Hot tub reviews and ratings

Short answer

Consumer Reports doesn't rate hot tubs: they are not among the products in its A-Z index (checked October 2026). The records that do exist are BBB grades, ConsumerAffairs owner reviews and CPSC recalls. For the 15 brands we track, BBB grades run from A+ to D-, and 6 have a CPSC recall on record.

Updated October 2026By the HotTubFinder research desk

Brands

BBB grade A+

With a CPSC recall

ConsumerAffairs reviews

3,731

Does Consumer Reports rate hot tubs?

No. Consumer Reports' Products A-Z index, its list of the products it covers, has no hot tub, spa or swim spa category. We checked in October 2026. Pages titled “Consumer Reports best hot tubs” that sit on other websites are not Consumer Reports ratings; a real one would be on consumerreports.org.

So the evidence for a hot tub brand comes from three public records, each in the table below: its Better Business Bureau grade and complaints, its owner reviews on ConsumerAffairs, and its recalls with the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Public records for 15 hot tub brands

American Whirlpool22 models	A+	2	—	2latest 2018	4 of 8
Artesian Spas41 models	Not rated	—	—	None found	2 of 8
Bullfrog Spas25 models	AAccredited	31	1.5 of 558 reviews	None found	1 of 8
Cal Spas57 models	A+Accredited	20	2.4 of 5911 reviews	None found	4 of 8
Caldera Spas23 models	C-	18	1.3 of 550 reviews	None found	1 of 8
Dimension One Spas15 models	A-	1	3.0 of 526 reviews	None found	1 of 8
Hot Spring24 models	C-	18	2.8 of 5163 reviews	3latest 2026	2 of 8
Jacuzzi19 models	C-	19	1.0 of 5104 reviews	1latest 2022	2 of 8
Marquis25 models	A+	1	2.3 of 5877 reviews	None found	4 of 8
Master Spas29 models	A+Accredited	20	4.1 of 51,476 reviews	1latest 2019	7 of 8
Nordic Hot Tubs26 models	B-	2	—	None found	3 of 8
PDC Spas14 models	A+	1	—	None found	2 of 8
Sundance Spas19 models	D-	5	1.1 of 566 reviews	1latest 2022	3 of 8
Vita Spa20 models	A+	2	—	2latest 2018	2 of 8
Wellis31 models	AAccredited	55	—	None found	2 of 8

BBB and ConsumerAffairs figures as of September 2026, each linked to its page. CPSC recalls are US recalls naming the brand or its maker; Health Canada copies of the same recall are not counted twice. Build checks are ours: see the hot tub buying guide.

What does a BBB grade tell you?

How the company handles complaints, not how the tub is built. BBB calls its grade an opinion of how a business is likely to deal with customers, scored from complaint volume and handling, unanswered complaints, time in business and transparency. Customer reviews are not part of it.

6 of the 15 brands hold an A+. Caldera Spas (C-), Hot Spring (C-), Jacuzzi (C-) and Sundance Spas (D-) sit at C or below, and each has complaints its BBB profile lists as unanswered. American Whirlpool and Vita Spa share one BBB profile, their maker's; so do Caldera Spas and Hot Spring. Read the complaints themselves on each brand's reviews page.

What do hot tub owners complain about most?

We collected recurring complaint themes, each linked to the threads and reviews behind it, for 14 of the 15 brands. Failed control boards or topside panels come up for 13 of them; slow or disputed warranty and dealer service for 12; leaks for 6; and waits for parts for 4. These are patterns across many owners, not rates, so they say what to ask about rather than which brand fails most.

Ask the dealer who does warranty service, how long parts take to arrive and which control system the tub uses. Then read the brand's reviews page from the table above.

Where to go from here

Records show how a company treats owners; the build decides how long the tub lasts. See how long hot tubs last, the hot tub brands compared on build checks and factories, and the best hot tubs picked on build facts. Every recall in detail is on hot tub recalls.

Common questions

Does Consumer Reports rate hot tubs?

No. Hot tubs, spas and swim spas are not in the Consumer Reports Products A-Z index, its list of the products it covers (checked October 2026). A page promising Consumer Reports hot tub ratings that isn't on consumerreports.org is not from Consumer Reports.

What is the most reliable hot tub brand?

Nobody publishes failure rates by brand, so no one can answer that with a number. The closest evidence is how a tub is built and what owners report. Our build checks cover the first; the table on this page covers the second.

Are online hot tub reviews reliable?

Read them for patterns, not for the star average. Reviews come from owners who chose to post, and 4 of the 9 brands with a ConsumerAffairs page have fewer than 100 reviews there. A complaint that repeats across many owners, such as failed control boards or slow warranty repairs, tells you more.

Does a BBB grade measure product quality?

No. BBB describes its grade as its opinion of how a business is likely to deal with customers, built from complaint handling, time in business and transparency. Customer reviews don't count toward it.

Sources

Consumer Reports, Products A-Z consumerreports.org · checked October 2026No hot tub, spa or swim spa category
Better Business Bureau, overview of BBB ratings bbb.org · checked October 2026What a BBB letter grade measures
US Consumer Product Safety Commission, recalls cpsc.govRecall notices; each brand's latest is linked in the table