I saw this spa on Costco's website. It has pretty much everything we are looking for in a spa. (this will be our first spa) 33 jets, 2 pumps, lounger, perfect size for us, ect. and the price is great!

I was wondering if anyone knows anything about these spas? I cant seem to find much info on them. I did find their website but there really wasn't a lot of info to be found there.

I do realize that it being made by a division of Jacuzzi doesn't necessarily mean it will be a true Jacuzzi spa.

Also, could anyone give me advise on the best way to 2 guys can move this spa from the curb to our back yard. I would need to set it on its side at least long enough to get it through a 5 foot fence gate. The spa itself weighs about 700 lbs.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

I am also interested in this spa, and if it is similar to the del Sol Hermosa I recently looked at (also a Jacuzzi owned company, and it looks VERY similar) it seems like a good deal. The del Sol had many less bells and whistles, no waterfall, LED's, or lounger or ozonator, and had only 1 pump. The dealer (Sundance) said the del Sol was a good spa, it just had a smaller, one year warranty. As of right now, after looking at the del Sol, I am probably going to order the Imperial, and if it craps out in a year I will deliver it back to Costco, and spend a little more on a more well known brand's entry level spa.

Nevermind the Costco tub, I bought a Sweetwater/Sundance Bahia for just a little more coin. 5/7/10 year warranty versus the 1 on the Costco tub, plus they will deliver and install. It has a few less bells and whistles, but its bigger, has an installed stereo, and I have a local dealer for service if needed. It was only $1500 more on a 2004 closeout model. I can't wait to get it installed and start soakin'.

I bought a Costco tub about 4 years ago for a beach property. The folks delivered and actually let me use their special tub dolly so my buddy and I could drag it to the backyard. Thought the tub failed two years later (pump) the local dealer fixed it under warranty, no problems since. I'm not sure every transaction will go this well but I think some local dealers are posting negatives as naysayers, I found this to be a very good experience. I saved $2600 vs the local providers.

Well since this thread has had so many reads I'll go ahead and tell you what I think.

I have owned this spa for about 3 months now and so far so good. I really like it and the price was just awesome ($2999 + $200 shipping). The price has since gone up to $3999 with free shipping.

The jets are powerfull and there are plenty of them. The lights are kinda nice too. The waterfall doesnt get used much. I really dont know why you need it.

I checked this spa over with a fine tooth comb when I first got it and the workmanship seems to be very good. I was looking for flaws and sloppy workmanship and I coundnt find anything at all.

There is only one thing I dont like about this spa, the lounger is a bit cramped lengthwise for a taller person. I am 5'10 and I wish it were a couple inches or so longer. I have to bend my knees a bit but no big deal, I guess. Also, two foot massagers here instead of one would have been nice. If the spa was a full 7 feet instead of only 6 1/2 it would be just right.

I was reluctant to buy this spa online without a lot of knowledge about it but since it was Costco I knew the worst case scenario would be that I could just return it for a refund so I decided to roll the dice.

It wasnt completely painless however, the two guys who delivered it almost dropped it off the truck unloading it. I mean it was really close to falling! It was standing on end and the guy lost control of it and it began to fall off the back end of the truck. Fortunately, it hit another spa next to it which was the only thing that prevented it from falling off the truck!

After having it wired I found out the jumper on the circuit board was set for 30 amps rather than 50. The owners manual said the default jumper setting was 50 amps which was wrong, so I had to have the electrcian out again to figure out what the problem was.

The spa cover must be for a 7 foot spa because it has a small gap of a couple inches around the outside edges. However it seems to seal well and does lock and I havent had any other probems with it.

I also bought the cover lift for this spa off the Costco wesite. The mounting brackets really didnt match up too well so I had to make some shims out of some old pressure treated lumber to secure it to the base of the spa. That solved that problem.

All in all, for the price I think it was a good deal. I dont have any regrets except I wish I had about 10k to spend on a spa. Then I would have bought something a little bigger and fancier.

Hope this helps.

I also recently installed a Costco Winchester. Like the last poster I paid $2999 + $200 shipping, a great deal compared with the current $3999 price.

I checked out this spa very carefully prior to purchase. All the naysayers on this board and others almost won me over but luckily I did my own research and made the purchase.

Now for some facts:

The Costco Winchester Spa is made by Sundance Spas, Inc. (a Jacuzzi division). The Winchester is almost identical to the Sundance Altamar 800 Series. Same number of jets, same pumps, same layout, just slighly smaller dimensions and lower capacity (280 g vs. 385 g). An employee for Sundance basically confirmed this when I had a candid conversation with him.

The delivery of the spa was painless. I was prepared for curbside only but they unloaded near my backyard and transported the spa within 10 feet of its final location. I was not quite finished with ground prep. An easy way to move the spa is to roll it on round wooden posts just like the Romans did when moving stone. I singlehandly moved the spa to its final position.

I did the wiring and had an electrician double check it. Placed a 50 amp breaker in the box, 6/3 through the basment to the externally mounted GFCI box, 6/2 to the spa and an 8 ft ground rod nearby.

I am a first time spa owner and it will be used primarily by my wife and I. The lower capacity of 280 gallons was a selling point. Not only did I save thousands in the purchase but will heating on average 100 gallons less than most other spas.

I am 5' 9" and my wife is 5' 3". The dimensions are perfect for me and maybe a touch too deep for my wife. Anyone around 6 foot might want to consider a bigger spa.

The tub, cabinets, electronics, lights and jets all seem to be well constructed. Nothing fancy here but its strong and it works.

My two gripes so far:

1. The documentation and manual are fairly poor. I expected more. However, I have heard the same for spas costing far more.

2. It bugs me that pump #2 is only 1 speed! I like the low speed setting on pump one, it is very quiet yet gives enough jet action for me. I dont need a torrent of bubbles overflowing the sides! I realize I can control the jets individually but it is the additional pump noise that bothers me. It appears that all the Sundance spas have only 1 speed on pump #2, so it is not a complaint specific to the Winchester. It must be more costly than I realize to add an additional speed. Anyone have any ideas on how to knock down the power on pump #2? Of course I would not do it until the warranty ran out.

All in all I am very pleased and feel I got a great spa at a great price!