Cheap Blow Up Hot Tubs

Are you trying to find some great cheap blow up hot tubs? Well we are here to help. We looked at all the budget blow up hot tubs out there, and weeded out those that are just not worth the money. That left us with 5 great models.

Our starting point was that each hot tub had to cost around $600 or less. Then we made sure each model had some extras included in the price, and that each was a quality build.

We then put those 5 hot tubs through our review testing, so we could provide you with all the information you need, in order to find the hot tub that’s best for you and your budget.

There’s a range of sizes and prices in our selection, so make sure you check out each feature before you buy.

If you’re simply looking for a small hot tub to fit in your backyard, a plug-and-play model that’s easy to put up and loads of fun, then you might want to think about the winner of our Lowest Price Award, the Lay-Z Spa Miami.  You can head over to Amazon and check out the reviews for the Lay-Z Spa Miami here.

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Cheap Blow Up Hot Tubs: Features and Ratings

Rank	#1	#2	#3	#4	#5
Product	Read the Review	Read the Review	Read the Review	Read the Review	Read the Review
Awards
Rating
Best Price Amazon	Check it out	Check it out	Check it out	Check it out	Check it out
Pros	Extra large tub, very comfortable, loads of extras, powerful massage system, heated bubbles	Great looking tub, in-built light show, cushioned floor, leatheroid cover for extra protection, lockable lid	Easy to set up, fast to heat up, good for limited spaces	Perfect for couples, can stretch out full-length, lots of features, very comfortable, economical to run	Very big tub, strong massage system, good comfort, heated bubbles, grab handles
Cons	Needs a flat space at least 11 square feet	Medium-strong massage system	2 adults only, medium-strong massage system	Needs a lot of space	Needs a large area, no cushioned floor
Specs	Intex PureSpa	Lay Z Spa Paris	Lay Z Spa Miami	Saluspa Siena	Intex 85 inch
Size	85 inches diameter 28 inches deep	77 inches diameter 26 inches deep	71 inches diameter 26 inches deep	98 inches long 58 inches wide 26 inches deep	85 inches diameter 28 inches deep
Capacity	4 adults + 2 children	4 adults	2 adults + 2 children	2 adults	4 adults + 2 children
No of Air Jets	170	87	120	127	140
Water Capacity (80%)	250 gallons	213 gallons	177 gallons	134 gallons	250 gallons
Filled Weight	3,100 lbs	2,678 lbs	2,261 lbs	1,205 lbs	3,070 lbs
Set up	20 minutes	15 minutes	10 minutes	10 minutes	25 minutes
Electrical Outlet	110-120V	110-120V	110-120V	110-120V	110-120V
Heating to 104F	24 hours	24 hours	18-20 hours	18 hours	24 hours
Box Size Weight	24in x 34in x 21in 114lbs	28in x 21in x 24in 76lbs	31in x 20in x 25in 71.3lbs	24in x 37in x 29in 96lbs	22in x 34in x 22in 112lbs
Features	Intex PureSpa	Lay Z Spa Paris	Lay Z Spa Miami	SaluSpa Siena	Intex 85 inch
What's Included	Inflatable hot tub Digital heater 2 Cushioned headrests Insulated lockable lid Hard water treatment system Insulated ground mat 2 Filter cartridges 1 Chemical floater Owner's DVD Repair patches Carry bag	Inflatable hot tub Digital heater Inflatable lid Leatheroid cover Ground mat LED light system Remote control 2 Filter cartridges 1 Chemical floater Owner's DVD Repair patches	Inflatable hot tub Digital heater Inflatable lid Top cover 2 Filter cartridges 1 Chemical floater Owner's DVD Repair patches	Inflatable hot tub Digital heater Inflatable lid Leatheroid cover Beverage table Grab handles Ground mat 2 Filter cartridges 1 Chemical floater Pressure gauge Owner's DVD Repair patches	Inflatable hot tub Digital heater Insulated lockable lid Hard water treatment system Side grab handles Insulated ground mat 2 filter cartridges 1 chemical floater Owner's DVD Carry bag

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Analysis and Reviews

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Best Overall Cheap Blow Up Hot Tub

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Intex PureSpa 6-Person Inflatable Hot Tub

The Intex PureSpa 6-Person Inflatable Hot Tub earns our Top Pick Award because it’s such a high quality hot tub and you get so much for your money. In fact, it’s hard to believe it really is a cheap blow up hot tub at all.  It really is that good. This is a big hot tub. And when we say big we mean it. It’s one of the biggest blow up hot tubs you can currently buy, coming in at just over 7 feet in diameter, making it great for 4 adults in comfort, 6 at a push, or a large family with several kids.

