Pacific Coast Sauna & Spa — Local services in San Mateo

I know I'm not supposed to trust a salesperson, but the owner Ryan seems genuine, honest, and upfront. I remember learning in my business class: "Best way to sell something; don't sell anything. Earn the awareness, respect, and trust of those who might buy." This seems to be the philosophy that Ryan embraces. On my end, I did trust, and then verified by communicating with multiple dealers in the area. My takeaway: Ryan's customer service was by far the best.

Ryan patiently talked to my partner and me about hot tubs. As a first-time hot tub owner, I feel like I'm in good hands. Ryan definitely was the most knowledgeable about hot tubs; a couple dealers I talked to couldn't answer my semi-basic questions about the hot tubs they sell. My most negative interaction was with the dealer of a different store: As soon as I tried to negotiate, his tone changed and he just kept saying, "We don't need to match. We don't need to match." He then added that his service speaks for itself, so he doesn't care about his competitors and he doesn't need to price-match them. After communicating with other dealers, I promptly ran back to Ryan and told him that if nothing else, his attitude and personality are appreciated and helped to sell the hot tub.

Searching for and purchasing a high-quality hot tub during the COVID-19 pandemic has not been easy: many showrooms and dealers are closed, and stock has been scarce - even for lower-quality "value" hot tubs at warehouse clubs like Costco. Fortunately, Ryan of Pacific Coast Sauna & Spa really made things as simple as possible.

Obviously, I hope my Marquis V94 hot tub will be issue-free. But after talking to Ryan, I feel like if there are problems, I can trust that he'll help me resolve them. With hot tubs being a major purchase that should last many years, I plan to update this review in the future, if only to check-in during its multiple anniversaries to say how happy I have been with the product and service....

If this is your first spa purchase or replacement, you know it's a big dollar investment. You can research manufacture's consumer ratings and narrow down the choices. However, you still need to be sure you are dealing with a business that is trustworthy, experienced, established and is committed to customer satisfaction. Pacific Coast Spas, owned by Ryan meets all of that criteria. When I needed to replace my 14 year old Marquis spa, I checked out other manufacture's retailers, and was not impressed. It was similar to the experience of buying a car from a dealership. They were not interested in what I wanted; only what they wanted to sell. My first meeting with Ryan at my home (80 miles round trip) was almost 3 hours. He covered all of the features for the couple of spas we were considering; highlighting the differences to our current spa and listening to what we liked the most about it. Ryan made some recommendations on color, spa orientation, and details on features not well described in the manufactures literature. On pricing, he combined any of the manufacture's incentives and his promotions to make our decision easy. Ryan measured all metrics for installation (access, deck, railings, etc). The installation went smoothly. This is the best example of how experience pays off. Ryan is a professional in all aspects of running his firm. It was a pleasure doing business with him....

I've had a very negative experience with this company and recommend looking elsewhere. I wanted a lifter for my hot tub cover. I sent pictures, discussed with them, etc. They sent a crew to install, who screwed the mounts into the thin parts of my casing. I thought the lifter was likely to strain the wood of the casing. I contacted the company and showed them pictures of how it was installed -- raising this concern -- but they assured me the installation was done well. Within a year, the lifter ripped off the hot tub, damaging the casing. I called and sent pictures. They said they would never have recommended mounting the lifter with a wooden casing -- despite having discussed this and showing them pictures before and after. They they promised a refund -- and promptly ghosted me -- neither returning my many phone calls and emails over a month to arrange the refund. Shady/sloppy practices. Avoid! I will post a new review if this does in fact get resolved.

I originally posted a 1 star review because of all this. After doing so, Ryan (the owner) came out and resolved it. My suggestion -- try to deal with...