Arctic Spa is one of the most recognized hot tub brands in Canada, and for good reason — they build a premium, cold-weather-focused product. If you're shopping in BC, you've probably looked at both. The fairest way to compare them isn't features lists or jet counts; it's the things that decide what a hot tub costs and how long it lasts: the shell, the cover, the insulation, and the water care.
The short version: Arctic Spa builds a traditional premium acrylic spa with electronic water care. Eco Spa takes a different structural approach — a one-piece HDPE shell with a rigid hard cover — aimed at lower lifetime cost and lower maintenance. Here's the honest breakdown.
Shell: Acrylic vs One-Piece HDPE
Most premium hot tubs, Arctic Spa included, use an acrylic shell backed by fiberglass. Acrylic looks great and offers lots of colour options. The trade-off is that it's a layered, porous-surface material that can craze or develop micro-cracks over years of heat cycling, and the surface can harbour bacteria over time.
Eco Spa uses a single piece of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) — the same material used in hospital surfaces and underground water reservoirs. It's non-porous, can't absorb water, and has no seams or joints to fail. It's a more industrial look with fewer colour choices, but it's built to outlast the house. That's why the shell carries a lifetime warranty.
The Cover: Foam vs Rigid Hard Cover
This is where most of the long-term cost difference lives, and it applies to nearly every traditional spa. Foam-core covers — the standard across the industry — slowly absorb moisture, especially in BC's wet climate. After a few winters they get heavy and lose insulating value, and a waterlogged cover quietly drives your hydro bill up until you replace it (typically every 3–5 years, at several hundred dollars each time).
Eco Spa's hard cover is a rigid, solid lid with an R-40 insulation value that can't absorb water and is guaranteed for life. You never buy another cover. Over a 10-year ownership window, that single difference often outweighs the sticker price gap.
Insulation & Running Cost
Arctic Spa uses a perimeter-insulated, open-cabinet design — insulation lines the walls, trim, and base around an open interior that circulates heat, on top of their SMC-fibreglass Forever Floor base for freeze protection. It's a genuinely effective approach. Eco Spa takes a different route: an R-30 insulation wrap paired with the R-40 hard cover and an air-chambered base. Both work — and because roughly 70% of a hot tub's heat escapes through the top, that rigid cover does a lot of the heavy lifting on Eco Spa's side.
In BC, a well-insulated tub like this runs about $15–25 per month in electricity at current BC Hydro rates — less than a streaming bundle. Both brands are efficient when new; the difference shows up in year five, when a foam cover has degraded and a hard cover hasn't.
Water Care: Electronic Systems vs Ecozone
Arctic Spa offers electronic and salt-based water care options. Eco Spa uses the Ecozone ozone system: activated oxygen that's 3,000x faster-acting than chlorine and cuts chemical use dramatically. In practice you add a tablespoon of chlorine every week or two and an enzyme stick monthly — the ozone does the heavy lifting. Both approaches reduce hands-on time versus old-school chemical balancing; the Ecozone system keeps the routine to a few minutes a month.
Installation
Both brands offer a 110V plug-and-play option — Arctic on its smaller single-pump configurations, and Eco Spa on every model. The difference is that every Eco Spa is convertible: plug into a standard 110V outlet, or hardwire 220V for faster heating, with no separate model to choose. Larger, multi-pump spas from any brand typically still need a 220V circuit and an electrician. No concrete pad or contractor is required either way for an Eco Spa.
Warranty & Price
Eco Spa backs both the shell and the cover with a lifetime warranty — unusual in the industry. Pricing starts at $11,999, and the value case is built around lifetime ownership cost (no cover replacements, low energy, minimal chemicals) rather than the lowest upfront number.
Which One Is Right for You?
If you want a wide range of acrylic finishes, deep jet customization, and a long-established dealer network, Arctic Spa is a strong, proven choice. If your priorities are lowest lifetime cost, lowest maintenance, and a shell and cover that won't need replacing, Eco Spa is built specifically for that. The honest answer is that both are good hot tubs — they're just optimized for different things.
The best way to decide is to see the HDPE shell and lift the hard cover yourself. Visit a BC showroom or request a quote.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is HDPE better than acrylic for a hot tub?
HDPE is non-porous, can't absorb water, and won't craze or crack like acrylic can over years of heat cycling. Acrylic offers more colour options and a glossier finish. For durability and low maintenance, HDPE has the edge; for finish variety, acrylic wins.
Does Eco Spa cost less than Arctic Spa over time?
Eco Spa is designed around lifetime cost. The lifetime hard cover (no $800 replacements every few years), low BC running cost of $15–25/month, and minimal chemicals add up over a 10-year window, even where the upfront price is similar.
Can an Eco Spa run on a regular household outlet?
Yes. Every Eco Spa is convertible — it runs on a standard 110V outlet with no electrician, or you can hardwire 220V for faster heating. Arctic Spas also offers 110V on smaller models; the difference is that every Eco Spa is convertible, while larger multi-pump spas from any brand typically need a 220V circuit.