This inflatable spa has a great design and is made of excellent quality materials, giving it the look and feel of a top-of-the-range model. It also comes with a bundle of great features included in the price.

We like the cozy comfort of this hot tub, with its thick walls, deep cushioned floor, and removable padded headrests, as well as the 170 airjets which give you a great all over massage.

It’s hard to find fault with this Intex hot tub, although because it’s at the top end of the Budget range, then it might not suit everyone’s budget. If you want to see what other people are saying about this hot tub, then it’s a good idea to check out the reviews over on Amazon.

Read the full review: Intex PureSpa 6-Person Inflatable Hot Tub

 

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Best Bang for Your Buck

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Lay-Z Spa Paris

We’ve got to say we’re huge fans of the Lay-Z Spa Paris. It’s a fantastic quality hot tub with some awesome extras included in the price, especially the underwater LED light show which gives the hot tub a real funky feel. You get a choice of 7 different colors which light up the water and the tub. You can choose any one of the colors to suit your mood, or you can put the light show on rotate and create your own party atmosphere. You can turn it off as well, of course, if you prefer.

The Lay-Z Spa Paris is 6½ feet in diameter, so it’s big enough for 4 adults to sit in it without anyone feeling cramped. While it doesn’t have the most powerful massage system in this price range, it still gives a great massage.

Add-in the comfortable walls, the cushioned floor, and the cushioned air-pad ground mat, and you get a real cozy hot tub that’s perfect for relaxation and also for fun. If you head over to Amazon to check out deals and read the owners’ reviews, you’ll see that it has recently been re-branded as the SaluSpa Paris.

Read the full review: Lay-Z Spa Paris Inflatable Hot Tub

 

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Best Inflatable Hot Tub for the Tight Budget

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Lay-Z Spa Miami

The Lay-Z Spa Miami (also known as the SaluSpa Miami) is a great 2-person blow up hot tub that offers good quality and a nice bundle of extras for very little money. You know you’re on safe ground when you buy a hot tub from the Lay-Z Spa range, as they constantly top the best-selling charts. And with the Miami model, you can’t go wrong.

It’s a simple plug-and-play model. This means you lay it out, plug it in, turn on the air pump, and it’s ready to go in minutes. It really is one of the easiest to use blow up hot tubs out there.

At just under 6 feet in diameter, it’s also one of the smaller blow up hot tubs you can buy. It’s sometimes advertised as a 4-person tub, but that would be an extremely tight squeeze, so you’ll need to be on very good terms with everyone! In our opinion, it’s best to see it as good choice for 2 adults, who can laze back and enjoy the bubbling massage.

Although the 81 jets won’t give you the most powerful massage you can get in a blow up hot tub, it’s still surprisingly effective, as many owners say over on Amazon. If you head over there to read their reviews, you’ll see the Lay-Z Spa Miami is now called the SaluSpa Miami. Read the owner reviews by clicking here.

Read the full review: Lay-Z Spa Miami Inflatable Hot Tub Review

 

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#1 Inflatable Hot Tub for Reclining and Romance

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SaluSpa Siena

 

The SaluSpa Siena is surely unlike any blow up hot tub you’ve seen before, thanks to its quirky design. At over 8 feet long and almost 5 feet wide, its shape reminds us a little bit of an extra-wide and quirky Canadian canoe. This makes it ideal for two people to stretch out fully, one at either end, or for a couple to cuddle up at one end without feeling cramped.

With a couple of grab handles on the sides, it’s also perfect for anyone who is a little unsteady on their feet and worried about getting in and out of their hot tub. So it would be great for one person to stretch out and enjoy some hydrotherapy.

