The first decision you need to make before buying a hot tub is whether you want to put the unit indoors or outdoors. There are benefits and drawbacks to both but ultimately the decision comes down to how you want to use your hot tub. If it’s more of a personal treat, you’ll probably want an indoor model. If it’s more of an entertainment focal point for your guests, outdoor is the way to go. Everything else is sort of must a minor factor behind that basic decision.
Indoor Hot Tubs
Indoor hot tubs usually resemble bathtubs, except they’re a bit bigger and they have all these scary looking nozzles on the side (if you didn’t know what they were!). Commonly referred to as whirlpool baths or Jacuzzis, a lot of new homes now have these types of hot tubs installed as a default option. With an indoor hot tub you’ll be able to enjoy the therapeutic benefits of a hot tub but probably not the entertaining benefits because it can’t fit that many people plus it’ll probably be in the master bathroom. Still, nothing beats a long exhausting day of work like massaging jets working their magic on your aching back.
- Benefits: The main benefit is in maintenance, since it’s basically a deluxe bathtub you won’t have all the maintenance worries that you would have with an outdoor hot tub. Also, since it’s smaller, it uses far less water than an outdoor version.
- Drawbacks: You definitely lose the entertainment aspect of hot tubs since it won’t fit that many people.
Outdoor Hot Tubs
These are the huge beasts you’ll see advertised on television, in stores, practically everywhere. These things are huge compared to the indoor hot tubs (any hot tub that isn’t installed in a bathroom, I consider it an outdoor hot tub, even if it’s put in like a sun room behind your house or something and is technically “indoors”) and they have the added entertainment benefit.
Outdoor hot tubs are gorgeous and they definitely play up the entertainment aspect. It’s very common to see outdoor hot tubs surrounded by a wooden bench or integrated into a deck. Sometimes, and this is rarer with homes but common at hotels and cruise ships, is that you’ll see the outdoor hot tub integrated with a larger swimming pool! This may not be feasible for your own home, it’s certainly an option.
- Benefits: Entertaining is very easy with a hot tub because who can say no to sitting around in some temperature regulated water as it massages you?
- Drawbacks: Since it’s more like a mini-pool and less like a bathtub, the maintenance starts to become involved to the point where you’re monitoring pH levels and ensuring the hot tub water is clean. It’s not difficult once you get it down but it’s still a concern. Also, the water and energy requirements of an outdoor hot tub are not trivial.