Hot tub? Yay or nay? Update: Huge YAY!!

[The Bard Rocks]

I've used one nearly every day for the past 20+ years and have learned a few things. To wit:
1) Most folks who get one use it very little once the honeymoon period is over.
2) BE SURE you know who is going to service it and keep it running. Home Depot and places like that will be of little use.
3) They are not cheap in any respect if you figure what it will cost you per hour of actual use.

All that said, I am about to grab my book, strip, and get wet. Almost no one has ever used mine but me; I seem to be the sole enthusiast in our home. Every night I am home I get wet..

[Methos1979]

Update: We got a lot of info/opinions here over a three day period and I realized I never did comment again or thank you all. So, thanks! We did in fact end up getting a hot tub. Two, actually. We decided to try one of those little inflatables just to see if we liked it enough and would use it enough. We were actually very surprised with just how robust those little inflatables are! It was very nice to be able to get into a tub of hot water after a day of playing pickleball or working on a house project. We rather quickly decided we would definitely be the types to regularly use the 'real deal'. So we started looking at them in earnest a month into owning the inflatable.

The first thing that hit was was sticker shock. Like everything post-pandemic, hot tub prices have gone through the roof. But they are still selling like hotcakes and won't come down anytime soon and likely never. And since time is more important than money at this stage of our lives, we continued to on. We started looking at the plug and play rotomold shell tubs but quickly dismissed those. Then we started looking at some of the major brands that had reputable dealerships around here. Our options were Marquis, Bullfrog or Hot Springs/Caldera. We initially dismissed the last one as they were quite pricey. Also dismissed the Bullfrog which left the Marquis.

We were looking at a few options in the $10k/$12k range. Then one of the Marquis Crown series (their top-tier) showed up that ticked a lot of boxes for us but that was also $15k. Since we were seriously considering that one we felt we needed to revisit the Hot Springs/Caldera dealer since spending that much put their offerings back on the table. In the end after many weeks of research, comparison and testing we went with the Caldera Seychelles which ticked all our boxes. It's a salt water system which seems to have a love/hate for a lot of people. People that have them love it while people that don't hate it. Yes, more expensive to run but much less work and time to keep the water balanced.

Next up was the patio needed to put the tub on. I got a couple quotes for both a patio with pavers or just a cement pad and as with everything else, the prices were just too high. $4k/$6k. I figured I could make my own out of compacted gravel and pavers for much less, which is what I ended up doing and it came out pretty gosh darn good, if I may say so. Cost was well under $1k. I had my electrician friend hook me up for a great price and we got the new tub delivered a week ago. We love it! We're in it at least once and oftentimes twice a day. Practicing on the inflatable got me very comfortable with the water chemical balancing and the salt system is way-cool and will be easy to use and maintain.

Anyway, I figured I'd update the post since I never did thank everyone and you never know who might find this post when doing a search on hot tubs in an acoustic guitar forum!

[MrDB]

I enjoyed the 2 tubs we had. The wife hardly ever got in so it was just me. When we downsized to a smaller place there wasn't a spot for the tub so we sold it.

I grew tired of the water chemistry game and switched to just bromine. When the water got a little sketchy I just drained the tub and refilled it. A dollar worth of water is a lot cheaper than $20 of chemicals.

[joe white]

Congratulations! We have the salt system in our Hot Springs and I am really impressed at how little there is to do now. I also like not having the chlorine steam sting my eyes and burn my nose.

[Photojeep]

Congratulations on getting a good one and enjoying it!

We used to have an in-ground pool with attached jacuzzi and while we enjoyed both for the first 5 or so years, once the kids got older and lost interest in swimming, it became more of a chore than a pleasant experience.

Long story short, we enjoyed having it and oftentimes told friends we got the pool for the kids and the jacuzzi for us.

It certainly helped us sell the house!

Best,
PJ