In going for this unique design, SaluSpa – part of the Lay-Z Spa corporation – have kept up their own high standards of quality, technology, and features. You get a powerful all over massage, courtesy of the 127 air jets. The floor is cushioned, to provide super support and comfort, and you get a drinks tray as well.

We also love the fact that because of its shape, the SaluSpa Siena needs less water to fill it up. This means it’s cheaper to run, and much lighter in weight than other hot tubs, making it perfect if you want to put it on a deck.

We believe the SaluSpa Siena is a great option if you’re looking for some chilled out alone time, or if you’re a couple looking to relax together in bliss. Check out what others are saying about it over on Amazon.

Read the full review: SaluSpa Siena Inflatable Hot Tub Review

 

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Inexpensive Large Inflatable Hot Tub

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Intex 85 inch PureSpa

If you want your blow up hot tub to be big, beefy, yet still beautiful, then the Intex 85 inch PureSpa ticks all the boxes and then some. At over 7 feet across and 28 inches deep, it’s one of the largest blow up hot tubs you can buy. This makes it big enough for a large family to get in without it feeling cramped, although the kids are surely going to jump, wriggle, and splash around!

For a more relaxing time, it’s great for up to 4 adults, who will all be able to stretch out in comfort and enjoy a great all over massage. That’s because there are 140 bubble air jets, something usually found in expensive top-of-the-range blow up hot tubs. Plus, the bubbles are heated inside the pump, so they don’t cool down the water, instead giving you a powerful, hot massage.

We love the thought that’s gone into this hot tub, including those heated bubbles and the hard water treatment system that softens the water to make it kinder on your skin. This is one of several great features that are included in the total package.

We think this is such a great hot tub, with a high-quality build, that people will be able to forgive the lack of a cushioned floor, and go for the many positives this huge hot tub provides. Check out what others think about it by heading over to Amazon.

Read the full review: Intex 85in PureSpa Portable Bubble Massage Spa Set Review

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Our Cheap Inflatable Hot Tub Review Features

In this review, we provide all the information you need to make an informed decision about which blow up hot tub is the best choice for you and your wallet. The table above compares the features of the models we selected, to give you a detailed overview.

Now, we’d like to go into more depth about some of those features. These are the more technical aspects of the hot tubs, which need a slightly more comprehensive explanation. We’ll also look at other information you might need. Then, armed with this understanding, you’ll be in an even better position to make your choice as to which hot tub to purchase.

Size

There are three things you need to consider when thinking about the size of a blow up hot tub: the external measurements, the internal measurements, and how much space you’re going to need to site your hot tub.

We give the external measurements on the table above, and generally the bigger the hot tub, the more people can comfortably use it at the same time. But manufacturers sometimes exaggerate how many people can fit in their hot tubs. They might say it’s big enough for 6 people, but that would mean everyone sitting very close together and with their knees tucked up under their chins. Not comfortable at all.

That’s why when you read the table, as well as our reviews of each inflatable hot tub, you’ll see there is often a difference between what the manufacturer says and what we say. Ours, to be honest, is more realistic. That’s because we let you know how many adults can comfortably fit in the hot tub.

That leads us on to the second thing you need to think about: the internal dimensions.

As a general rule, the walls of quality blow up hot tubs are around 10 inches thick when they’re inflated. That’s to give the walls the strength they need to hold the water, the strength to support adults getting in and out of the hot tub – as well as them sitting on the sides without the walls giving way – and to provide comfortable support when you lean back and relax.

It’s important, as well, to think about how much space you need to site your new blow up hot tub. You can put it up close to a fence, a wall, or some bushes, but that will limit your access to the hot tub.

Remember that you need enough space to be able to walk round your hot tub, to get in and out of it easily, to sit on the side, to clean the walls or tend to them, to access the heater and pump unit, to change the water filter, and to be able to put on the cover when you finish in your hot tub for the day.

Once your hot tub is in place and filled with water, it weighs a couple thousand pounds or more. So if you need to reach a part of the hot tub which is up close to a fence or bush, you won’t be able to get to it. That means you’ll need to drain the hot tub before you can get to the part you need to reach, which would be a real pain.

