A work of art and a great massage too
Written: Jul 21 '04 (Updated Jun 27 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Energy efficiency, intelligent control system, great hydrotherapy
Cons: Sculptured interior makes it hard to cut the water blanket, no drink holder.
The Bottom Line: There are less expensive spas on the market, but Sundance continues to improve and excel. Long term serviceability of a foam insulated spa may be an issue.
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| sduncanae's Full Review: Sundance Altamar Hot Tub |
This review is in reference to a 2003 model year Sundance Altamar spa purchased new in November, 2003. This is our second Sundance spa. The first one was a 1995 Calypso II, and if I had to guess, I’d say this is the follow-on to that model, which is no longer sold.
Summary
I’ll put the summary first in case you just want the bottom line. If the quality of hydrotherapy is important to you, Sundance should be high on your list. This is a well built spa with an intelligent control system and a very good warranty. This comes at a premium price, however, and there are no drink holders.
Exterior and interior surfaces
I had the wood skirt on my last spa. It was durable, but had to be re-stained every couple of years. It was also subject to build-up of mildew around the base, and some of the vent slats became loose with time. The screws for the access panel also became difficult to thread after a few years.
The new synthetic skirt on my Altamar is a whole different story. I chose the redwood color, and aside from the fact that it is a little “orangey”, it is gorgeous. It is a little shiny but does not look overly “plasticky”. It is a dream to keep clean and the access panel screws on and off easily. You can tell from the weight of that panel that this is one strong skirt.
The spa shell is the newer textured style. We chose the salt-and-pepper color, which in retrospect is a little bland and also looks brown in low light. The old shiny acrylic shell is still available in one or two colors. The interior is a sculptured work of art. There are no straight-lines in this tub, and the effect is very stylish. There are, however, no drink holders in this tub.
There are head-cushions in three corners. They are an improvement over previous styles that were held on with suction cups. These use actual hardware to retain the cushions. They seem like they will be very durable, but I’ll bet they are expensive to replace.
Sundance Covers and Spa Blankets
The standard Sundance cover is well made and a cut-above the mass-market replacements you can buy. I am using a pneumatic cover lifter and without it getting that cover off the spa would be a real chore. While on the subject of covers, I would like to mention spa blankets, the bubble-plastic sheet that floats on the surface of the water under the cover when you are not using it.
Spa blankets are a pain. When I open my tub, I flip the cover back half-way, then fold the spa blanket over the half-open cover, then raise the cover to the full open position. That’s the easy part. The hard part is trying to put the spa blanket back without submerging part of it and flooding the top surface with water. It’s very hard without a second person.
Sundance makes the spa blanket situation worse in two ways. First, the tub is highly sculptured and has a special area (they call the “bucket”) for the filter. If you have had a spa you know you get to cut out the blanket to follow the contours of the spa yourself. This is much harder when there are all those curves and turns involved. The second aggravation is that during daily filter cycles, the right-rear corner jets can blast the blanket into a scrunched up wad in the middle of the tub. Leaving the diverter valve in the single jet position and using a stiff blanket with lots of overlap at the edges helps a lot.
Pumps, Blowers, Controls and Filters
The Altamar has a very intelligent control and circulation system. It has two pumps for hydrotherapy – a two speed that feeds the lounge and back-left position, and a one-speed that feeds the foot jets and right-rear. Instead of using the low speed of pump one for circulation while heating, a small fractional-horsepower pump is used, much like a garden-fountain pump. This pump is quiet, energy efficient and works great. This seems to be a new trend in spas, and is optional on some makes.
The digital control comes pre-programmed to run a timed filtration cycle. Twice a day it runs pump one on high speed to stir up the water and actually do some filtration. You can change the timing of these cycles, but they are evenly spaced every six hours. The control even has a real-time clock which seems to have a back-up battery. It had the right time when it was installed, and even after being powered off for a couple of weeks. A nice feature is a secondary jet control located at the back of the tub. You can turn on or off the jets and bubbler from there.
