If you got a hot tub, how much did it cost and was it worth it?

[Anonymous]

Want to get a hot tub installed, along with a small surrounding deck, in my backyard. I know it will cost to install and maintain, so interested in hearing others experiences. TIA.

[Anonymous]

Also interested in this.

[Anonymous]

We bought a house that came with a hot tub. We pretty much never used it, but it still had to be maintained. Thumbs down.

[Anonymous]

about $18,000 for the hot tub and concrete pad to go underneath it. Also some electrical costs for the electrician to come and take care of that part..so maybe 20k? We didn't do a deck but we did full landscaping and that was a lot more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We bought a house that came with a hot tub. We pretty much never used it, but it still had to be maintained. Thumbs down.

Also my experience. It was an indoor hot tub, in a dedicated room. It was pleasant to use, but the frequency of use turned out to be minimal while the costs to keep the water heated, and the chemical treatments, were continuous expenses. In truth, a nice soaking tub gets you 90% of the same experience for a fraction of the cost, if you don't need to share it with other people at the same time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We bought a house that came with a hot tub. We pretty much never used it, but it still had to be maintained. Thumbs down.

Also my experience. It was an indoor hot tub, in a dedicated room. It was pleasant to use, but the frequency of use turned out to be minimal while the costs to keep the water heated, and the chemical treatments, were continuous expenses. In truth, a nice soaking tub gets you 90% of the same experience for a fraction of the cost, if you don't need to share it with other people at the same time.

This is OP, and DH and I really love hot tubs. (And so do our kids!) I’m interested in responses from people who really wanted a hot tub and therefore, hopefully, use theirs with some frequency. Your comment on maintenance costs does give me pause. I’m curious what those costs add up to.

We do have a Jacuzzi tub in our master bath, which I enjoy, but part of why I’m interested in getting a hot tub is because we’re in a place with very long winters and it would be nice to be able to soak in the cold air.

[Anonymous]

We have an in ground one (also in ground pool) and it is lovely. I honestly cannot remember the cost, but we did some extensive hard scaping (put in an outdoor kitchen/bar plus seating area and fire pit) and lighting, plus landscaping and naturally a security fence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We bought a house that came with a hot tub. We pretty much never used it, but it still had to be maintained. Thumbs down.

Also my experience. It was an indoor hot tub, in a dedicated room. It was pleasant to use, but the frequency of use turned out to be minimal while the costs to keep the water heated, and the chemical treatments, were continuous expenses. In truth, a nice soaking tub gets you 90% of the same experience for a fraction of the cost, if you don't need to share it with other people at the same time.

This is OP, and DH and I really love hot tubs. (And so do our kids!) I’m interested in responses from people who really wanted a hot tub and therefore, hopefully, use theirs with some frequency. Your comment on maintenance costs does give me pause. I’m curious what those costs add up to.

We do have a Jacuzzi tub in our master bath, which I enjoy, but part of why I’m interested in getting a hot tub is because we’re in a place with very long winters and it would be nice to be able to soak in the cold air.

I don't remember the specific costs, but we did have to keep the water heated and circulating continuously, which I'm sure was costly. If you don't keep the pump and heater going all the time, you risk bacterial growth and algae formation, and need plenty of time for the water to heat up before it's ready for use. You also have to clean the filter regularly, and refresh the chemicals. It is effectively a small heated swimming pool, so be prepared to maintain it accordingly.

[Anonymous]

Hot tubs are truly gross. I recently observed tub maintenance at a "luxury" AirBnB. To manage the bacterial contamination, the maintenance people just added chemicals, instead of cleaning out the tub. It's more prone to bacterial build-up that pools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We bought a house that came with a hot tub. We pretty much never used it, but it still had to be maintained. Thumbs down.

Same. It’s in-ground. We have a weekly pool guy who comes. $100 a month. We never use it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:about $18,000 for the hot tub and concrete pad to go underneath it. Also some electrical costs for the electrician to come and take care of that part..so maybe 20k? We didn't do a deck but we did full landscaping and that was a lot more.

This is almost exactly what we paid in 2022. We also have someone come by and maintain it for $75 a month. They also drain and refill it about 3 times a year for an additional fee. I love it. We sit out there a lot during the winter looking at the stars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We bought a house that came with a hot tub. We pretty much never used it, but it still had to be maintained. Thumbs down.

Also my experience. It was an indoor hot tub, in a dedicated room. It was pleasant to use, but the frequency of use turned out to be minimal while the costs to keep the water heated, and the chemical treatments, were continuous expenses. In truth, a nice soaking tub gets you 90% of the same experience for a fraction of the cost, if you don't need to share it with other people at the same time.

This is OP, and DH and I really love hot tubs. (And so do our kids!) I’m interested in responses from people who really wanted a hot tub and therefore, hopefully, use theirs with some frequency. Your comment on maintenance costs does give me pause. I’m curious what those costs add up to.

We do have a Jacuzzi tub in our master bath, which I enjoy, but part of why I’m interested in getting a hot tub is because we’re in a place with very long winters and it would be nice to be able to soak in the cold air.

I commented before and to answer this question, we really wanted a pool and jacuzzi but because of certain constraints we settled for the hot tub. I am so glad we did. It’s salt water- we maintain it ourselves (and yes we drain it completely twice a year). We use it year round- in the summer don’t heat it and use it as a plunge pool! The kids have friends over and have hot tub parties, so they have fun with it too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We bought a house that came with a hot tub. We pretty much never used it, but it still had to be maintained. Thumbs down.

Also my experience. It was an indoor hot tub, in a dedicated room. It was pleasant to use, but the frequency of use turned out to be minimal while the costs to keep the water heated, and the chemical treatments, were continuous expenses. In truth, a nice soaking tub gets you 90% of the same experience for a fraction of the cost, if you don't need to share it with other people at the same time.

This is OP, and DH and I really love hot tubs. (And so do our kids!) I’m interested in responses from people who really wanted a hot tub and therefore, hopefully, use theirs with some frequency. Your comment on maintenance costs does give me pause. I’m curious what those costs add up to.

We do have a Jacuzzi tub in our master bath, which I enjoy, but part of why I’m interested in getting a hot tub is because we’re in a place with very long winters and it would be nice to be able to soak in the cold air.

OP, this is not the DC area forté. I was thinking about this the other day (because we are in a spell of outlier winter!) and if it was the norm for me, I can totally see a culture of sauna, and changing the priorities of my house and house hunting to have a hot tub that is always ready and waiting. but I think you need to check in with other northern cultures and norms!

[Anonymous]

We have one with a Freshwater salt filtration system and it’s great. I don’t understand people that are spending $75-$100/month on maintenance. We get ours checked out once a year unless there are issues, of which we’ve had none.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have one with a Freshwater salt filtration system and it’s great. I don’t understand people that are spending $75-$100/month on maintenance. We get ours checked out once a year unless there are issues, of which we’ve had none.

+1 My husband did the monthly maintenance himself, not rocket science. Very nice to have in the winter, OP!