Therefore, we recommend you leave a minimum of two feet all around the hot tub. If you can leave even more, that’s even better.

The table below shows you the external and internal measurements for the 9 blow up hot tubs we reviewed, as well as how much minimum space you need to site them.

	External dimensions	Internal dimensions	Min. space needed
Intex PureSpa	85 inches diameter 28 inches deep	65 inches diameter 28 inches deep	11 feet x 11 feet
Lay-Z Spa Paris	77 inches diameter 26 inches deep	57 inches diameter 26 inches deep	10½ feet x 10½ feet
Lay Z Spa Miami	71 inches diameter 28 inches deep	51 inches diameter 28 inches deep	9½ feet x 9½ feet
SaluSpa Siena	98 inches long 58 inches wide 26 inches deep	78 inches long 41 inches wide 26 inches deep	12 feet x 8½ feet
Intex 85 inch	85 inches diameter 28 inches deep	65 inches diameter 28 inches deep	11 feet x 11 feet

Water Capacity

The amount of water you need to fill your blow up hot tub varies quite widely from model to model. As a general rule, the bigger the hot tub, the more water you need to fill it. But with different shape inflatable hot tubs appearing more regularly on the market place, such as the SaluSpa Siena, that’s not necessarily the case.

First off, when manufacturers talk about how much water is required to fill your hot tub, they are not talking about filling it up to the top. In reality, you only fill it to about 80% capacity. That’s to allow for the water to rise when anyone gets in it.

Good quality blow up hot tubs, such as the ones we reviewed here, all have a line inside the hot tub which shows you the maximum water level. They also have a minimum level line as well.

We recommend the first time you fill your hot tub, that you fill it to the maximum line. Once you have used your hot tub a few times, and got used to the heat, the water flow through the heater unit, and how much the water rises when people are in it, you can adjust the water level as you see fit, between those two lines.

The other thing to bear in mind when choosing a blow up hot tub, is that the more water it takes to fill it, the more electricity it needs to heat the water in the first place and then to keep the water hot as you use your hot tub. So, basically, the more water you have in your hot tub, the higher your running costs are going to be.

That’s why you need to make sure the hot tub you are thinking of buying has an insulated ground mat and an insulated lid. Both of these help preserve the heat of the water when you are not using your hot tub, helping to keep your running costs down. So always put the lid on when you finish in your hot tub, even if you are going to use it again later, and even if it’s a hot day. Your pocket will certainly appreciate the money you save.

The amount of water you have in your hot tub has another important effect, and that’s how heavy your hot tub is when filled with water.

Filled Weight

You might be thinking about putting your blow up hot tub on your deck, maybe in a garden room or even in a room in your house. If that’s the case, you need to think carefully about how much your hot tub is going to weigh.

A gallon of water weighs a little over 8 lbs. So even the smallest hot tub we reviewed here, the Lay Z Spa Miami, weighs over 2,000lbs when filled with water and with a couple of adults in it. That’s several hundred pounds heavier than a U-haul trailer. Move up to the largest hot tub, the Intex 85 inch, and you’re looking at a weight well over 3,000lbs, almost the same weight as a small car.

So any deck or floor you want to support your hot tub must be more than capable of supporting several thousand lbs. If you pop over to look at the questions on Amazon (click on this link which opens in a new tab) for just about any inflatable hot tub, you’ll find that someone wants to know if they can put the hot tub on a deck. And the answers from owners who have bought the hot tub always says: Yes, but you need to support the deck with 6×6 pieces of timber, or even with car jacks.

If you decide to go ahead, always check the load-bearing capacity of your deck or floor, and make sure it is strong enough – or that you can make it strong enough – to support the weight of your new hot tub. We strongly advise getting an expert in to check that your deck can take it, or tell you how to reinforce it. There’s also a great article on the subject courtesy of the decksgo website on how to calculate deck load capacity.

Construction

One of the questions that a lot of people ask when they are thinking of buying a cheap blow up hot tub is: Is it well-made and are the walls strong enough to support me when I get in and out?

For the 9 blow up hot tubs we reviewed here – like all the inflatable hot tubs we review on our site – the answer is a definite Yes.

