Hello All,

I am purchasing a new tub. I have looked at Watsons here in Minneapolis and have been impressed with their Artesian Resort 856B (seating for 7, 56 jets, stereo). They are talking about a "Warehouse Sale" price of $6700.

After receiving the price quote, I have done research and havent found much on that exact tub but it seems that Artesian makes a good tub. A couple of people called them more of the Toyota of the industry with D1, Marquis, Jacuzzi and Hot Springs being the BMW.

My questions, does anyone actually have the Artesian 856B? thoughts on it? has it been energy efficient? Also, I am fine having the Toyota of the class as long as it is going to last me.

Any help would be great as my head is about to explode with different sales pitches from Hot Tub dealers!

As a tech, I have no problem with this spa - they use commonly available components on the aftermarket.

Stay away from anything with misters (pushbuttons for them), extra lighting (that also have pushbuttons for them), stereo/cd/tv's (that have pushbuttons for them).

Until this industry has aftermarket support for these useless devices, in a few years you could be facing a HUGE bill for circuit board replacement, because anything besides basic pump 101 is going to remain proprietary - ie, you can't fix it unless you go to the manufacturer for your parts. And if the dealer's dead and gone - you're screwed; if the manufacturer's out of business, well let's just say you got no more funky misters, fancy led lights all over the tub, and definitely NO lcd tv.

If you are LUCKY, Your $6000 spa now costs you $900 MORE to replace a board a few years later by a local service tech, that is if you can find one.

Keep your purchasing decisions simple - a spa is a spa, NOT an entertainment system.

And Toyota makes good cars - not dvd players.

I wish the rest of the manufacturers in this industry could get a clue. I'm tired of having to play doctor to folks calling every day just to tell them that their fancy lights, misters and stereo tv cd system on their hot tub will no longer be functional unless they spend $300-$500 more for the exact proprietary board (that is, if it's available still) they need....

Stick with the spa. Mount your tv and cd stereo system with external mounts and such. The worst you would face is a destroyed $20 remote because you drank too much and dropped it in the water.

BTW, there ain't no Toyota of the class.

A working tub any day of the week is always Presidential compared to a broke anything else.

Thanks for the helpful insight here. I understand your concerns about stereos and the rest of the gimmicks.

When it comes to the basic tub, it sounds like that is a good middle of the road spa. Right? If so, that is fine by our needs but I just want to make sure that I am not buying a dud.

From your site it looks like you work on most brands, what would you suggest for around $6k - $7k?

A couple of good sized pumps, a lotta jets. These days, 20+ real jets is a minimum. Be sure to check craigslist in your area, I've seen people pick up $10,000 spas less than 3 years old for pennies on the dollar.

A friend of mine picked up one brand new still in warranty from a homeowner that never hooked it up for $4000 - it was an $8600 tub (on sale at the store still).

Last thing - depth is the most important factor imo - stay away from bargain basement $3500 (or less) new tubs that are less than 35" deep unless you're only 4' tall.

So here is the million dollar question, if you had $6500 to spend on a hot tub, which one would you buy?

Thanks again for all your help. This really is a difficult process.

Since I'm fairly handy with spa repairs... (or just general handy work all around)... http://atlanta.craigslist.org/hsh/552594248.html One of these... http://atlanta.craigslist.org/for/548857703.html http://atlanta.craigslist.org/for/525492653.html Then I can always use an extra toy truck... http://atlanta.craigslist.org/car/555873030.html to bring the tub home with, (I really like those seats - paint job looks great too)... Then with I'd stick 500 in an envelope and leave it inside the equipment compartment so whenever anything dies I'll have the cash right there to replace it with... Then the balance I'd buy the wife a really nice Valentines day present. Ha! Well you asked! Fwiw, knowing this business the way I do, I'd never buy a new one. Since warranty service is such a @#$& in this country, I'll take the responsibility for it myself - that way I get to be mad at me, instead of somebody else I paid 6500 to.

what if you were "forced" to buy a new one?

Alps

Another brand to look at!!! I will call them and see what they say.

Thanks again for your time and effort.