You’re thinking of buying a swim spa. The problem is that this isn’t exactly an everyday purchase. How and where should you begin your search? What do the best swim spas look like? Where’s the best place to buy a swim spa? Should you buy a swim spa online?
There are a lot of questions that you need to answer – which is why we’ve created a comprehensive Swim Spa Buyer's Guide, to help clear up the confusion that a prospective swim spa owner might feel.
It’s an easy-to-follow, printable document that guides you through the process of identifying your ideal swim spa, to ensure you buy the right machine and do so with confidence.
Why invest in a swim spa?
Fastlane Pools introduced the concept of a swim spa in 1984. Over the subsequent decades the technology has been constantly improved and refined, resulting in a modern machine that offers an absolutely incredible (and energy efficient) swim-in-place experience, as well as a whole lot more.
Why buy a swim spa? Here are just a few of the most compelling reasons.
While swim spas are seen as luxuries, the truth is that the right model can prove to be an incredible investment that can deliver you and your family real returns:
Fitness
The most common reason to invest in a swim spa is to place swimming and aquacise just steps from your back door. Starting or ending your day with aquatic fitness can feel incredible, and the warmth of a swim spa means that it is perfectly comfortable all year round.
By adding the right accessories, the powerful, smooth and adjustable current can be utilised in any number of ways to help you achieve your fitness and body goals.
There’s the underwater treadmill that grants you the ability to walk, jog, run or sprint minus the heavy impacts of dry land exercise. This offers an unbeatable cardio workout to a wider range of people, including those who find traditional running or jogging uncomfortable, or simply can’t do it anymore.
The water rower delivers an amazing upper body workout. The Aquabike brings the fun of a spin class to the water. And the swim tether and resistance bands help to ratchet up the intensity of any exercise.
Rehab and recovery
Whether you’re looking for a pre-workout warm up, a post-workout cool down, or a way to gently recover and rehabilitate from an injury, the soothing waters and gentle current of a swim spa is the ideal place to do it.
Loosening muscles and joints before exercise is critical, as is dealing with lactic acid build-up afterwards. A gentle swim or a luxurious hydromassage session can be the ideal way to prepare for or recover from a workout.
A Fastlane Pools swim spa is the ideal machine for longer-term rehab and recovery too. The warm water increases the amount of nutrient-rich blood pumped around your body, helping it to repair itself after an injury or a bout of illness.
A swim spa doubles as a hydrotherapy pool, offering the elderly and people with limited mobility an opportunity to get active, and sufferers of chronic pain a way to manage their conditions.
Hydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy is an incredibly valuable form of therapy for a wide range of people: the elderly, people with limited mobility, those who suffer from chronic pain. The problem is many people don’t have a hydrotherapy centre close-by – they need to travel long distances to access the treatment, if indeed they have any access at all.
Between the warmth and the buoyancy of the water, your body is given the ideal conditions to manage chronic pain and symptoms, and by using your swim spa regularly, you could potentially regain movement and increase mobility.
Lifestyle
A swim spa is the ultimate lifestyle enhancement: a place to improve your health and wellness, enjoy a tranquil escape immersed in hydromassage, and a device-free place to spend quality time with loved ones or get social on the weekends.
All but one of our models come with dedicated spa pool seating, and the two largest even have completely separate spa pool sections!
This means that your Fastlane Pools swim spa is every bit as valuable on those rest days when your body is given a chance to recover from all that water-based activity. It’s an ideal place to enjoy a tranquil solo escape: pour some bubbles in a (plastic) flute and lower yourself into self-care heaven.
A Fastlane Pools swim spa is a device- and distraction-free zone; a place where you can spend true quality time with loved ones, from intimate evenings with your partner to fun-filled weekends with your kids. You can make your swim spa the hub of your home – a place where you and your family enjoy a regular soak and catch-up.
And for all you social butterflies, a Fastlane Pools swim spa has an unbeatable ability to draw a crowd. There’s room for everyone, so why not invite friends and extended family around? Just be aware that you probably won’t have many people declining!
Property value
From increasing bookings and nightly rates at your holiday rental, to enhancing the value of your property when it’s time to sell, a swim spa can prove a truly value-adding X-factor on the open market. Not ready to say goodbye to your swim spa when you move? No worries – you can take your fully portable Fastlane Pools machine with you!
The perks are compelling, so you’re going to invest. But what does the process of finding your perfect swim spa look like? Here’s a sample of what you’ll learn in our swim spa buying guide.
Start with the basics
The first thing you need to understand is your why: why do you want a swim spa? Your main motivation will help clarify your needs and wants and guide you to your perfect machine. Consider which of the benefits above you most identify with, and search for a machine that delivers them.
Consider limitations too, like how much space you have in your preferred position, and how much you’re willing to spend. To this last point, remember that the price of a swim spa only tells part of the story, and spending more on a high quality model now can mean huge ongoing savings on bills, maintenance and repairs.
Types of swim spas
Once you’ve clarified your basic goals and limitations, you can start to browse your options. Swim spas come in a surprising number of types and styles, and it’s important to understand which might be right for your situation:
- In-ground/permanent vs above-ground/portable
- Swim-only vs swim and spa
- Single pool vs twin pool
- Cost-effective vs premium
- Swim spa seating and sizing
- Propulsion system technology (speed, volume, size of current, etc.)
A swim spa isn’t a cost – it’s an investment that can pay itself back handsomely in a number of ways. You just need to choose the right machine.
Beyond the sticker price of the swim spa, there are a number of costs, both upfront and ongoing, that you need to consider in order form a proper budget. These include:
- Delivery, installation and setup
- Power, water and spa chemical bills
- Maintenance and potential repairs
- Resale/trade-in value
When shopping for a swim spa, put a particular focus on:
Energy efficiency
Cheaper swim spa models will feature less efficient components, and will lack the all-important insulation you need to keep your water warm. A higher quality swim spa on the other hand, like a Fastlane Pools machine, can pay itself back over time through lower power bills. Boasting Australia’s most energy efficient hot tubs, at Hot Spring we take efficiency seriously.
Water care
A high-end water care system, like the corona discharge ozone systems found in Fastlane Pools machines, can significantly reduce the amount of chemicals you use to keep your H2O clean and clear, and can make your water last longer, reducing the need to drain and refill the spa.
Warranty
The longer the warranty, and the better the manufacturer’s reputation, the more confident you can be that your swim spa will be around for the long haul. Creators of the world’s very first swim spa, Fastlane Pools has been proving its quality and longevity since 1984.
While the most critical swim spa features will depend on how you plan to use your machine, a few to concentrate on include:
The current generation system
Swim spas are defined by their ability to generate a current down the centre of the spa that you can swim and exercise against. These systems can vary greatly in terms of the amount of water they move, the speeds they move it at, and how deep, wide and smooth that current is. The Fastlane Pools E-Series range, for example, is capable of moving up to 19,000L/min, at an Olympic pace of 1:14/100m, in a perfectly smooth and laminar current.
Hydromassage
The best swim spas offer relaxing hydromassage that helps you warm up before or cool down after exercise, and that allows you to simply enjoy a soak when you need to relax. If hydromassage is important to you, choose a model with dedicated seating, perhaps even with a separate hot tub section. In terms of jets, always look for quality over quantity.
Fitness accessories
With the right accessories, your swim spa can turn into a complete aqua fitness machine. Keep exercise interesting with cross-training, and target specific muscle groups, by adding accessories like underwater treadmills, aquabikes, rowing kits and underwater mirrors.
Ready to dive into swim spa ownership? Download our buying guide today.
