When Richard Hart first opened his Aqua Warehouse on the outskirts of Chelmsford 23 years ago, he initially struggled to drum up interest in his wares.
‘Back then, people didn’t even know what a hot tub was,’ he recalls. But how times have changed.
Today, Britain is in the grip of a backyard bathing boom, as middle-class households opt for garden ‘spa-dens’ as the latest status symbol. Think Scandi-style saunas, ice plunge pools and bubbling hot tubs.
In recent years, celebrities from the Beckhams to Joe Wicks, Holly Willoughby and Shirley Ballas have shared snaps of their luxury set-ups on social media. ‘It’s Mr and Mrs Average now,’ says Richard, who distributes hot tubs nationwide.
‘We have everyone: from grandparents keen to lure the grandchildren round and couples who want to unwind after a long day at work, to party people who want to use them to socialise.’
Spas were once an experience reserved for luxury hotels, but an increasing interest in wellness – an industry predicted to surpass £40 billion globally this year – has influenced the growing trend in middle-class families opting for spa-dens at home.
Today’s hot tubs are certainly a far cry from the rudimentary options of the 1940s, which were little more than repurposed barrels inspired by Japan’s traditional ofuro soaking baths.
Now tubs can feature anything from touchscreen controls, built-in speakers, mood lighting and even covers that double as gazebos when the heavens open.
And, like any luxury worth having, prices can quickly bubble up – to a whopping £25,000. Although the million-dollar question, of course, is whether they can ever shake off their reputation as the height of suburban naff.
Richard insists they can. ‘It didn’t help that some soap operas and Big Brother got in to them,’ he confides. ‘In some ways it was good because it was promoting it, in other ways it was the wrong publicity. But I don’t think that’s an issue today.’
With summer on the horizon and a bank holiday on Monday, we put them to the test: from pop-up to eco tubs, can hot tubs be classy?
This compact four-person inflatable hot tub is ideal for smaller spaces and features an in-built air-jet massage system
The Inflatable One: The Miami Lay-Z-Spa Airjet
Price: £349.99
Dimensions: 180 cm spherical, 66cm high
Seats: Two to four
Pumps: One
While some people might think inflatable hot tubs score highly on the naffometer, Richard is a fan courtesy of their affordability and portability. ‘I love them,’ he says.
‘For a few hundred quid, they’re a great gateway option for people who aren’t sure and don’t want to shell out thousands on something they might not use. This way, you can try it out before committing to a bigger spend.’
Be warned, though: while convenient, inflatable tubs are far from cheap to run and aren’t exactly built to last.
‘They have little to no insulation – and that plays a huge role in running costs, which can easily be more than double those of a well-made tub with proper insulation,’ says Richard.
‘They also wear out fairly quickly, so their lifespan is shorter.’
This compact four-person inflatable hot tub – the entry level one from retailer Lay-Z-Spa, which has a range of inflatable tubs with the most expensive at £1,099 – is ideal for smaller spaces and features an inbuilt air-jet massage system to create those therapeutic bubbles.
Having lazed in one at a friend’s house, I can testify they’re a perfectly serviceable way to get a summertime soak. Sophisticated, however, they are not.
The Entry-level ‘Hardshell’: Reef Spas Bolina
Price: £5,495
Dimensions: 210 cm by 170cm, 85cm high
Seats: Four people (two seated, two reclining)
Pumps: One
Designed for permanent installation and built with solid walls, this is the most affordable acrylic-shell hot tub available at Richard’s warehouse. It features straightforward button controls –rather than a touchscreen – to operate its 29 jets and lights.
A ‘plug-and-play’ model, it requires only a standard 13-amp power supply – meaning a single waterproof outdoor socket –along with access to a hose to get your soak up and running.
It also comes with integrated LED lighting and small fountains, adding the soothing sound of running water as you unwind.
Is it a handsome addition to your garden? No – but if you want a decent entry-level well-insulated hot tub then this is a solid choice for a couple or small family.Richard adds that one of the first questions he asks prospective buyers is: Who are you buying it for? ‘If you’re planning to socialise a lot, then by all means go big,’ he says. ‘But if it’s mainly just the two of you, keep it small.’
A ‘plug-and-play’ model, it requires only a standard 13-amp power supply – meaning a single waterproof outdoor socket
The Souped Up One: Reef Spas Montague
Price: £8,995
Dimensions: 220cm squared by 90cm high
Seats: Five (four seats, one lounger)
Pumps: Three
Jets: 65 (57 pulsar, 8 hydro air)
This is a pretty powerful tub: three pumps mean a steady injection of bubbles and the lounger offers a lovely full-body massage courtesy of some of the 57 jets, which aim at specific muscle groups.
Richard believes this is a high-quality, energy-efficient option for those who want a decent step up from the entry level hot tubs.
‘This is an all-round great family spa packed full of features with plenty of power and still well under £10,000 – what’s not to like?’ asks Richard.
Could it be that the exterior panel lighting lends a tiny Big Brother vibe? I keep that thought to myself.