Blow up hot tubs have come a long way since the early days, when they were like over-sized kids’ paddling pools with soft walls. Nowadays, most have a sophisticated internal construction that means they are more than strong enough to support you getting in and out, are sturdy enough to survive scrapes and bumps without puncturing, and you can even sit on the walls without them buckling or giving way.

There are two parts to the construction of blow up hot tubs you need to consider when making your choice of which model to buy: the inner construction of the walls, and the material the hot tub is made of.

Inner Construction

Inside the walls of the 9 hot tubs we reviewed, you’ll find there’s a high tech construction which makes them very strong and durable, but at the same time they are still extremely comfortable to lean back against when you’re in the tub.

It also means your hot tub will retain its shape for years, no matter how many times you use it, how many people sit on the sides, or how many times you inflate and deflate it.

The picture shows how there are horizontal columns of thick polyester inside the hot tub walls. These columns are flexible enough to collapse when you deflate the hot tub and pack it away. They’re also strong enough to withstand a heavy load and general use when the hot tub is inflated.

All Lay Z Spa hot tubs have what is called an internal I-Beam construction. This is based on the design of how steel girders are made in the construction industry. Intex hot tubs have a similar-looking internal construction, but the columns inside their walls are made of Fiber-Tech™, a material made of thousands of super-strength polyester fibers. This gives Intex hot tubs a superior level of strength, comfort, and durability.

Hot Tub Material

You want your hot tub to last you for years. So it’s important the material it’s made of is tough enough to handle the daily comings and goings of you and the other people who use it, the occasional scrape or two, and the number of times you are going to inflate it, deflate it, set it up, and pack it away over the years.

The 9 blow up hot tubs we looked at here all have a triple-layer of material to give them the toughness and durability you need, so you can use your hot tub year after year.

Both the Intex PureSpa and the Intex 85 inch models are made of three layers of reinforced vinyl, with the middle layer having a mesh construction for increased strength and flexibility for comfort.

The Lay Z Spa models we recommend also have three layers, of TriTech™ 3-ply reinforced material, with a polyester mesh core and outer layers made of PVC.

It’s important to note that while the triple-layer skin of your hot tub is more than strong enough to withstand scrapes and bumps from objects such as twigs and stones, as well as children’s toys, you need to take care not to let anything sharp press into the skin, as it could puncture the outside layer.

That’s one of the reasons the Lay Z Spa Paris won our Best Value award. That’s because the Lay Z Spa Paris has a leatheroid outer covering to the hot tub and a leatheroid top cover to close off the tub when you’re not using it. The hot tub still has a triple-layer skin, just like the other portable hot tubs, but the outside layer is an extra-thick leather style skin. This means the Lay Z Spa Paris is puncture-resistant, a feature we usually only find on much more expensive hot tubs.

Set Up Time

Once you’re familiar with how to set up your hot tub, it will only take you a short time from getting it out of the box to when it’s in position, fully inflated, and ready to be filled with water. Usually this will take anywhere between 10 and 30 minutes, depending on the size of the tub and how easy it is to hook up the heater unit to the tub.

The Saluspa Siena and the Lay Z Spa Miami both take about 10 minutes to set up, while the much larger Intex PureSpa and Intex 85 inch models take around 20 minutes, as they are much larger.

To be honest, though, the first time you set up your new hot tub it will take you longer than that, maybe up to an hour. That’s because you’ll probably need to keep checking the instructions as you go along.

We recommend you read the set up instructions first, before you even take the hot tub out of the box. In that way, you could save yourself time and a few headaches down the line.

One tip we strongly recommend is that the first time you set up your hot tub, you don’t over-inflate it. Just inflate it about 90% full.

A few people over on Amazon say that the first time they set up their new hot tub it started leaking air at the seams. That’s possibly because they over-inflated it in the first place. Once you then add the extra pressure on the seams that comes when you fill the hot tub with water, it can end up stretching the seams.

Therefore, don’t fully inflate your hot tub the first time, but get used to how it feels once you’ve got the water in it and got the massage system going. If you then feel it’s too soft, you can always add a little more air. And with each of the models we review here, you can add more air without having to empty the water, using the heater-air blower system.

