There are essentially four types of hot tub available to consumers with varying degrees of choice and customisation for each. Inflatable hot tubs are seen as a seasonal garden “toy” but would still fall under the hot tub definition. The second category best defined as ‘portable’ can be split into roto-moulded and acrylic versions with the former again falling under the hot tub definition but not discussed purposefully in an article on luxury appeal. The third type are wooden hot tubs, usually barrel shaped with simple jets and bench seating. The fourth category and essence of this article are custom made hot tubs. Being custom made, of course, there are above ground options and alternative finishes but most typically when speaking of custom made hot tubs we are discussing in-ground tiled formats. We must discuss specific hot tub types as defined above rather than hot tubs as a collective term as it will be obvious to readers that inflatable or roto-moulded spas lack “luxury” appeal in any purposeful definition of luxury when considering home spa and wellness.
Conditions of abundance, something that gives pleasure whilst not being absolutely necessary and an indulgence that provides pleasure, satisfaction or ease. These are all definitions of luxury but in the world of home spa and wellness many of these conditions are taken as a given but we still seek to define within the industry what is and is not luxury. A hot tub has both physical and experiential properties and both must be considered when defining luxury, much in the same way that the hotel industry has its physical property and the services delivered within. With this in mind, I read many definitions of luxury from senior figures in the hospitality and leisure industry* and abstracted key themes relevant to hot tubs. ‘Best of the best’ and ‘best of whatever it represents’ are more obvious but equally widely cited were phrases such as ‘Luxury is … Uniqueness, exclusivity’, ‘Luxury can to be defined by consistent superior quality with an element of uniqueness and exclusivity’ and ‘originality in architecture and interior design, high-grade materials in construction and décor’. Thinking back to our hot tub types, one might argue that acrylic hot tubs and wooden hot tubs can be the best of the best and can obviously be a pleasurable indulgence, however, on the whole they fall short of meeting the luxury qualities of uniqueness and exclusivity. In summary, I would argue that only custom hot tubs can meet the ultimate definition of luxury appeal.
Art is fundamentally an expression of human imagination and our individual uniqueness ensures the originality of artwork. It logically follows that taking an artistic approach to custom mosaic hot tubs will result in the luxury appeal as described above. Since the time of the Greek and Roman Empires, mosaics have been used for artistic expression with the individual tiles (tesserae) becoming expressive pieces themselves with endless options of shape and materials including glass, stone, porcelain and ceramic with varying textures and effects. The history of mosaics and contemporary popularity proves the elegance and timelessness of such a finish. Furthermore, a custom mosaic hot tub as opposed to moulded acrylic or wooden structure can be selected to tie into applied finishes of surrounding pool and wellness areas carrying the luxury appeal of originality in interior design through to the custom hot tub design.