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Adding a hot tub to your home doesn’t have to break the bank

Kim Fuller
Special to the Daily
Hot tubs can sell from $4,000 up to $100,000 depending on the style, materials and features available.
Courtesy Heavenly Times Hot Tubs and Billiards

There is still plenty of water available in this land-locked state, especially if you put some in your backyard. Hot tubs and saunas have been an alpine indulgence for decades, not to mention the less common mountain swimming pool, and it’s easy to see why.

“It creates family fun time and it’s great for après ski,” shared Michael Swartz, owner of Heavenly Times Hot Tubs & Billiards. “It’s also fun and relaxing, and it’s very therapeutic with so many physical benefits.”

There is another upside to adding in soak time — it can be totally unplugged.



“A lot of times people who get in a hot tub won’t bring in their devices, for obvious reasons,” Swartz explained. “So you don’t have a tablet or phone or those types of things. It’s good family and friend time when you get to talk to people. I know a lot of families that have gotten closer because they go in the hot tub with their kids and they all talk about the day.”

It seems likely that spas, saunas and pools will never go out of style, but there are some elements that are making them more in the flow with current trends.



Paul Chadwick is a sales and systems specialist for Maximum Comfort Pool & Spa. Stainless steel, he said, is currently very popular when it comes to hot tub design, and it can be a high-end option with some more affordability than a gunite spa, for instance. The tubs can be strictly stainless or you can have them tiled. Chadwick said Bradford is the brand of choice for Maximum Comfort Pool & Spa.

“They can fit in any space, anywhere in backyards and houses, and they can be welded into place,” said Chadwick of the stainless steel spa design. “It’s just another look and it’s a lot lighter vessel compared to a concrete or gunite spa.”

While stainless steel and gunite spas can start at price points of $50,000 to more than $100,000, Chadwick said hot tubs options in the Maximum Comfort Pool & Spa showroom can be anywhere from $4,000 to $20,000.

“It’s all about lifestyle,” he shared. “People can enjoy themselves with this amenity that can be affordable.”

In terms of how to fit the spa where you want it to be, you can just leave room for the footprint of the tub, or you can create extra space around it.

“It’s good to have a little room around the tub,” Swartz said, “but you don’t need to and can have it up against four walls if you want.”

Tub time

As is always the case, luxurious and cutting-edge spa features are available. Swartz and Chadwick both agree that salt systems are currently very popular.

“They are softer on your skin,” shared Swartz, “and there is very little to no smell.”

Heavenly Times Hot Tubs & Billiards carries a salt system call Spa Boy and it basically takes care of itself.

“It actually automatically tests the water every 10 minutes and will adjust your sanitation levels,” Swartz explained. “Then it also can integrate with an app so you can see what your chemicals are on your phone as well, along with turning your temperature up and down if you need to and adjusting your filtration levels and those type of things.”

For big travelers and second-home owners, Spa Boy can check to make sure their tub is still on and working when they are away for a season or on vacation.

While getting an in-home sauna may not be as popular as it once was, Chadwick said architects are still designing saunas into many Summit County homes. He explained that you don’t have to have a new home to get a new sauna, either.

“Whatever space there is, whatever room you have, I can design it,” he said. “I just need X by X. It doesn’t have to be new construction — it could be under the stairs, for example.”

Maximum Comfort Pool & Spa has Finnleo traditional and infrared saunas, ranging from about $3,000 up to around $30,000.

All-weather pools are riding a trend wave, according to Swartz. These are year-round pools that are above ground, rather than the more expensive variety that are dug into the earth.

“Those all-weather pools can certainly fit 20 to 30 people,” shared Swartz, “and they start at about $19,000.”

For instance, an 8-foot by 14-foot hot tub-pool is something you can soak in or swim in and have it up and running year-round.

“They are considerably less expensive than putting in a custom in-ground pool,” Swartz said.

So dive in, or start with a dip of your big toe.


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