Heating Time

It takes on average between 30 and 90 minutes to fill your hot tub with water, depending on the size of your hot tub.

Once you have filled your blow up hot tub with water, you need to heat it up. The time it takes to heat the water depends on three things: the air temperature (also called the ambient temperature); the temperature of the water at the start; and the temperature you want to heat the water up to (the highest temperature you can heat any inflatable hot tub up to is 104°F).

One other factor is how much water your hot tub holds – the more water it holds, the longer it takes to heat it up. So larger models like the Intex PureSpa, which holds 250 gallons, will take longer to heat up than the SaluSpa Siena, which holds 134 gallons.

Remember, though, that when we talk about water capacity, we are talking about the hot tub being 80% full, to allow for the water level rising when you get in it, as well as the water bubbling away when you switch on the massage system.

You’ll see from the table that the hotter the water is at the start, the faster the heating time. That’s why many owners fill their hot tub from their hot water supply. This speeds up the heating time and can save on running costs.

No matter what you do, though, never fill your blow up hot tub with boiling water from a kettle.

The table gives an overview of how long it will take to heat up the water. To find out the starting water temperature, turn on the filter system of your hot tub for a minute, and the water temperature will show on the digital control panel. Please keep in mind the table is for general guidance only, and is based on a hot tub that holds around 200-225 gallons.

Air Temperature	Water Temperature	Target Temperature	Heating Time
50°F	50°F	104°F	32 hours
59°F	59°F	104°F	26 hours
68°F	68°F	104°F	20 hours
77°F	77°F	104°F	14 hours
86°F	86°F	104°F	9 hours

Massage System

The strength of the massage system in your blow up hot tub depends on two things: the number of air bubble jets and how strong the water pressure is as it pumps the water through the jets.

The massage system in a blow up hot tub consists of a series of holes along the bottom of the wall on the inside of the hot tub, near the floor.

When you turn on the massage system, air is pumped out through the holes, creating streams of bubbles. As you can see on the owners’ reviews for the SaluSpa Siena on Amazon, many new owners are surprised at just how powerful the massage system is in a blow up hot tub.

Generally, the bigger your hot tub, the more air bubble jets it will have. So a model such as the Intex PureSpa, which measures 85 inches in diameter, has 170 air jets, while the smallest of the 9 hot tubs we reviewed is is the 71 inch Lay Z Spa Miami with 81 air jets.

What’s also important is how much water pressure the pump in your hot tub produces, to create the streams of bubbles, and therefore give you a great all-over massage. The water pressure, which is also called the water flow, is measured in gallons per hour.

It can be a little hard to find this information for many models, therefore we have put together a table below which puts all the details together in one place. Generally, the higher the water pressure, the more powerful the massage system will be.

One other thing to keep in mind is that the bubble streams do cool down the water in your hot tub. So after about 20 minutes of using the massage system, you will notice a drop in the temperature of the water.

You can overcome this with the latest versions of the Lay Z Spa Paris, Lay Z Spa Miami, Saluspa Realtree, and Hawaii Airjet, which now have the facility to run the massage system and the heater at the same time. This was something that only expensive inflatable hot tubs could do in the past. Or you might prefer the way the Intex PureSpa, Intex 85 inch, and Intex 77 inch work, by blowing hot air through the holes, to create hot bubble streams.

On the table below, we have included the number of bubble air jets for each hot tub, as well as the water pressure for each. We then give the massage system for each hot tub a mark out of 10. This shows how powerful and relaxing the massage system is for each model.

	No. of bubble jets	Water flow (gallons per hours)	Our Massage Rating
Intex PureSpa	170	460	10/10
Lay Z Spa Paris	87	350	8/10
Lay Z Spa Miami	120	350	8/10
SaluSpa Siena	127	350	9/10
Intex 85 inch	140	383	9/10

Accessories and Extras

When you buy your blow up hot tub, make sure it includes some accessories in the price. All of the hot tubs we review here have a good range of extras included in the bundle. But even more than that, we made sure that each of these extras is a quality accessory.

