Hydropool vs. Wellis: Which Hot Tub is Best for You?

If you’re shopping hot tubs in Europe, Hydropool and Wellis are two of the names you’ll be considering sooner or later. 

We are asked about the differences between the two brands frequently at our stores, and as a result, we wanted to write this article to help articulate the differences between the two hot tub companies. 

We know it may be strange to read an article written by one business about another, but we promise to present the material in the most unbiased way possible. We always hope that everyone would find a reason to buy a Hydropool hot tub, but we also understand that people have choices. So we wrote this article to make it easier for you to see if a Hydropool or a Wellis hot tub is right for you.  

In this article, we will cover:

• Which Hydropool hot tub model compares with which Wellis? 
• Which hot tub looks better? 
• Which hot tub is better on price? 
• Which hot tub is built the best? 

Let’s hop in!

 

 

Hydropool vs Wellis: Hot Tub Model Comparison

Hydropool has exported hot tubs and swim spas to Europe for decades, beginning as a company in 1980. Wellis started selling hot tubs in 2003, and quickly became a major brand in European markets by using automation and robot technology during the construction process, which allowed the company to grow quickly (Hydropool makes its hot tubs and swim spas in a handmade, bespoke method).   

Right away, you can see differences in how the two companies approach hot tub assembly and construction. Automation is great for scaling up and ensuring lots of hot tubs are efficiently built. Hydropool builds its hot tubs individually to allow customers to customize them. 

Wellis carries four collections:

• PeakLine, the company’s premium line
• LifeLine, styled with a more modern look and the newest and “greenest” Wellis line
• CityLine, which balances “value for money and premium quality”
• MyLine, designed for families 

Hydropool carries two: 

• Serenity, which promises quality and value 
• The top-of-the-line Signature, which features self-cleaning 

In terms of what you get for the hot tub, the top two lines for Wellis largely compare with Hydropool’s Serenity, while the CityLine and MyLine are closer to Serenity.

Hydropool vs Wellis: Which Hot Tub Looks Better?

Both companies take a classic approach to hot tub design, so that the tubs blend in with your garden, rather than stand out. 

Both offer a similar array of colors for the acrylics, a range of white, greys, black and browns. Each company offers a grey and a black cabinet color choice as well. 

The number of shells are similar: We counted 18 for Wellis and 16 for Hydropool. With either company you are capable of finding a wide range of hot tubs. 

Among individual tubs, rectangle-sized Wellis’s Olympus has double-lounge seating in a hot tub built to hold nine, which is a rarity in the hot tub world. Hydropool’s 970 Titanium edition also holds nine comfortably, with a square approach that allows for everyone to have a bit more space for their feet.  Hydropool vs Wellis: Which Hot Tub is Better on Price? 

This is difficult for us to ascertain, as we couldn’t find Wellis’ prices on the company website (Hydropool publishes its prices in Canadian dollars for each model it makes). We do know that across Europe, Wellis has a price advantage of about 15-20 percent. 

We attribute three major reasons for this:

1. The amount of automation in the Wellis manufacturing process compared with how Hydropool does it, which is more of a custom, bespoke method. 
2. There are no export charges on Wellis products, while Hydropool has to pay to enter the market. 
3. Shipping. Wellis is made in a plant in Hungary, while Hydropool’s hot tubs are shipped out of Mississauga, Canada, where they have been built to handle Canadian winters for the past 40 years. 

Hydropool vs Wellis: Which Hot Tub is Built Better? 

Some quick points that separate the two companies are below. 

Hydropool:

• Has been making hot tubs that can handle Canadian winters for more than 40 years. 
• Patented self-cleaning system, which is based on the principles behind commercial pools. Hydropool builds its system to the same standards as commercial pools in North America, which are regulated far more heavily than hot tubs. 
• Zone Therapy massage system, which features a wide variety of specialized jets, and lights around the hot tub showing you how to move from seat to seat for a complete, full body massage.
• Specializes in hot tubs and swim spas.

Wellis:

• European-made, so hot tubs can be ordered and arrive quickly. 
• Mass production, which means lots of availability.
• Has a featured jet called the infinity jet, which “doesn’t only move up and down, it draws an infinite figure eight as it turns”.
• Makes bath products, saunas and other garden pieces.

There are two other areas that are worth pointing out as different: 

Insulation:

It’s worth noting that at Wellis, the insulation will change depending on the line. We saw that some offer as much as 3.5 cm of insulation, others 2 cm of insulation, while others have 1 cm. 

Hydropool uses the same thermal blanket system across its hot tub lineup, wrapping its hot tubs in a reflective blanket that traps the heat from the hot tub into the cabinet, making the most efficient use of your motor’s excess warmth. 

Both companies offer a range of lighting features, aromatherapy, app options and UV-C systems to ensure your water is clean while minimizing chemicals.  

Filtration:

Wellis uses what it calls its Crystal Clean system, which uses a circulation jet that stirs “up the sand and dirt from the bottom of the hot tub” so that it eventually is captured by the filter at the top.

Hydropool addresses this issue differently by installing a vacuum drain on the bottom of the hot tub. This is part of its patented self-cleaning system. Due to water’s properties, material either falls to the bottom or floats on top of the water. Rather than try to blow material that sinks back into the water, Hydropool’s floor drain removes it to the filter so you don’t have to worry about it re-circulating.  

Hydropool vs Wellis: Which is the Best Hot Tub for You? 

These are two very different companies making the same product. Hydropool has been building and evolving its hot tubs and swim spas for decades, focusing on developing elite, self-cleaning models that free up your time to use them, instead of spending your time on maintenance. The hot tubs are built to be able to handle Canadian winters – or we would have been out of business a long time ago!

There is no question Wellis is a manufacturing success story, capable of building massive amounts of hot tubs for the European market quite quickly over the last few years. Hot tubs are one of a range of products the company has developed and sells throughout Europe. 

We hope this article gives you some sense of the difference between the two brands and answered your questions on the major differences between the two. If you have questions for us, please don’t hesitate to reach out here.