Inflatable hot tubs are a brilliant affordable idea when you just want to test drive the idea, see if you really want a permanent hot tub in the garden. But once you’ve made your mind up, it’s wise to buy the best quality tub you can and take care to avoid really cheap models that’ll probably let you down. Here’s why it’s never a good idea to buy a cheap hot tub.

Reasons why a cheap hot tub is rarely a bargain!

Unless it’s a good brand in a sale, low cost usually means poor quality in the hot tub world. Everything from the material of tub itself to the surround, construction, plumbing and electrics are pared down to the bone to achieve profitable high volume sales.

• HOT TUB BUYING TIP: Most decent hard shell tubs for everyday use cost around the £5k mark. Less than that and you might be entering risky waters. 

Cheap hot tubs might seem attractive on the face of it but with so many corners cut, you can’t expect perfect performance and a long life.

• HOT TUB BUYING TIP: If you’re bargain hunting, find a reputable tub from a top maker in a sale rather than buying an unknown-brand tub at a suspiciously low price. 

The downside of cheap inflatable hot tubs

So you’ve got everything from a state of the art swim spa costing fifty grand to the most basic inflatable for around £250. The cheapest inflatables are super-cheap, so what’s the score with them?

While simple to set up, an inflatable hot tub doesn’t have any seating. It isn’t very comfortable for lounging, better for quick dips. They don’t have enough power to actually give you a hydrotherapy massage, the jets just make the water bubbly.

Cheaper parts are more likely to break down and you need to be careful about the surface. They can tear and puncture on uneven or rough ground, and when treated roughly. And because they lose a lot of heat they use a surprising amount of energy. Basically, in our experience, they’re best used as a bit of fun for the kids or occasional use for sunbathing grown-ups to cool off. They can’t give you the full hot tub experience.

HOT TUB BUYING TIP: Check the heater power, which controls how fast the water will get hot. On a cold day substandard heaters won’t warm the water up enough, and the same goes for hot tub parties. If the heater isn’t up to the task you’ll get chilly.

The downside of affordable wood fired hot tubs

Wood fired hot tubs are getting more popular because of high energy costs but also because they look great and work beautifully. The rustic feel flatters the garden, blending in nicely. They cost less than hard shell tubs because they’re simpler and come with fewer features.

It’s always wise to buy the best quality hot tub you can afford, whatever type it is, but aside from that the wood fired versions do come with some downsides that might blow the low price tag out of the water.  You need to plan ahead, heating the water from scratch every time, taking the spontaneity out of the experience. You need a constant good supply of dry wood and somewhere handy and dry to store it. This style of tub is about hot water, not bubbles, so there aren’t any jets. And because you have to drain the tub every time it uses more water than an electric hard shell model.  

HOT TUB BUYING TIP: The better the insulation the faster it’ll heat up, the longer it’ll stay hot and the less energy it’ll use to get and stay hot. There are different types and standards of insulation and the best hot tub insulation can save you a fortune.

The downside of cheap hard-shelled electric tubs

With an entry level price tag of five to eight grand, no decent hot tub is cheap unless it’s in a sale, through an online retailer or physical shop you can trust.

There are a few obvious signs a hot tub price is too good to be true. If they supplier is unclear about delivery, you might end up with delivery nightmares. A mysterious manufacturer might leave you with bad quality parts and components that have been badly put together. Warranties of less than two years aren’t worth having, so beware of that. You want a tub with a proper manufacturer’s warranty that won’t leave you hanging if the seller goes out of business or disappears.

Look for a generous warranty. Some of the best-loved brands offer a lifetime warranty, they’re that confident in the quality of their products. Some places offer a one-year warranty on labour as well.

Examine the base closely, whether you’re in a shop or zoom right in to the images online. Poor quality wood is more likely to split, rot and bow, the last thing you need when a huge tub of water filled with adults weighs so much.

Alarm bells should ring when a cheapo tub looks exactly like the regular-price model you’ve been admiring, it’s probably a cheeky cheap copy. Poor quality parts, cheap manufacture, poor moulding and casting, a greater failure rate – and no customer service when things go pear shaped.

HOT TUB BUYING TIP: Ex-display models can be brilliant bargains with little or no wear and tear. You can shave thousands off the price of a quality tub, a good move for people who are prepared to wait for the right deal to come along.

Cheap hot tub nightmares

A very cheap spa is unlikely to have as much insulation as a regular-price model, which means it’ll  use more energy. You can’t see the insulation, or lack of it, because it’s inside the shell. Or it should be… we’ve heard one horror story about someone who got a £1000 electricity bill for just one month using a sub-standard tub. The insulation turned out to be so bad it just let the heat straight out.

The really cheap ones are imported from China and often go wrong within months, aside from looking and feeling flimsy. The instructions are minimal and badly translated, often complete gibberish. Sometimes there’s no manufacturer name or address, leaving you completely in the lurch.

In some cases the ‘chrome’ on the jets peels off, leaving the white plastic underneath visible. The jets don’t always work very well and the underwater lights can be problematic. The temperature can quickly go wonky, never heating up properly. The circuit board can die and the DVD players conk out. The jets can leak. And spare parts can be impossible to find.

HOT TUB BUYING TIP: Focus on the best quality you can afford with the kind of long term customer support that makes owning a hot tub a pleasure.

You can trust our carefully-chosen manufacturers to do right by you. Our hot tubs come from the most popular brands and are backed with guarantees direct from the manufacturer.