My wife and I are in the market for our first spa and after attending a recent home show in Denver, CO, we have tentatively narrowed our search down in the first round to Dynasty's Oceana, Marquis' Quest and Jacuzzi's J-325.

All of these are about the same size and are in about the same price range ($6,500). The Dynasty model appears to have a lot more eye candy (lights and a stereo) which seems nice but I don't know anything about the company and its record for reliability and service. I haven't been able to find out a lot of information about Dynasty and believe it is a fairly new company (15 years).

I don't believe we got to see the Hot Springs models. Are there any other models in this range that we should consider?

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

My opinion on this issue is the general design of the spa's are all basically the same. You basically have a fiberglass or resin shell, jets, plumbing, motors, and control. What I would do is get a tally on cost of replacement parts for the different tubs, since over the course of the life of the spa, expect to change the motors and the control board at least once. I know Jacuzzi has expensive pumps, and Sundance (for instance) has expensive control boards. You will be more likely to be replacing motors than boards, so I would weigh that in my decision. Most of today's tubs are well insulated, but it wouldn't hurt to compare this as well, as more insulation equals less operating cost, and lessens the chance of freezing in the winter (if you are in a cold climate) Also consider warranty, parts availability, and consumable part (filters, etc).

Most important of all, a tub is an investment in yourself, so if there is a tub that has a feature that you feel is more important to you, spend a little extra now, as like a new car, the moment you drive it off the lot, you will pay more to trade it in for a different model! It's cheaper in the long run to get what you desire now.

That's my 2 cents!

Jer