Clearlight - Infrared Saunas and Wellness Solutions — Local services in Albany

(......1 STAR: Delivery experience/Communication on company's part regarding the delivery/set up .......4-5 STARS: Quality of sauna)

Below is the email I wrote to my Clearlight representative to complain regarding the experience of my sauna being delivered. It was a DANGEROUS experience, so PLEASE READ if your considering purchasing a Clearlight Sauna. I recommend that you INVEST IN DELIVERY PEOPLE to bring the sauna into your home, rather than risking hurting yourself... .............................

Dear David,

Thank you for returning my call after I contacted you immediately following receiving my sauna a week and a half ago. As you heard, I was extremely distraught by the delivery experience. In your voicemail to me, you mentioned that I probably didn't understand that we had to take the individual panels out of the boxes and carry the panels one by one. First of all, yes, that is true. I heard you say the sauna came in several boxes and each box would be easy to carry. You even said it would be possible for a woman to carry each box (as I expressed concern to you because I thought I might be alone when this delivery arrived). However, even if we did take each individual panel out there is NO WAY I would be able to carry each one up the stairs or even from one room to the next. My big, strong boyfriend had trouble doing it. Also, he did carry each BOX (not the individual panels) up the stairs..... which was a NIGHTMARE. ONE man CANNOT carry this up the stairs. I literally feared for his life. He could've been put in the hospital at best and killed at worst if any of those boxes fell on him. And even if I wanted to, I couldn't help him. PLEASE do not ever tell anyone they can carry these boxes up the stairs by themselves again (especially a woman -- shocking). I recommend that you recommend to your customers to pay the extra money to have all the pieces carried up stairs, INTO the house/room where it is going, and even have a service to install it. Honestly, we are enjoying the sauna now that the scary part is over and it's installed, but if I knew I was going to put my loved one in such danger, I wouldn't have even ordered this sauna. That's how bad it was. Please warn your future customers that these pieces are VERY heavy and lifting them alone could cause serious injury. It's better for professionals to bring it in the house and install it. Again, I know you said that you yourself are able to carry the individual panels, but my partner made a good point: Even if you take the individual panels out and try to carry each up the stairs ( one man alone) there is a great concern and chance for the panel to get cracked, scratched, or damaged. In that case, it has to be two MEN (not women) and it's best if they are delivery workers. And, listen, I'm all for women's equality, but please don't encourage women that they can carry these panels alone. They are TOO heavy and it's too awkward to get them through doorways.

I have written all this in length and detail to you, David, to communicate my experience and to encourage you to recommend your future customers to definitely invest in delivery people bringing it into the house.

Thank you for listening and for considering this...

Hello,

We were requesting an on-site technician be dispatched to our home to repair our brand new Clearlight spa ASAP- Sauna not working many days after it is as installed. We received the sauna five months after we ordered it. There are no technicians available on the East Coast.

I called Clearlight on Friday for technical support and did receive a call back from Lucas within the hour, but I was unable to answer due to a business/client call I had underway. I called Lucas back on the number he provided in his voice message, and awaited his return call back; I received no return call. I called Lucas back again a little over an hour later, after collecting some additional observations and even some video and photos from on my phone and leaving details on his voice mail; still no return call. We are aware that Clearlight is a west coast company so thought that a return call would surely come that late afternoon or evening due to PST zone, but we never did receive any return call. Nor did we on Saturday and still have no received a return call to offer technical support on our brand new spa.

My wife and I purchased this 5 person Clearlight outdoor Infrared Sauna. We chose Clearlight because of being advised by several doctors and individuals that this Clearlight was the ultimate brand. Although it included a premium cost, we were comfortable paying more for a quality product.

Our 5 person outdoor spa was delivered on a rainy day and simply dropped in the middle of our drive-way halfway stacked on top of one another while we were away. When we returned home, we could not even get in our driveway due to all the boxes in the middle of the entrance! The rain obviously weakened the cardboard making it nearly impossible to move each of the large and heavy boxes, to a dryer area until we could begin assembly. Once the assembly began, we then found the top panel on top of the exterior of the spa, that has the hinged door; was broken in multiple locations. Multiple hinges were completed broken and therefore offering zero functionality. We opted to continue installation and simply install the final roof panel which covers this hinged door under it; out of sight.

We were sent a faulty panel. It took days and days and days before this was resolved. Even though it was 2 o’clock California time, we did not receive help on a Friday afternoon so we went another weekend without having our sauna running.

A new panel was sent, which we were expected to install. There are no technicians on the east coast of America?

So be aware that you could have multiple problems once your sauna has arrived before you could get in it to start...

Overall it's well built, but we have experienced a lot of issues with the company.

Our sauna was delivered several months after they said it would be ready, with multiple delays. Their sales person told me our model takes 20 minutes to heat to 135, when it actually takes an hour and a half. Several calls to customer service for various issues have been met with incompetence at best, and attitude at worst.

The app (which allows you to turn it on remotely, a big part of why we chose Clearlight) was developed by amateurs and is total crap. It's stopped working and their tech department isn't able to help. It seems that they have good expertise in manufacturing the saunas, but they are failing when it comes to running a business with customers, addressing issues and making improvements.

I learned about this app problem just after we put a down payment in April (from a friend who already owns a Clearlight) and was promised they were working to resolve it within the month. Fast forward 7 months and nothing has been done to address the issue.

Really disappointed with our purchase.

Update: (upgraded from 1 to 2 stars). The company responded quickly after this review and helped install a door heater on our outdoor 2 person sauna. It now takes an hour instead of an hour and half to heat.

It seems that maybe there have been some changes & improvements made in customer service or else we just got their attention by complaining publicly, but the recent help responded quickly & efficiently.

They also installed a device in the sauna to use with their upgraded app, which is better but still terrible. Almost daily we have an issue with the app that needs fixing to use. More often than not we still have to turn it on manually.

The sauna is still working well & we continue to be happy with its design, but the app issues are still a big disappointment.

One year update: 10/31/25: another part has failed under warranty. It took several follow ups, but once they put the order in it arrived quickly. However, they are now outsourcing repairs, and it will be two weeks before we get called to schedule the repair. Our sauna is for home use but if it were for business use, that would be a big deal. I wish I could report that Clearloght has gotten more organized in the past year since my first review but it seems not much...