Should I have a new car or a hot tub??!! (Hydropool Hot Tubs)

Member Name: ginandtonic1988

Product:	Hydropool Hot Tubs
Date:	10/04/05 (3207 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very relaxing, Get a good nights sleep, The height of luxury!

Disadvantages: Slightly higher electricty bills, Lots of wet towels around the house!!, Need extra sets of swimwear

Well it had come to that time of year when I should have been thinking about changing my car it had very low mileage and doesn't get much use so it was decided that instead of changing it we would spend the same amount of money on a hot-tub/spa instead!!

Having browsed on the internet for a couple of months well armed with information we decided to dive in and buy a Fraser Diamond 390 hot tub from Hot Tubs UK Ltd (read spec at end of article).

We visited the showroom at our local Wyevale Garden Centre and was given a very informative demonstration from the sales women Sarah. She owns one her self so we felt that the information we was given wasn't to high tech and showed us how simple it was to own and maintain a tub.

We ordered the tub and was offered 9 months interest free credit. An inital deposit of £1000 was required. Once ordered we had a courtesy call a couple of days later regarding delivery and we decided to have it delivered in 6 weeks time.

To prepare the area we had to lay a patio/concrete base of 4 inches thick but we have been excessive and did 7 inches. A electricion came in and connected from the house to the area of the hot tub. We used 6mm armoured cable which was stipulated on the very good instructions from the company on how to prepare for delivery.

On delivery day we were advised the tub would be with us in the morning but the delivery men were running late but they did phone to advised. We had spoken to them on several occassions regarding the preparation. They always returned the phonecalls and were more than helpful with advice as so with the showroom and Sarah's advice.

It took two hours to install and one hour to fill after 8 hours it was ready to use. We were left with a starter pack of chemicals to maintain the spa and very simple detailed instructions on how to apply the chemicals. At no time have we been left in doubt on how to use the chemicals as all the information has been 1st class and easy to read.

The next morning we got up to blue skys and sun in March and hopped into to our new purchase. Wow it was 39.5 degrees we tested all the different function and were suitably impressed! We spent an hour bathing and then got out to leave the children and their friends to enjoy. We felt very relaxed afterwards didn't smell to much of chemicals either and my skin felt very soft unlike when you have visited the swimming pool.

We have now decided to build a structure round our tub. It's ok to cater for the summer months but we feel that most of the year is either cooler with rain or wind so we have plumped for a Log Cabin surround with a clear roof to let the sun in on brighter days. We have installed low wattage lights and windows and patio sliding door. The inside has been pine cladded and we are now building a cupboard/storage for towels and clothing etc.

We have had our tub for a month now and all the chemical levels required are spot on. You need to be very watchful of the ph levels etc as if they are not maintained correctly then you could end up with some very poorly bathers. We check ph levels on a daily basis and add chemicals as required being show by the ph strips you put in the water. We wash the filters once a week with fresh water and then reinsert we haven't had a electricity bill yet but we've been informed to expect about £20 a month extra. We will be buying extra filters as recommended so that when we clean the filters with chemicals overnight with spares to reinsert this needs to be done on a montly basis, you also need to completly empty and refill the tub every 9-12 weeks.

The spec of the tub we bought is as follows:-

Variety of colours to choose from (we chose a motled grey)
5/6 seats including 2 loungers (most spas of this size come with 1)
2 Water Pumps (others spas you have to pay top end spec to get two, this comes with two as standard)
Hot air blower
Light
5 Pillows
Moulded hand grips
3kw heater (the larger the kilowatage the lower the electricty bills
39 Massage Jets
2 Neck massage Jets
126 Air injector massage system
20 amp
1200 litre capacity
Size 2050 x 1965 x 850 mm
Includes redwood cabinet and tuff base
Includes steps and lockable cover (some companys charge extra for these items, these came include in the spa price)

Overall we thought our spa at £5,000 was good value for money, built by the biggest european manufacturer and the sales services, delivery service has been exceptional.

We also heard last week when visiting the showroom that another customer had some problems with various areas (personally think that his problems were self inflicted though, ie not preparing the base properly and using chemicals incorectly!!) but it was good to hear that the after service was as good as the pre delivery that we received so it gives us confidence that if there were ever problems in the future we will be looked after in good hands.

Just one word of warning do not leave children unattended my daughter slipped over in the tub and struggled to get up from under the water (she fell at a funny angle) so if children are left unattended or alone then there is the potential for serious accidents. Do not drink alcohol in the spa, we and our friends have all tried it and when you get out of the hot water the effects are not pleasent, sickness, dizziness and heart racing. You are told in your instructions not to use alcohol but being adults we felt that we would give it a try but suffered the consequences!! Do not use unless spoken to your doctor first if you are diabetic, pregnant or have high blood pressure.

Overall we are really happy with our purchase we are using it about 3 times mid week and most of the weekend (without alcohol involved!!) We have excellent sleep in the evening as it is so relaxing and its very enjoyable when friends come round. We are all very tall people with tall friends and find there is plenty of space for everyone.

I would recommend the purchase of a tub to everyone but make sure you do your homework as there are alot of different companys on the market at the moment its alot of money to spend if you purchase something you are not going to be entirely happy with it.

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