Well I have made up my mide and want to buy myself a hot tub for my birthday!
I have been going to different retailers all over the city (Ottawa/Gatineau) but find all the info VERY confusing.

Obviously this being our first time purchase, we don't really know exactly what to look for. What are the necessities, what are luxuries, etc

We also have a budget... which I am slowly thinking about increasing LOL

So far the best deal we have found is on an ATLANTIS 2003 - Infiniti by Maax.
82x77x37
5/6 incl. lounger
275 Gal.
Whirlpool pump (5 BHP, 2 stage)
18 jets
Ozonator Rigid
4" cover
Cover Lifter
2 pillows
Water Care products
5 years warranty on parts and service
Delivery
$5558.65 (including tax) - CND$ = 4192.70$ USD


I am worried about the small amount of jets... as well as the depth of 37" compared to other hot tubs which seem to have depth of 39"


We have also been quoted on a FRANKLIN 2003 - Saratoga Spa
89x93x38
525 Gal.
6-7 people
41 jets
1 single speed pump and 1 (2) speed pump Total HP 8.5
Cover 4"
Delivery and warranty
$8600.00 CND = 6,486.68 USD


Obviously not in the same price range.

I guess my real question is... Is it worth the extra $2-3k to get more jets and a second pump?

Would love any input!

Thank You

Renée

In answer to your last question? Yes.

But your greatest advantage is, the number of gallons of water that tub will hold! 275 vs 525? That is tremendously different! You're talking about a tub that is almost TWICE the size.

Forget the hp ratings, what's important is if the tub gives you the features you want, (jets etc), at the price you can afford.

Other important things to consider are where the tub is going to go, and the cost for electrical installation. For instance, if you're going to put this thing on a deck, I'd definitely consider having more support for the larger tub. Don't believe it when you hear that a 525 gallon tub will do just fine on an existing deck... Sure, it might meet code, and it might stand up ok... but 2-3 years later, you may discover that your deck has decided to settle a lot more than you originally anticipated.

This article is a little dated, (and dry... needs a rewrite), but it will give you some additional info: http://spasupport.com/newspabuyer.html

Also this on the electrical requirements for installation:
http://spasupport.com/electrical/elex110.html and....
http://spasupport.com/electrical/elex220.html

Those are based on USA requirements, not CDN, so be sure you contact a qualified person regarding electrical installation.

This is an investment in yourself, not just in a spa. If it were me, I'd by the mostest... that I could afford!

PS: One thing, get'em to throw in an ozonator and a coverlifter on the Saratoga before you plunk down the money. There's nothing wrong with wheeling and dealing on these things!

Thanks a lot for taking the time to reply to my post.

I will do some more reading and inquire about the ozonator (since the sratoga is a floor model I think)

Take my advice and spend a couple more grand and buy a tub with more jets. My wife & I purchased a spa about four years ago for $5,500 that was the bottom line the company offered. It is a great spa but we are now looking at selling it and buying a new one with more therapeutic jets. It is going to cost us about $6,800, which is only $1,300 more than we paid for our original spa. We will probably be lucky to get $2,500 for our used spa which means we have to fork out another $4,300. Do the math; we will end up spending almost $10,000 for a spa that we could have bought for less than $7,000 four years ago. The good news is we will get the latest and greatest options on the spa and we have gotten a lot of use out of our current spa.

Has anyone checked out the features and price of the WALK IN TUBS at http://www.independentlivingusa.com?

I found the number on their website and called the people at http://www.independentlivingusa.com and they did have the best value. I am getting my Walk In Tub from them in two weeks. I also found out that my friend in Florida got one from them and so did three of her neighbors. She agreed that the people at http://www.independentlivingusa.com were really a pleasure to deal with and had the best features, the best guarantee and the best prices.

This really should be posted in a new thread, however, I just wanted to mention a walk in tub is a far cry from a real hot tub.

Now to keep the thread on track:

I agree with pageup completely. Buy the most you can afford, since it is truely an investment in yourself. Not only that, as Robud made clear, it is definentally cheaper in the long run to spend a little more now! (and yes, dealers do wheel and deal like a used car salesmen, there is a good markup on these things! Have them throw in the starter kit of chemicals, extra filter if possible, and even a care video! Some even have bathrobes and towels to help sweeten the deal)

A note on the ozonator, there are two types offered, Corona Discharge and Ultra Violet. If it is available, go with the corona discharge, they last longer, and provide 100% ozone output over the course of their life, whereas the ultra-violet will steadily degrade over it's short lifespan.

Since no one has posted to this thread in more than 6 months, I'm going to followup on the off-topic references to independentlivingusa.com.

Buyer Beware.

We are having trouble with independentlivingusa.com after buying one of their $5,000 hydro-therapy spa tubs. This spa tub is of the walk-in design for the elderly and handicapped. The tub has a door in it so people who can't step over the side of a traditional tub can walk into one of these tubs. They are designed with a seal around the door so that when the door is shut and then water is put into the tub, the water applies pressure to the seal around the door and water doesn't leak out.

Ours leaks. The door and seal came already installed on this tub. Yet independentlivingusa.com is acting like we screwed something up with the installation. They can't believe it leaks and they don't seem to believe us when we tell them it appears to be a manufacturing defect. The hinge side of the door sticks out 3/16" from the tub wall and doesn't appear to be putting enough pressure on the seal when the door is shut and thus, the tub leaks. At first it sounded like they were going to send a new door. They then backed off from that. All they are willing to do so far is send a new seal. We told them the seal doesn't look defective, it looks like there's not enough pressure on the seal because the door appears to have a manufacturing defect.

We'll see. For those considering a spa tub from independentlivingusa.com, buyer beware.

After a 14 day wait, we did receive parts that corrected the leak on our door seal. It was a simple modification. It is a shame this solution wasn't offered to us immediately. It would have eliminated this feeling we had for over a week that we weren't going to get any help to solve this manufacturer defect.

In the end, Independent Living USA sent what was needed to correct the leak and they have told us we will be reimbursed for the extra labor we were charged by our builder for the exta time spent on the leaky door. I will return to update this posting when the reimbursement check is received.

Bucky

Independent Living kept their word and mailed us a check for $125 to reimburse us for the extra costs our builder charged us for dealing with the leaky door.

We got off to a rocky start with their customer service but in the end Independent Living sent what was needed to fix the leaky door and reimbused us for the extra costs caused by the leaky door.