You will see a few cheap blow up hot tubs for sale on sites like Amazon and Walmart that we haven’t reviewed here. But that’s because they are poorly made, or because they don’t have enough accessories included in the package. Either way, they could end up costing you more money down the line. But whichever hot tub you choose, make sure it has the following accessories as a bare minimum in the package:

• digitally controlled heater & massage system
• insulated ground mat
• insulated cover or lid

Before we summarise all the extras you get with each of the 9 cheap blow up hot tubs we look at here, let’s take a quick look at these three vital accessories and why you need them:

Digitally controlled heater pump & massage system

The control unit that comes with your blow up hot tub has four functions. Firstly, it inflates your hot tub. It heats the water. It controls the massage system. Finally, it filters the water as it flows through the intake and outlet valves.

Having a digital control on the unit makes it simpler when you set up you hot tub and it allows you to operate the different functions when you’re in the hot tub without having to get out of the tub.

You can set the exact water temperature you want, up to 104F; you can turn on the filtration system; and you can turn on and off the massage system. More than that, you can give the walls of the hot tub a boost of air, if you think they are a little too soft; and you can switch on the water heater while the massage system is on, to keep the water nice and hot.

Insulated ground mat

As well as providing protection to the bottom of your hot tub, an insulated ground mat helps keep the water hot and therefore save on your running costs.

Top Tip: One frequently asked question over on Amazon concerns the correct way to lay out the Lay-Z Spa ground mat that comes with each model – this is something that is not included in the Owners’ Manual. If you buy one of these models, you’ll see that the ground mat has a side with ‘bubbles’ on it and a side without. The question is: Do you place the ground mat ‘bubbles up’ or ‘bubbles down’? The answer is: Bubbles up! That’s so the bubble area under the hot tub traps the heat and keeps the water hotter.

Insulated cover or lid

It’s important your blow up hot tub has an insulated cover or lid. That’s because hot air rises, and most of the heat you will lose from your hot tub water will be up and into the air. While you’re in your hot tub, it’s easy to switch on the water heater to give the water a boost. But as soon as you finish in your hot tub, you need to put the cover on straight away.

This keeps in the heat you have built up, meaning your hot tub is ready to use the next time you want to get in – although you might want to give it a 5-10 minute boost. Maintaining the heat of the water will also save you money, as you won’t have to keep re-heating it for hours before the water is hot enough for you to get in.

The cover also prevents unwanted debris such as leaves and twigs falling into the water while you are not using the tub.

Equally important, the cover stops young children getting into the hot tub when they are unsupervised. For that reason, it is always best to buy a hot tub which has a lockable cover. All of the hot tubs we reviewed here have safety lock clips, for security and peace of mind. If you are looking for a hot tub to use with children, you might want to check out our article on Keeping Children Safe In Your Inflatable Hot Tub (opens in a new tab).

Before we wrap this up, then, to help you decide on the best hot tub to fit your needs, the table below shows you all the accessories you get included in the price for each of the hot tubs we reviewed here.

Cheap Blow Up Hot Tubs - Your Quick Guide To The Accessories Included In The Price

	Intex PureSpa	Lay Z Spa Paris	SaluSpa Siena	Lay Z Spa Miami	Intex 85 inch
Digital control	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Insulated lid or cover	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Super-strong exterior	✓	✓	✓		✓
Insulated ground mat	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Spare filter cartridges	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Chemical floater	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Instruction DVD	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Repair patches	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Hard water treatment	✓				✓
Headrests	✓
Drinks tray			✓
LED lighting		✓
Carry bag	✓				✓
Amazon Deal	See it	See it	See it	See it	See it

Conclusion

Choosing an affordable blow up hot tub can seem a daunting task when you first begin. That’s because you can’t always be sure that what looks like a bargain really is worth the money. There are enough owners of cheap hot tubs out there with tales of wasted money, frustration, and poor quality hot tubs.

That’s why we weeded out those non-starters, and only presented you with the blow up hot tubs worth considering.

We hope you found this article useful, and that it helps you decide which hot tub to buy. We’re confident whichever one that is, you’re going to have a great time in your new tub. Thanks for reading!

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