I have always found myself desiring to stay at hotels with hot tubs for the relaxation. This created my desire for wanting a spa. I really enjoy the warmth and relaxation.

I started looking into spas about 4 months ago. My wife and I had figured that we would eventually use a tax refund for a purchase. I began my search to fulfill my wanting of a spa and had searched many sites of reports, message boards etc. I had seen enough of people talking about thier electric usage increasing $50 - 60 a month and needing more care and maintenance that thier pool, that I had basically talked myself out of getting a spa.

I happened to be in the Jacksonville area(about 70 miles south of me) and I decided to stop at the Hot Springs dealer to see what they had just for curiosity. The salesperson was fabulous. There was no bashing of other spas (except to show the difference of thier foam filled cabinet to an open unit typical case). He explained to me that thier spas needed basically no maintenance, add 1/2 teaspoon of chlorine per person right after use and that was it. He also explained that to clean, use baking soda, and no other chemicals was necessary. Thier sales philosophy was right down my alley. I was ready to spend almost 2 times what I could have had another spa for at Home Depot. I had to do some serious thinking. Especially as the moto-massage felt so awesome on my hand. I had to bring my wife in to show her, and I brought my swimsuit for wet testing. I really liked the spa, but the rotary jets blew me away, and the moto-massage was nice, but not needed.

With this in mind, a Tiger River spa was right down my alley with thier prices and all. Looking at what they had on the floor at the time was the same as before, but they happened to have a Bengal model in now. It had been a demo and sold at thier other store. Wow, this was definately looking good to me. I went out to the van to talk prices with my wife, and she said to go in and get it before it is gone. I went in, got an extra set of steps and a color changing LED at cost and made the deal.

My spa was delivered, connected up, and filled 3 days later. It was just awesome. There was a slight problem with the install, the installer had put the connector for the new light on backwards and the entire system would not fire up. The dealer sent a tech out immediately, found the problem and had me rocking and rolling in no time. I noticed last week that the ozonator was not working, and I contacted the dealer. This was a floor model, and he sent his tech out with a new unit the next day without question. It is odd that it did not work, but things happen, and this has definately been without worries so far.

I have had my spa now for 3 weeks and I believe have not used it 3 nights, 1 was due to cold and rain combined. I will say that I am very pleased with my spa, and it is meeting all of my expectations.

As for options... As mentioned, I opted for the color changing LED, I have 2 sets of steps, fresh water II ozone generator and the cover cradle. I really like the cradles they sell, as they bolt directly to the back half of the cover for a very rigid securing, and there is a set of shock absorbers to help maintain control of the cover when tilting in either direction. A very nice feature in my opinion.

What I like best - the name with the reputation, along with the warranty and all for a comfortible price. I think Tiger River Spas are a super bang for the buck.

Anything I do not like? I can't think of any yet. I may in the future, but I do with just about everything some time - nothing is perfect !!!

What might I change? I can't think of anything that I would change. I was at the dealer the week before looking at several other models and this was not available. I waited a week, and there it was. I believe this was the perfect spa for us, just plain simple as that.

I can't think of anything that I would like to have had, I guess I gave it a lot of thought in the first place before doing an actual purchase. So far, everything I have is useful and I would not change.

If you are wanting a quality spa, and you just can't bring yourself to afford Hot Springs directly - this is the choice for you. A super spa for a reasonable price. I believe I ended up spending about $700 more on this spa than the origonal spa we looked at from Home Depot, but I feel we got more than double the deal. Hot Springs warranty is all included, parts, labor and service. I found out after my first purchase, that many warranties do not include service - that means you have to pay a fee for the tech to come out to your house. What a joke, make sure your purchase is a solid investment. This too much money to spend in an uneducated fashion. Good luck to all, and enjoy !!!