La Cala Hot Tubs - Today

by: John Lewis

Today in Spain and in the rest of the world there is a very wide and amazing choice when it comes to choosing a Hot Tub Jacuzzi in Spain.

In the same way that people and families vary in size so of course does the sizes and shapes of Hot Tubs just as much.

They also vary when it comes to the question of how many people they can accommodate.

For example there are those Hot Tubs that are just small enough for two to three people. Some people, usually a couple, often think a small tub is a better buy but this is always a mistake unless space is a limiting factor. If space is a limiting factor then clearly a small tub is the order of the day. The reason for this is that well designed 4/5 seater Hot Tubs have different seat designs both in terms of depth so that one seat will be much deeper for more buoyancy and another not so deep. Also four / five seater will have more and varied massage positions and choices which a smaller Hot Tub will not have. Then there are those that are much larger seating eight people and others that can seat four to five people and those that can seat five to six. Often these can be suitable for ones family together with friends or indeed perfectly suitable for just a couple.

A typical two seater would be say 81" long and 55" wide with a depth of 30" or in metric terms some 2.06M x 1.4M with a depth of 0.75M. This Hot Tub would hold in the region of some 190 gallons of Water (US) or say 720 Litres. This type of Hot tub would probably have something in the range of 12 to 18 Jets with a two speed 2HP motor with a 2HP air blower.

Always look for the Air Blower and if its not there then ask why,

Moving up to say an eight sided / Octagonal Shape a typical size would be 80" by 80" with a depth of 34". This would have the same pump configuration as the two seater referred to above but would be able to accommodate six people and have a much larger water capacity of some 400 US Gallons or 1,500 Litres.

One of the most popular types is a five seater with one lounger usually say a size of 82" by 80" with a depth of 32" and some times you can get a deeper version with a depth of 40" or again in Metric it would be some 2.08M x 2.01M with a depth of 0.79M and for the deeper version the depth would be just over one Metre. The standard size would hold some 400 Gallons US (1,500 Litres) and the Deeper Tub Some 425 Gallons US (1,600 Litres).

You can also get very clever designer shaped spa's with a stretched lounge seat that will take five people and with a size of 79" by 73" it's slightly smaller than the one immediately above and you can see that in the water capacity is smaller at 300 US gallons or some 1,135 Litres.

Obviously as one moves up the scale in the terms of cost you tend to get more and more extras like a waterfall and neck / collar jets. This kind of size of Tub would have a 2 speed 3.5 HP electric motor for the European market and 5 hp in the United States and a 2 HP air blower.

In a brief article one can only highlight a few ideas or choices so I have restricted this to just a few Hot Tubs as obviously the choice is pretty wide. There are of course more exotic Hot Tubs with much more Jets say 98 and 130 Jets together with underwater perimeter lighting systems. Now one of the key questions has to be how one chooses the right Hot Tub and not end buying a pig in a poke or the Dog Fish Tub or indeed a Wing Wang Wah Tub. Well the answer is to buy from a well established western manufacturer who has been making Hot Tubs for say 20 years and whose product has stood the test of time. Buy a product with recognized controls like Balboa from California... Avoid Hot Tubs that are cheaply copied and made in the East. They are of course very highly skilled at making copies but remember the recent Toy incident and of course their products are made in somewhat difficult labour conditions in what many people consider an oppressive regime that persecutes its own people and does not allow freedom of speech. I often am asked to repair older Hot Tubs and the western made products stand up very well where as the eastern made products are suffering after a very short time in the field. We find it quite easy to source spare parts for American made products.

As I have explained above the choice is very wide.

Some Hot Tubs offer multi-level seating for people of different body types. Some feature comfortable built-in lounge seats. It is very important to choose the Hot Tub that matches with what suits your own idea of perfect relaxation and is made to a proper high western standard in order that it will provide you with many years of reliable service... It is best to avoid cheap imports from the east no matter how well they are packaged or disguised. Our experience in the field is that certain key components FAIL with in quite a short time. Usually just outside the warranty!!!