You are ready to improve your life as well as your house with a hot tub, but you are not sure where to begin your search? You might have questions, like, "how can I buy a hot tub?" or "How much can it cost?”
We understand, which is why we have created this comprehensive Hot Tub Buyer's Guide with you in mind – an easy, printable guide that walks you through each step of shopping for a hot tub, to answer these inquiries and much more, so you can buy with confidence.
Why invest in a hot tub?
There’s a temptation to think of a backyard hot tub as a luxury, a plaything, a backyard showpiece. But the truth is that a hot tub is so much more – it’s an investment that delivers a number of tangible returns:
- Health and wellness: Spa therapy has been proven to deliver an incredible array of health benefits both physical and mental. It can improve circulation, relieve the chronic pain associated with arthritis, fibromyalgia, back pain and migraines, accelerate recovery and rehabilitation, and reduce stress and anxiety.
- Lifestyle: There’s no more energising way to start your day or relaxing way to end it than with a soak in your backyard hot tub. Hot Spring owners tend to make it a daily ritual, and see a range of benefits because of it.
- Interpersonal relationships: hot tubs are built for quality time with loved ones. These device-free zones are designed to encourage communication, whether with your partner, your kids, your friends or your extended family.
- Your property: A backyard hot tub can be the X-factor that gets people booking your holiday rental or increases the value of your home when the time comes to sell – but if you don’t want to wave goodbye to spa life, you can take your fully portable Hot Spring hot tub or Fastlane Pools swim spa with you!
There are any number of ways a hot tub could enhance your health, home or lifestyle, so you’ve decided to invest. What next? In our guide to buying a hot tub we take you through the process: the considerations you need to make, the terms you need to know, and the questions you need to ask to secure the ideal spa.
Here’s a sample of what you’ll learn in our spa buying guide.
Start with the basics
Ask yourself: why do I want a backyard hot tub? By clarifying the main motivation behind the investment, you’ll be guided to the model that will best align with your needs and wants.
Perhaps you’re looking for a spa because of the health and wellness benefits it can offer. Perhaps you want a place for solo relaxation or a bit of romance. Perhaps you’re a social butterfly looking for a place to entertain friends and family. Maybe you want a hot tub for all of the reasons above.
You should also start by considering any limitations that may apply to your purchase. Consider where you’d like to place your hot tub, and how much room is there. Consider your budget: how much you’re willing to spend on a hot tub, and whether financing might help you to secure your dream model.
Types of hot tubs
Once you have an idea of your needs, wants and limitations, it’s time to shop. You need to know what to look for when buying a hot tub, which can be difficult because these machines aren’t exactly everyday purchases.
Our Buying a hot tub Guide walks you through all the different types of hot tubs to help you understand which might be right for your situation:
- In-ground/permanent vs above-ground/portable
- Indoor vs outdoor
- Hot tubs vs swim spas
- Hot tub seating and sizing
- Professionally installed vs Plug-N-Play
- Cost-effective vs premium
Making sense of cost
As mentioned at the top, a hot tub isn’t a cost, but a long-term investment that can pay itself back handsomely if you choose the right machine.
The sticker price of a hot tub only ever tells part of the story. You also need to consider delivery, installation and setup costs, and perhaps more importantly, the ongoing running costs and the longevity of the machine. All these factors can turn an apparent hot tub bargain into a rather pricey endeavour, as cheap and cheerful machines inevitably cost more to run and don’t last as long as higher quality options.
When shopping for a hot tub, put a particular focus on:
- Energy efficiency: Cheap spas can build up significant power bills, particularly through a lack of insulation which makes the heater work overtime. A high quality hot tub, however, will be well insulated and will feature energy efficient components that keep power use low. At Hot Spring we’re proud to offer Australia’s most energy efficient hot tubs.
- Water care: The right water care systems can significantly reduce the amount of water and chemicals your hot tub uses. Hot Spring’s FreshWater Salt System, for example, features clever technology that converts salt to chlorine, and can make your hot tub water last for 3-4x longer than a standard system!
- Warranty: The longer the warranty, the more confidence you’ll have that your hot tub will last the distance. But you should also be careful to check the reputation of the brand – warranties that are longer than the history of the company should raise questions. At Hot Spring we’ve been proving the longevity of our hot tubs since 1980, and offer warranties that reflect the confidence we have in our products.
Features to look out for
The features you choose are what make a hot tub yours – they reflect your needs, wants and tastes, and can elevate the soaking experience for everyone who enters. When shopping for your spa, keep an eye out for:
- High end hydromassage: Focus on the quality of hydromassage jets over the quantity. Take the Moto-Massage DX, the world’s first and only moving hot tub jet, made by Hot Spring, that is designed to work up and down the spine to sweep stress and tension away.
- Mood-setters: The best hot tubs will grant you total control over the atmosphere of your spa, with controllable water features, interior and exterior lighting systems, and Bluetooth speaker systems.
- Functional features: From pillows to umbrellas to spa side enhancements, the best spas will offer a wealth of ways to make your hot tub more efficient, accessible and enjoyable. Perhaps the most important are hot tub covers – the best won’t just keep your water free from debris, they’ll also be insulated to keep the heat in (and keep your power bills low).
