silly spa question

[jminmaine]

Greetings,

We hope to rent a villa in March for our first time (usually stay onsite at WDW). We are looking at 3-4 bed pool homes with spas, either Windsor Palms, Emerald Island, or Formosa Gardens. I'm wondering if anyone can tell me whether it is better to have a spa that is attached to the pool where the heat is directed to the spa, or better to have a separate/detached spa sitting on the pool deck as some villas do. (One villa complaint I have seen is that pool and/or spa heat can be less than adequate even when paid for separately.) Sorry to ask such a trivial question, but winters in northern Maine are long and a hot spa is a big deal to us! Thank you.

[Angua]

Having experienced both, my own preference would be a stand-alone spa but I think it all depends on what you're used to. I'm accustomed to the spa being set at 38 degrees and therefore found the pool-spa quite cool in comparison. There weren't many jets either so you didn't experience a full body massage as the pool-spa didn't have any back/neck jets or any lounger facilities. Although, this particular pool was attached to an older property so perhaps the more modern integrated spas would be more generous in both heat and jets.

This is my view as a renter but I'm sure that a home-owner forum member can post further information on the more modern units. Perhaps if temperature doesn't bother you (and let's face it, in Florida, you'll probably want to cool down not heat up!!), you could ask the owners of villas on your "potential" list about the quantity of jets in the spa etc.

[chrizzy100]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by jminmaine
Greetings,

We hope to rent a villa in March for our first time (usually stay onsite at WDW). We are looking at 3-4 bed pool homes with spas, either Windsor Palms, Emerald Island, or Formosa Gardens. I'm wondering if anyone can tell me whether it is better to have a spa that is attached to the pool where the heat is directed to the spa, or better to have a separate/detached spa sitting on the pool deck as some villas do. (One villa complaint I have seen is that pool and/or spa heat can be less than adequate even when paid for separately.) Sorry to ask such a trivial question, but winters in northern Maine are long and a hot spa is a big deal to us! Thank you.
[/quote]

I have a hot tub......but in FL I would be happy with a spa attached to the pool....I don't think you need the extra heat down there.....

[CarolAnn]

The only comment I would make is, the spas in villas are a LOT smaller than those at WDW We stay at WDW mainly,and love the spa time, but found that alot of the villa ones were a single person in comfort only situation[msnsad]Kind of put us off worrying about it too be honest[msnscared]On that basis I would have thought the free standing ones might be more spacious in general[?]Just a thought

[Nostromo]

I would have thought a separate, stand-alone spa would be preferable. One can relax more if it is a bit away from the other noisy folk in the pool.

[chrizzy100]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Nostromo
I would have thought a separate, stand-alone spa would be preferable. One can relax more if it is a bit away from the other noisy folk in the pool.
[/quote]

The only thing is the heat of the water......if you're not used to it.....a 102 degrees can be a bit much in the FL heat.....stand alones come into their own in the winter time..........even a FL winter night can be cool........and then a real hot tub is a must have.......

[SunLover]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by CarolAnn
The only comment I would make is, the spas in villas are a LOT smaller than those at WDW We stay at WDW mainly,and love the spa time, but found that alot of the villa ones were a single person in comfort only situation[msnsad]Kind of put us off worrying about it too be honest[msnscared]On that basis I would have thought the free standing ones might be more spacious in general[?]Just a thought
[/quote]

Whilst there are many owners who have larger stand alone spas, I think the main reason that spas, whether in ground or stand alone tend to be smaller is the cost factor, and also the size of the pool deck.

In ground spas, built at the construction stage of a villa tend to give the new owner only a small choice of shape and size, unless the owner opts for an expensive upgrade, and even then, there are still the constraints of the deck and plot size to consider.

Owners who add stand alone tub / spas have to consider how much space they take up on the pool deck without it becoming cluttered, and also the logistics of getting it erected inside an already standing pool screen cage.

WDW not being short of a few cents can pretty much do what they want

[jminmaine]

Thank you, everyone, for your input. I know florida can be hot, as I used to live in Jacksonville, but we visit at the end of feb/early march every year and find that weather at that time is unpredictable, and nights can cool down quite a bit.

As for size of spa, I hadn't thought about it, but will now. But I'm not sure it is easy to tell on these websites anyway. Some pool decks appear to be enormous in one photo, then the more realistic 10 x 10 in others. LOL! also I am learning that if the pool photo is toward the home, and shows only about 3 feet in the air, then the pool backs onto other pools, but if the photo is taken from the home, looking out back, the owners are proud of the view and not afraid to show it! But either way it looks like you have neighbors on top of you to the left and right in most of these developments, with nary a shrub in sight. Would it kill these developers to lose a few bucks in profit and plant a tree for heaven's sake!?

Thank you all again.

[SunLover]

The first thing we did when we bought was to erect a wooden privacy fence along our plot line around the pool area, and then create borders where we've added all manner of palms, shrubs and tropical plants.

It's makes a pleasant vista, and the guests always comment on how tropical it looks.

[Carla]

Owners with stand-alone spas tend to advertise how many people the spa is designed for, and/or tell you the size of it. If you're looking for the full spa experience and intend to use it for massage/therapeutic purposes then a stand-alone wins hands down. It not only has many more jets of differing types but also is separately heated (usually via electricity) and this heat is not dependent on the ambient outside air temperature unlike all electrically heated pools.