Consumer Review: Lifesmart Antiqua 5 Person Plug and Play Spa with 20 Jet

You may be asking: Why would a rabbi review a hot tub? Well after dislocating a disc when I lifted a large rock in our front garden (yes, I, like the Biblical Moses, have issues with rocks) I got crazy about the idea about buying a hot tub. My wife got a nice little teaching award that came with a check and off we went in search of a low-cost, energy efficient tub. We’ve owned the Antiqua for six months now – from the summer to winter – and all I can say is that so far it is a total delight.

Here’s why:

It is not an eyesore – the brown siding and faux leather top look o.k. in the backyard.

The lid fits perfectly and it is easy to take off and put on. One person can do it.

The seating arrangement on this model is perfect – as long as everyone is under six feet. Taller people will feel cramped but it comfortably fits four adults and we’ve even squeezed in five. The “lounger” is a favorite – but so is the most basic seat where your upper body is above the water. The best part is the diversity of seats – we always rotate and that is part of the fun.

This model is quiet and it does not disturb the neighbors. I press my ear up to the back window of my house and I can hear the machine hum. It’s like a purr.

The jets are not strong but they do feel really good. And having a foot jet is nice for my toes.

Ahhh the waterfall. Silly how much pleasure we get from the sound it makes.

The lights are soothing –except for the random disco setting. That is just wacked.

I like to keep it at 104. It drops to 102 or so after a twenty-minute soak…down to 101 on a zero degree night here in New Jersey. After forty minutes it will be down to 99. So if you have parties and expect crowds you need to plan accordingly. It takes an hour to heat it up one degree.

The only problem so far:

It has a mind of its own and sometimes it turns off. Not sure why, but it stays on for weeks and then ‘click’ – so you really have to check it and make sure it is humming and that the red light on the plug is on.

Overall – this is an amazing value and we have used it over 100 times and every time we get in we say “this is so nice” and we are grateful for what we have and for the technicians who built it. And my back is feeling a lot better.

Footnote: I leveled the ground myself with some elbow grease, sand bags, and gravel. Then I put together a heavy duty 8×8 plastic spa pad for the tub to sit on. A large truck driver (who was probably an East German Olympic weightlifter at one point) and I placed the tub on the pad. The one tricky part is that the electrical plug is coiled up under the plastic outer shell and needs to be released from the tiny plastic binding that is keeping it there. If I had a “do-over” then I would release this before placing the tub on the pad. But overall, VERY easy set-up.

UPDATE: 2018 – four years later the insides stopped working…I had to replace the circuit board and the heater to get the tub up and running again – a job that cost a little over a thousand dollars.  But now the tub is back on and doing wonders.