Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Bought one of these spas just a few weeks back. The idea of a plug and play, energy efficient, value priced spa seemed great. The dealer talked my ear off for half an hour not only about the quality of the spa but also their own commitment to customer satisfaction. So we finally decided to take a chance and order one. Big mistake. What was our experience like? Where to even begin? First of all the flighty dope at the dealer failed to properly capture a single detail correctly when I placed my order. She didn't even get my first name right on the invoice (though somehow she got my CC number right). In the process of setting up delivery she then miscommunicated my phone number to the shipper. So instead of getting my tub delivered on time and intact, it sat in a Yellow freight depot for the better part of a week while YRC tried in vain to contact some guy with a different name and phone number. With no help from the dealer, I had to track down the tub and correct their mistakes. The hot tub finally showed up 4 days late showing signs of having sat on a busy loading dock for all that time. But beyond some scuffs and tears in the protective wrapping it seemed OK so we accepted it rather than sending it back. This was ultimately a big mistake. Whether from shipping damage, or poor manufacturing this tub never worked properly. It took 3 days to heat to its initial set temperature (or 3 times the 27 hours they claim). Once heated, the jets seemed to turn on and off at random. The actual tub controls had no effect on operation, and on its own the tub seemed to continuously fluctuate between 100 and 105 with the set point at 104. The pump also seemed to airlock itself about every 8 hours, at which point you had to loosen some lines to purge air. The dealer and manufacturer said this was due to air trapped during filling, and that this would only need to be done once. In reality it had to be done every 4 hours or you would start to smell the motor burning itself up. However despite explaining all this to the dealer, it still took them 4 days to acknowledge this was a problem and submit a warranty claim. And that same guy that talked my ear off about their quality and service refused to take my calls for 10 days. And when his receptionist finally submitted warranty claim, the manufacturer never called. I finally contacted them after 3 days only to speak to the rudest, most obnoxious moron I've spoken to in years. I thought I was being helpful when I explained to her that the system clearly had an air leak which is why the pump kept airlocking no matter how many times I purged it. It was a simple deduction for me given my degrees in physics and chemistry, years experience as a mechanical and chemical engineer, multiple patents, and my own scientific instruments business. However I was informed by this unprofessional phone jockey who had never spent one minute with this tub, that I was wrong and had no idea what I was talking about. And that they would send someone in a week or so to replace the pump. She also kept asking when I bought the tub which I thought was strange. But I later discovered that they have a 30 day" no questions" return policy, and she was clearly trying to stall me out to miss the window to return the tub for a full refund. It was obvious to me that some greater problem had caused the pump to burn out and replacing it would not fix anything permanently. Furthermore the piping on this tub is just junky Home Depot PVC. The entire underside of the spa is then filled with blown foam. So even if the tech attempted to find the leak, he would have to rip out 10 cubic feet of foam from the underside all over my pool patio, and then wouldn't have the means to restore the foam to its original state. Not wanting any more hassle I told her I was returning the tub for a refund. To which her only response was basically a "ha ha, you'll have to pay to ship it back and pay a restocking fee". As much as that sucks, it will still be my pleasure to absorb these costs to be rid of this plague forever. Every aspect of my buying experience has been a comedy of incompetence, rudeness, and disappointment. These spas are cheaply made junk. They use crappy parts. They are sold by incompetent morons, and the service and support are shockingly bad. I sell products all over the world, that I design and manufacture myself. Many of them cost more than this tub did. Yet in six years of having my business, I've never had one defective product, one single return, or one single dissatisfied customer. Not in Germany, Japan, China, the UK or anywhere else, much less 2 states away. So I have just been absolutely floored by the completely terrible experience I've had with both the dealer, and Dreammaker themselves. Nobody at any point has even tried to be competent, helpful, or satisfy me as a customer. Read the reviews of these products on the Home Depot website and you'll see the same story repeated many times. $2000-3000 is a big purchase no matter who you are. No matter what they tell you or what you've heard, you do not want to give your hard earned money to these morons. Dreammaker and their Aquarest spas are a joke. Avoid them like the plague and buy your spa from a competent professional instead.