Swim spas combine the best of a swimming pool and a hot tub and can bring you and your family years of fitness, fun, and relaxation. They also have the added bonus of providing a challenging water workout, so they serve as fitness trainers too. Swim spas are often used by athletes to increase their endurance and build strength and stamina.
With that in mind, the price of fitness and relaxation can be invaluable. But when asking specifically, “How much does a swim spa cost?”, you’ll want to understand what exactly you’re getting for your financial investment. This article can help you understand the cost of a swim spa as well as offer budgeting tips to help make planning for your swim spa purchase simple.
What does a swim spa cost?
Quite simply, there is a wide range of costs associated with swim spas. Entry-level swim spas can start around $10,000 while premium models from luxury brands that feature all the bells and whistles go up from there. While this is a large price gap, there are many factors that account for the cost difference. When you are weighing whether or not a swim spa is worth it, there are many things to consider.
What is a swim spa?
Before delving into the many factors that make up the price differentiation between a low-end swim spa and a luxury swim spa with upgraded features, it is important you have a complete understanding of what exactly a swim spa is.
A swim spa is a hybrid of a swimming pool, a hot tub, and an aquatic fitness trainer. Swim spas are sometimes considered all-season pools because they can be used all year round. Like a swimming pool, a swim spa is a rectangular shape that allows ample room in the center area for you to swim in place via turn-free laps while swimming various strokes such as freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, or butterfly. This center area has a flat bottom so it can also be used for aerobic water walking.
Swim spas also feature strong jets that create a current that you swim against. This current has adjustable levels of resistance, so you can challenge yourself or adjust your swim as you build your strength and endurance. When not in use for training, the central area of the swim spa can also be used as a play pool, where family and friends can enjoy splashing around and socializing.
Like a hot tub, a swim spa features jetted seats along the interior walls that allow you to enjoy a hydromassage when you’re not training. Depending on the brand and model of the swim spa, the seats generally feature strategically placed jets with varying types of hydrotherapy, such as targeting the neck, shoulders, and back to soothe joints, ease muscle tension, or relieve pain.
Swim spas are a great alternative to a swimming pool if size is a factor in your decision-making process. Swim spas can range between 12 and 20 feet in length, and some models have various depth options. Another option that provides a deeper level of hydrotherapy more comparable to that of a traditional hot tub is a dual-zone hot tub.
This type of swim spa includes a swimming zone and a spa zone, with the option of different water temperatures in the two separate areas. To accommodate both a swimming zone and a spa zone, dual zone swim spas will generally be larger. They can also offer a better variety of hydromassage seating options.