Hot tubs have been a staple luxury item for many years, whether used for a fun entertainment showpiece in your backyard, or a place to unwind at your cottage, ski chalet or vacation resort.
But thanks to technology advancements, hot tubs now offer a more enhanced experience than simply soaking in warm, bubbly water.
No longer are home spas one-dimensional – they’re multi-use items that offer a variety of benefits, not to mention unique and innovative components. Hot tubs now include a wide-range of features that not only improve convenience and visual appeal, but also provide a greater advantage to users, effectively reinventing the definition of home-spa luxury.
Today, there are a number of trend-setting features that outdoor spa companies are implementing in their designs to bridge the gap between luxury and functionality. Among those features, here are some of the latest hot tub trends.
Swim Spas
Don’t have the space for a full-size pool? Swim spas offer a perfect solution, providing a hot-tub/pool hybrid that allows users to swim and soak year-round. Also called all-weather pools, swim spas offer the same features as a typical hot tub, but are two to three-times the size. You can fit more people into the hot tub, while also using it for lap swimming with its built-in counter current jets or tether poles. Some swim spa models also have options for backlit swim up bars, bringing a resort-style feature to your own backyard.
Computerized Water Treatment
Relaxing in your hot tub is as luxurious as it gets. What’s not is spending your spare time treating the water. But thanks to new technology, including built-in chlorine generators and automated testing and dosing, water treatment is now worry-free. With automated water treatment, the hot tub effectively cleans itself, while real-time water quality measurements can be accessed by the touch of a finger through any web-connected device, including smartphones, tablets and laptops. This allows the user to control and monitor their water quality even when they’re not at home. It’s like your hot tub has its own personal assistant.
Home Therapy
While swimming and soaking have always been associated with physical therapy, there are a number of new features that are taking home water therapy to a whole new level. Colour therapy – otherwise known as Chromatherapy – is made possible through built-in coloured lighting that changes the look of the water, which is said to help tranquilize and revitalize the body. Water massage – or Hydrotherapy – uses built-in jets capable of improving circulation, decreasing joint pain and speeding up the healing process. Another growing therapy trend is aromatherapy, which combines the use of soothing scents with the soaking experience to loosen up the body and relieve stress.
Luxury Lighting
With the improvement of LED lighting, you can incorporate brilliant lighting displays – some that even replicate the Aurora Borealis – into your hot tub to add to the ‘wow factor’ in your outdoor space. With a host of lighting colours and schemes available to suit any occasion or theme, along with lights that illuminate drink holders and other features, your hot tub atmosphere can quickly change from bland to exciting.
Energy Reduction
Imagine being able to live in luxury, but save money and help the environment at the same time? New energy-efficient hot tubs can turn that into a reality. Built-in power consumption monitoring and self-diagnostic controls are just two features that are commonly integrated into new hot tubs, assisting the owner in calculating energy usage as well as monitoring and adjusting temperature levels. As environmental consciousness is at the forefront now more than ever, it’s also become an important trend in hot tub design.