Richard believes this is a high-quality, energy-efficient option for those who want a decent step up from the entry level hot tubs
The Wood-fired One: The Therma 220
Price: £9,250
Dimensions: 225 squared by 94 cm high
Seats: Up to eight
Pumps: None
Former PM David Cameron made headlines in 2019 when he splashed out £8,000 on an ‘eco-friendly’ wood-fired hot tub from Peak District-based company Forest Flame – marketed as a luxury option perfect for ‘the romance of the great outdoors’ –and presumably purchased in a bid to avoid being tainted with any suggestion of tackiness. Which is all very well – if you like your ‘romance’ with a side of hard work. ‘The pro of a wood-fired hot tub – aside from the fact they look very nice – is that they’re pretty green, as they don’t use electricity,’ Richard says.
‘The con is that they’re labour-intensive and they don’t lend themselves to spontaneity.
‘If I want to get into my hot tub when I get home from work, all I have to do is lift the lid. But with a wood-fired one, not only do you need access to a good supply of wood, but you’ve also then got to light the fire.
‘Then you’re probably talking an hour or two before it starts to warm up – and three hours before it’s properly hot –and you need to supervise it.’
Then there’s keeping it going. ‘Someone has to keep stoking the fire,’ Richard adds. ‘And there’s no temperature control. It’s a classic case of form over function – meaning the hassle factor is pretty high.’ Unregulated heating also brings risks, with reported cases of bathers being scalded by overheated water. A better bet, he suggests, is a model like this one: undeniably handsome, it comes with the option of integrated electric heaters of varying strength to keep temperatures stable once it’s heated up.
The tub also includes an integrated hydrotherapy bubble system and ambient LED lighting. I’m left pondering whether in his determination to channel a sophisticated Swiss spa, our former prime minister just tried a bit too hard.
This easy-on-the-eye spa is a good one for those who don’t like the ‘acrylic’ vibe of many modern hot tubs
The Wood Effect One: The Usspa Virgo
Price: £11,995 (on special offer)
Dimensions: 225 squared by 94 cm high
Seats: Five (with two loungers)
Pumps: Three
This easy-on-the-eye spa is a good one for those who don’t like the ‘acrylic’ vibe of many modern hot tubs.
‘People love the look of wood and if it’s something like cedar it can smell lovely too, but the downside is that it can look tired very quickly, particularly if it’s exposed to the elements,’ says Richard. ‘A good solution is to go for a synthetic wood-look cover like this one.’
This is also a powerful tub, with 80 jets, many of them designed to give a robust massage.
A good choice for those who are on the look-out an easier-on-the-eye option with all the functionality of a posh ‘eco’ hot tub, even if the wood-look exterior wouldn’t fool a purist.
The Fancy One: The Vitaspa Vivre
Price: £14,995
Dimensions: 231cm squared by 97 cm high
Seats: Six (five seats one lounger)
Pumps: Four (three massage one air booster)
I’d already clocked this one from across Richard’s showroom – it was hard to miss, displayed beneath its own mechanical cover-turned-gazebo roof, complete with a mountain backdrop.
As a package it doesn’t come cheap: the gazebo alone retails at around £9,000 – a staggering 60 per cent of the cost of the hot tub – meaning buying them together will set you back close to £25,000.
That said, a gazebo offers more than just shelter from wind and rain, but also gives you the option of adding blinds to shield you from nosy neighbours – although I suspect neighbours themselves might be slightly more aghast at the prospect of this whopping structure popping up on next door’s patio.
As for the hot tub itself, this is a clear step up. Multiple targeted jets deliver a soothing full-body massage – even reaching hands and wrists. And it’s the model Richard has in his own home.
As for the hot tub itself, this is a clear step up. Multiple targeted jets deliver a soothing full-body massage – even reaching hands and wrists
The Nassau Swim Spa
Price: £20,995
Dimensions: 430cm long, 225 cm wide, 145 cm high
Seats: Two
Pumps: Four (three swim one massage)
While they’ve been around for a couple of decades, sales of swim spas have surged in the past five years – driven in part by a booming interest in wellness.
‘A lot of showrooms are rebranding, so instead of ABC Hot Tubs for example, it’s now ABC Wellness,’ says Richard.
Their growing appeal also lies in bridging the affordability gap between a hot tub and a full-blown swimming pool.
‘A lot of people dream of having a pool at home, but it’s simply not achievable for most,’ he explains. ‘Before you know it, you’re looking at £100,000 and of course you have to excavate your garden which is messy.’
A swim spa, by contrast, starts at around £20,000 and arrives ready-made – Richard simply cranes them into customers’ back gardens. ‘And because they’re so well insulated, you can use them all year round,’ he adds, acknowledging that the truly rich wouldn’t dream of them either way.
‘They want a pool, not a hot tub or swim spa,’ he says. ‘Or if they do go down the hot tub road, it would be built into the ground with £50,000 worth of tiling.’
As well as massage jets, swim spas generate a current you can swim against – and it’s surprisingly strong. When I try this one out, even at a medium setting (it has 12), I’m knocked off my feet unless I launch into a particularly vigorous breaststroke.
‘Serious swimmers training for events like an Ironman also use tethers to increase resistance,’ says Richard.
This model also includes a couple of hot tub-style seats –although, as swim spas are typically kept at a lower temperature for exercise, they’re better suited to relaxing on a warmer day.
