Purchased my first hot tub from here. I did a lot of searching around since a hot tub is a "large"…read more(expensive) purchase. Tradewind's carries the Caldera brand which I knew nothing about when I started. I decided not to pay attention to brand since everyone has something to say about each specific brand online. I was looking at price (of course!), what was included with the purchase (delivery, free chemicals, etc.), and the quality of what they carried from my perspective.
Caldera spas are made in Mexico and seem to be a well-made product. There were several spas manufactured in the US that I had hoped to support, but found them to be less than superior in my price range. For instance, I paid attention to what the sides of the tubs were made of--they all are made of some sort of composite material these days (you can still get cedar or other woods). I simply pushed on the sides--if it bowed or moved in any way I became concerned. One of the big reasons I ended up at Tradewinds is because when I push on the side of the spa--IT DOESNT MOVE! This seems to me how it should be? You shouldn't be able to compress the sides and have them flex. Anyway, that was just me. They also had the best prices by far--now I am very fair--they were the only place I found Caldera spas so I can't compare if they were fairly priced for just the Caldera line but for whatever reason, other spa brands were hundreds, in some cases thousands more for the same thing (size, jets, etc.). The other places I went to carried Hot Springs, Lazy-Boy, Master Spas, and Hydropool. Ironically, some of these were thousands of dollars more, but I found them to not be as high in quality. Now again, to be fair--of course some of them were a much better/higher model then the one I purchased, but of course were thousands more. Of the ones that were comparable to the model I purchased from Tradewinds, Tradewinds just had the edge.
I liked Tradewinds for several reasons. First, the sales people were not pushy. They seemed to know it is a big purchase and let you actually leave without hounding you. I came back literally 5 times with questions. Now to be fair again, I could certainly tell they worked for commission as they made a point of making sure you came back to see them and not someone different, but that is pretty standard. The important thing to me is that they didn't try to "force" my purchase in any way. Second, the quality of the brand they carried in relation to the price--they had the best price for what I was looking for. Third, their out-the-door price included the spa, delivery & installation, about 1 months' worth of start-up chemicals, and also included the electrical box (sub panel) which no one I looked at did except them. So basically you put a small amount down and they hand you the panel box so you can start having the electrical prepared.
For whatever reason, Tradewinds and all the others did not provide an electrician at all--they could provide you the names of some, but chose not to include this, or even charge an extra amount and have their staff perform it. I found that odd but there must be a reason since none of them did it.
Overall, I am happy with the purchase and everyone was pleasant to work with. One complaint I have is that, even though you spend 6-15 thousand dollars, you don't get a courtesy call to see how everything is going. Much like purchasing a car, this is a big purchase so I expected someone to follow-up after a few days or weeks to see if I liked it, if I had any questions, etc.
The store is pretty nice and includes quite a few tubs, a couple with water in them. They certainly encourage you to get in the tub and get a feel for them.
