Before purchasing this item, we had a full size hot tub. we decided to go with this option since it required minimal assembly. We thought that this item would function very similarly to our previous hot tub, but that is not the case at all.
1) Filters: these filters are very small and screw into the sides of the hot tub. However, after using the hot tub only twice, we realized that the filters were barely filtering anything. Small sediment and tons of hair accumulated at the bottom of the hot tub in the middle. Despite changing/cleaning the filters after every use, they did not clear any of the typical debris that our old hot tub filter would have removed.
2) Heat: on average, this hot tub heated the water at a rate of 1-2 DEGREES per hour. that means it took THREE DAYS for us to be able to use it after assembly. We had to leave it heating for 3 days straight, and then we only used it for 30 minutes... That means we would have to plan our hot tub use DAYS IN ADVANCE if we didn't have it heating to temp all the time. Typically, our old hot tub would decrease to around 85 degrees when it wasn't being used, and once you turned the temperature up, it would heat to temp within hours.
3) Blower: This hot tub will not heat while the blower (bubbles) are in use. If you have ever used a hot tub before, you will understand how crucial it is for a hot tub to maintain temperature while you are using it. All of the bubbles in the water cause the water to cool down faster, which means that you could heat the water to 100 degrees, but as soon as you turn the blower on, the temperature of the water begins to drop, and after 30-60 minutes of use, the water feels much colder than when you get in.
While this hot tub is much cheaper than a traditional hot tub, it is basically unusable as a hot tub. I would rather spend the money on a used hot tub or simply save up for a traditional hot tub. And now that I have this item, I cannot return it easily since the item won't fit in the original box (since it was vacuum sealed when we received it). Hopefully my loss will help someone else avoid wasting their money.