UK buyer Posted November 4, 2007 Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 I am about to buy our first ever Spa here in the UK where prices are unfortunately a lot more expensive than you guys in USA.. I would prefer a large seat only system, with at least 2 pumps.. plus a LED light system and ozonator. I am not too worried regarding any sound system. My main concerns are that it is well insulated so as to minimise running costs on heating, and that the shell is strong and durable as a few of the likely users are not exactly size zero models.. Locally we have dealers who offer the following brands : Hotsprings, Sundance, Gulfcoast, Aegean = (Master Spas / Down East ?) As the best Spas are all USA made I want to find the manufacturer with best reliability as obtaining spare parts in future may be an issue for us here in the UK. Thanks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spatech (the unreal one) Posted November 4, 2007 Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 I am about to buy our first ever Spa here in the UK where prices are unfortunately a lot more expensive than you guys in USA.. I would prefer a large seat only system, with at least 2 pumps.. plus a LED light system and ozonator. I am not too worried regarding any sound system. My main concerns are that it is well insulated so as to minimise running costs on heating, and that the shell is strong and durable as a few of the likely users are not exactly size zero models.. Locally we have dealers who offer the following brands : Hotsprings, Sundance, Gulfcoast, Aegean = (Master Spas / Down East ?) As the best Spas are all USA made I want to find the manufacturer with best reliability as obtaining spare parts in future may be an issue for us here in the UK. Thanks... IMO, The Hot Spring and Sundance spa brands are very good choices. I'm not a fan of Master or Gulf Coast and don't think you'll find them to be as good quality wise or in energy efficiency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UK buyer Posted November 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2007 Can you tell me why you think the gulf coast or masterspa are not as good? Locally the Sundance would be at a significantly better cost than the Hotspring who are significantly more expensive than competitors here in UK. I would therefore say the Sundance is a more likley purchase, but, I would like to understand what the downside is of a GulfCoast or Masterpa is for comparison purposes. As a guide, here in UK the Hot Spring Grandee2007 has a RRP of £ 12995, which at current exchange rate of 2-05 = US $ 26630-00 yes twenty six thousand dollars !!!!!! although the dealers will sell stock down to US$ 18,000 dollars on specials. Whereas best buy would be a Gulf Coast LX11000 which would still be US $ 16,000 here in the UK. You can see we are getting ripped off big time here, and as such I need to do the sums very well before making a choice . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart A Posted November 5, 2007 Report Share Posted November 5, 2007 Hi Uk Buyer What part of the country do you live in I live in Berkshire and I am fortunate to have dealers nearby selling LA Spas, Dimension 1, Sundance, Hotspring and a bit further away I also tried Monarch and Spaform. I know we pay more here due to shipping costs etc. I would just test out all that you can and try and forget the price which is paid in America, we cannot do much about that. My La Spa Heet cost me £7500.00 back in April I do not know what the exchange rate was then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UK buyer Posted November 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2007 Hi Stuart We are based over in Essex to the East of London. Never heard of the LA Spas in this area, are you happy with the product ? Pound has gained almost 10% on the dollar this year so theoretically your Spa would be £6,800 today, but i bet it is not when you ask the dealer ! What made you choose the LA Spa and what did you think of Sundance Spa as an alternative? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickJ Posted November 5, 2007 Report Share Posted November 5, 2007 I have a Down East spa (Master Spa) and I don't have any major complaints with it. I've got the East hampton model (8'x10") and it's really nice for seating large groups of people. It's basically bench seats all around; no loungers. However, it is a bit of an energy pig. I'm not sure if it's because I have a bad cover, or if the tub just consumes a lot of energy, but I use about 15 kwh per day, and that's in 60 degree (Farenheit) weather. Naturally my energy consumption goes up when it gets colder. I'm going to buy a thicker cover, and try to add some insulation around the cabinet to reduce my energy usage this year. I will caution that I may not be representative of most Master Spa owners. I bought my tub used, and have only had it for one year. So I can't speak to the long term reliability of the spa. Plus, since it was used, I didn't pay a lot of money for it. So I'm willing to accept some things that others might not accept. I know that some others on here (Got-Soaked) have had a lot of problems with their Master Spas. So if you look at them, you may want to get references from other Master Spa owners in your area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart A Posted November 5, 2007 Report Share Posted November 5, 2007 The Sundance range that we tried were ok, but was not as powerful as the La Spa and we felt the placement of the jets was not as good. We were impressed with the depth of the Maxus though. We could not justify paying the extra amount for a Sundance. Hydropherapy is very important to us and still is, and if we just wish to soak we can either turn off the jets or divert the power. Yes six months on we love our spa, and if we were buying again now we would still make the same choice. We also have a great dealer, who has also just recently started selling Sundance as well. Please though wet test as many spa makes and models as you can, all good dealers will make you welcome. When you have narrowed your choice down to a few then wet test them again. The most important thing to remember is to make a choice which you are happy with. A lot of people on this forum are sales people trying to push a few products only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corrado Kid Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 I am about to buy our first ever Spa here in the UK where prices are unfortunately a lot more expensive than you guys in USA.. I would prefer a large seat only system, with at least 2 pumps.. plus a LED light system and ozonator. I am not too worried regarding any sound system. My main concerns are that it is well insulated so as to minimise running costs on heating, and that the shell is strong and durable as a few of the likely users are not exactly size zero models.. Locally we have dealers who offer the following brands : Hotsprings, Sundance, Gulfcoast, Aegean = (Master Spas / Down East ?) As the best Spas are all USA made I want to find the manufacturer with best reliability as obtaining spare parts in future may be an issue for us here in the UK. Thanks... Be sure to ckeck out Bullfrog Spas at Villeroy & Boch. You'll see a completely different way to manufacture spas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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