We did have one early failure in the control system. After my first drain and refill, the display started to read “-----“, which in the owners manual is called the “watchdog” indication. This means the spa knows something is wrong, and will refuse to operate. I shut it down and restarted it (a spa re-boot?) and it came up but the temperature indication ran up wildly to 112 degrees even though it was full of cold water. Turns out I had a bad temperature sensor, which it seems is not uncommon. Since then it has operated flawlessly.
The Sundance filter system utilizes a “waterfall effect” which directs the surface of the water over the filter cartridge. This means stuff floating on the surface is filtered out more effectively. They also added a micro-filtration cartridge which screws on the end of the primary filter. This little baby needs to be replaced with every water change – it cannot be cleaned and costs about $17.00. If you don’t have a dealer in your town, you should buy a couple to have on hand. The primary filter can be cleaned. The filter bucket is covered with a lightweight fiberglass panel that should not be used as a seat.
I did notice a review that mentioned leaks. My old Sundance also had multiple leaks, which were all but impossible to fix, since the shell is encased in blown-in foam. I believe they have made improvements in this area, because they now include a five-year no-leak guarantee. My dealer also claims they have improved the seals.
Hydrotherapy Seating positions
The Altamar has 5 hydrotherapy positions, but two of those have only a single jet. The good seats include a lounge and two corner seats. Most all jets have aerator controls. The effect of turning on the aeration is like doubling the power of the jets. This is separate from the “bubbler”, or single-speed air blower. I am not a big fan of blowers, since the air is cold and it’s like sitting in a cauldron, but this one is extremely effective.
The right-rear corner is the ultimate, for me at least. This is the king’s chair, and has the most jets and two separate aeration controls. One seems to be for the lower back, and the other for the neck jets. Speaking of neck jets, if there is one complaint I have, it’s the fact that the top (neck) jets are too high. If the water level gets a little low, they can shoot water around a bit. They also can blow the water blanket out of place. If you direct all the water to this seat and turn on both aerators, you can actually be levitated out of your seat – a novel experience.
The lounge is a dream. They changed the design to keep lighter people from floating away and it works. There are jets for the back and feet, and jets for the wrists – a nice feature for carpal tunnel sufferers.
Another noteworthy jet is the “mega-jet”, a large single jet in the back wall that shares the single-speed pump with the king’s chair. You can divert the water between the two seats, giving either position 100% of the flow. The mega-jet shares it’s oomph with two foot jets located in the center of the tub. The mega-jet itself is just a blast in the small of your back, but the foot jets are one of my personal favorites.
Summary
Sundance tubs are in the high end of the market, and it is reflected in the quality of the materials. I believe that it is also very energy efficient. I would never buy another tub that did not have the small circulation pump just for heating. Now if it only had a drink holder…
Update 12/04
We have experienced a small leak, about 16 oz. per day. Not enough to notice water loss, but enough to keep the deck green. Since this spa uses blown in foam, it is proving hard to find. The factory has been helpful and even agreed to extend my "no leak" warranty. I will feel better when it is actually fixed. More to come...
Update 6/06
It actually took several months to get the leak fixed. The servicing dealer tried to claim it was condensation dripping from under the lid and down the side, then charge me for the trip! That was bogus but it took several calls and letters to the dealer and factory to get them to take me seriously. Since the spa is encased in foam, the diagnosis required filling the spa with blood red food dye and letting it run. I was worried it would stain the spa, but it didn't. Then, they took it apart and looked for red dye in the foam. They replaced two jets, and I still have a small wet spot in one corner, but nothing like it was. My false over-heat condition has also come back.
In retrospect, a generic spa with easily replaceable components and not using foam insulation would be more serviceable in the long run.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
sduncanae
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Member: Steve Duncan
Location: Washington County, OR, USA
Reviews written: 13
Trusted by: 0 members
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