Share Posted August 25, 2007 We paid $10,000 for a new Maxxus in Aug 07 We are having our Maxxus delivered this coming week. We are in Colorado and paid just over $10,000 for a new 2007 Maxxus. We saved $750 for no speakers (have read they aren't that great and you can buy outdoor speakers for around $200 now anyway). Then Sundance had a manufacturer's special so they knocked off another $500. Then the dealer found us one with a cosmetic "dent" that doesn't affect performance (and since it will be surrounded by deck this didn't matter to us). This saved another $250 off the price. So we got a new Maxxus delivered, with trifold cover AND hydraulic lift, and 6 months of chemicals plus an Ozonator installed (plus 4.5% sales tax) for just over $10000. Good luck in your search. Don't be afraid to ask for "the best deal they can get you." (One Hot Springs dealer told us it wasn't unusual to bargain down 15 to 20% off the price.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Churchy Posted September 1, 2007 Report Share Posted September 1, 2007 We'd originally started out pricing small pools, but realized a large hot tub was going to be more in our price range. My husband wants a larger unit because he's pretty tall and doesn't want to "be on top" of everyone else so size/price have driven our search. Since we have elementary school age kids, this will primarily be for parties/recreation and not for therapeutic use. We've done the research and tests to narrow the field down to a Sundance Maxxus for $13,765 (7'6" x 9'2" x 41.5" with 55 jets) and a Cal Spas Classic (7'9" x 10'8" x 39.5" with 36 jets for $11,200 or 51 jets for $11,900). We were actually hoping to spend less than $10,000 but I guess we really didn't know how much the larger hot tubs costs. Prices include stereo options, cover, delivery, startup chemicals, and steps. Both dealers are great so we're comfortable going with either one. Are these good prices? My husband is inclined to go with the Cal Spas because it's bigger AND cheaper. Is there another large model we should try to locate and test? Any comments would be appreciated! I know that I am new here but just a thought.. your right on the Maxxus not fitting a bunch of people.. it is really only a 4-5 person spa and was made to be that way not a party tub. If you are looking for a larger tub to fit tons of people in then there are better spas then then the maxxus. Its really about how your going to use the spa when your looking at larger models that make the biggest differance. For the most part there all going to be more then 10k. I am glad to here your wet testing.. that will tell you what spa will fit your needs the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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