Hot Spring Vista Hot Tub Review

Pros: energy efficient

Cons: controls are complicated, uncomfortable lounger, poor customer support

Price Paid: $11,000

Review: 

I purchased the Vista Hot Spring hot tub almost three months ago. Although I am enjoying the hot tub very much, there are a few things that are really very poorly designed that you really can't know until you have the hot tub in your yard.

First of all, there are three different control panels for operating the jets, temperature, etc. (Main Control Panel, Side Control panel, and the remote control. They all work differently. None of them are the slightest bit intuitive. I still have to bring the manual with me to enter my weekly settings for the chemicals. The remote... forget it. Whoever designed it should find another career. Well, actually, it doesn't work at all very often.

The lounger seat is really not comfortable if you are larger than 5'8. I am a six foot guy & when you really want to relax in the lounger seat it is rather uncomfortable. The dealer agreed with me when I mentioned it to him ... but this was after I had the tub for 2 months. I am not sure why he didn't mention this before the sale - he knew the hot tub was for myself.

The cup holders... well, I am not certain that they were designed as cup holders, but it would be really nice if they were. There are these little round smooth spots that look like a nice spot to put your cup... but they are ever so slightly tilted so your drink falls into the tub. No more root beer floats for me in the hot tub.

The dealer's first impressions were great. I purchase the hot tub from Springdance Hot Tubs in Jaminson PA. The reality is that their customer service leaves a lot to be desired. They are absolutely terrible in returning phone calls. Further, so far they have mixed up 2 out of 3 orders of supplies.

Although I have these complaints... I am really enjoying having a hot tub. I would never buy a hot tub from Hotspring again. The company that manufactures them, Watkins Manufacturing Corp, maintains a website that advertises their hot tubs... but provides no way to contact the company directly. They do not even offer any support pages for operational hints or anything. On none of the manuals that came with the hot tub is there a direct phone number. I have learned my lesson - I will never buy another major purchase from any company that doesn't want to communicate with their prospective or current customers directly. If I buy a $50 DVD player from any company... there is always a way to get some customer support. I can pay $10.00 for a piece of software shareware and get better support than from either the manufacturer or the dealer for this $11,000 hot tub.

 

--Review by Hal Segal, 2007