January 11, 2019 – At Olympic, we have the very good fortune of selling multiple hot tubs to folks over the years. It’s one of the gratifying things about selling the best brand of tub out there—Hot Spring Spas—and striving as best we can to take care of folks who have entrusted their business to us. With nearly 24 years in the hot tub industry, it does my heart glad when I see a new sale to someone I sold a tub to 7, 10, 15…even 20 years ago! Nothing makes me happier.

It also is a resounding statement that people who buy from Olympic never fall out of love with hot tubbing. In fact, they realize more than ever that they can’t live without a daily soak to keep them happy and healthy.

One thing that is stunning when folks come back for their next tub: what is important this time around. I can’t tell you how many times customers have said to me, “I wish I would have realized…”, “This time I definitely want…”. The things people thought were so important to their hot tub purchase ended up not being so important at all. I thought it would be helpful, especially if you’re considering your first hot tub, to have some insight into what folks who have already owned a Hot Spring Spa think really matter when getting into hot water.

• Clean, safe, healthy water. Sure, this would be important to most first-time hot tub owners, too. Yet, sometimes it gets tossed so far down the list in terms of importance that it doesn’t end up being a deciding factor. Realize this: daily hot tub soaking is all for naught if you’re not immersing yourself into water that’s crystal clear, smells great, and has just enough sanitizer to kill what we bring into the water yet doesn’t dry out your skin and has very little chemicals. More achievable today than ever before with the fabulous FreshWater Salt System with SilkBalance that Olympic offers on Hot Spring Spas. The unbeatable combination gives you healthy water that’s soft on your skin! You will love it.
• The best massage instead of the highest jet count. I don’t know why so many people think that more jets in a hot tub is the best way to get massage. Our customers have discovered that jets are nice, but excellent massage from the jets in your tub is the critical thing! More jet variety, jets that massage you in a unique way and don’t just pummel one part of your body—that’s the key to hydromassage! Get a chance to sit in front of a Moto-Massage DX jet in a Hot Spring Spa, and you’ll get it!
• Silence is golden. A tub that is silent when you’re not using it and doesn’t disturb you or your neighbors in the middle of the night is priceless. There’s enough noise in our lives; you don’t need your hot tub contributing to the noise factor of your world. A Hot Spring Spa filters water continually 24 hours a day and does it without any excess noise from a big jet pump kicking on over and over to do it. It’s more expensive to build a tub this way, but it’s worth every penny.
• Buy for you first, everyone else second. Sometimes folks come in wanting a tub that will entertain everyone—friends, family, kids. The reality? Most hot tub owners use their tub first thing in the morning or at the end of the night before heading to bed. Sometimes nothing more than a small to mid-size tub is enough hot tub for the reality of daily use.
• Horsepower schmorsepower! Ugh…! I’ve always hated it when someone came in to look for a hot tub and asked what horsepower the jet pumps in the tub were. In nearly every case they were set up to think that was important by another company touting it as vital to a good soak. Ummm…most hot tubbers run their jets for all of 10-15 minutes, then spend the rest of their soak with jets off, enjoying the buoyancy and silence. If a hot tub has been engineered well, you should also get terrific jet pressure out of a small amount of horsepower in a pump. And, guess what? More efficient use of lower horsepower pumps means less of a jolt to your energy bill. Isn’t that smarter?
• Get a Smartop. No hot tub owner has ever said to me, “I’m so glad I got my hot tub with that vinyl cover that gets waterlogged, stinky and has to be replaced every 3-5 years. It’s one of the best things about my hot tub!” It is 2019! Do something much more environmentally friendly and make an investment in a Smartop. It’s a deluxe cover designed to last the life of your tub AND has replaceable components to help it achieve this. It also retains its ability to lock the heat in your tub to keep energy cost low. Again, it’s an investment, but it’s absolutely worth every penny!

If you’re ready for your first tub, keep these tips in mind when heading out to shop for your dream hot tub. If you’re in our area, we display many of our Hot Spring Spas full of water. This is important, as you can smell and see the water, hear how silently they operate, and feel the terrific jets—either with your hand in the water, or by taking advantage of a free test soak. It will really help you be confident you made the right choice!