GAmom and I will be moving to Annapolis in a couple of months and becoming MDmom and dad. I want to get a hot tub at the new house; I enjoy them but have never owned one. I’m not really too price sensitive on it - I was prepared to spend several thousand $ on a rigid one, but then I started reading about inflatable 4-6 person tubs than sell for several hundred $. I know that there would be downgrades in going to an inflatable model but OTOH, I could set it up myself, plug it into a regular power outlet, take it down and put it away if I want, and I’m thinking that it may help me decide what features would really be important to me when I go to a rigid model. Some of them get ratings of around 4.3 out of 5, so apparently some owners are satisfied. What are your opinions about inflatable tubs and what would you warn me to be careful about?
They’re not great. Costco had one recently that was reduced to 300. A friend had one that was good cheap fun while it lasted (she wasn’t responsible about taking care of it). It can be hard to get them up to really hot temps. But I’d say that if you can get the thing at Costco for 300, it’s most definitely a cheap temporary thrill, and if you get your ya-ya s out on it and then realize you don’t want one forever, you will have saved yourself thousands. I think a lot of people get bored with them and don’t use them that much, unless they’re part of a pool setup.
No opinion on inflatables, but we’ve owned our Marquis hot tub for 7 years.
DH insisted on all of the bells and whistles. Guess what we don’t use… All the bells and whistles. We also went way bigger than we needed to. There are rarely more than 1 or 2 people in it at a time.
Marquis is a really reliable brand. Buy from a place that also services your brand. We’ve only needed service once (of course it was one of the “bells and whistles”) and I know all the more local places were completely backed up, but our dealer came out to do the service despite being quite a distance away (another state).
If price is a concern, I’d go with a lower tier tub from a reliable manufacturer. Unexpected costs include electrical upgrade, a concrete pad or any reinforcing of decking (may need a permit to pour concrete), transportation and possibly a crane depending on where it is going (ours was craned over our house to go on a deck). You will also want to invest in a good cover and cover lift. Ongoing costs include electricity, chemicals and filters.
I feel like we are like many people in our area (lots of snow and cold) in terms of usage. We used it almost nightly the first year (even in rain and snow). Dropped to a couple of times a week years 2 and 3. After that, it was more like once a week. Now in year 7, it seems like a chore although I probably wouldn’t feel that way if I didn’t have to brave snow and ice to take care of it part of the year.
Thanks Liz!
Makes sense - thanks.
We’ve had one for 2.5 years and it’s fine. In the summer, I turn off the heater, and we use it as a cool pool.
Let me add that we have the Intex Purespa Plus 6 seater. I got it for all the reasons you listed. A lot cheaper than a “real one”. Once you cut the heater off it can take an entire day to get it hot tub heat.
We don’t use ours that often, but it has been a huge hit at DD’s birthday parties.
Nice - it hadn’t occurred to me that it could also be a cool tub when appropriate !
I got it in the Summer 2020 when everything like public pools were closed because of the pandemic, and it was really hot outside. I have had Intex inflatable pools before, but that was at a previous house where we had a larger yard.
You can’t really swim in it (too small), but, man, is it nice when it’s hot outside!
Check out the YouTube videos for Intex and Coleman inflatable tubs. Lots of people have them.
We’ve never really had a problem with ours. Set up is VERY easy, and take down is too. Most of them come with all that you need to get started. Use bromine rather than chlorine as your pool chemical, clean your filters regularly, and beware of punctures (which you can fix), and you should be fine. The only thing that didn’t come mine was steps, which I bought separately (you don’t need them, though.)