Hi Sarah, we bought a Sundance Chelsee over a year ago which we absolutely LOVE. Chose a custom cover color which made it look even better. The seats are very flexible and comfortable. My best advice is to actually put on a bathing suit and do a "wet" test before buying any model to make sure you like the seats. The dry test does not help at all! I did not try the Optima only because it is a more expensive model.

Would you mind sharing what your pre-tax price was for it? If not, and if that's a tacky question, I totally understand! I'm the car buyer of the family, and that's super easy to compare prices--but hot tubs? Can't find a website for prices paid or anything!

I didn't mention pricing because we live in So Cal and everything is crazy expensive. My budget was $10k (that was the quote for putting a simple one attached to the pool) and we were able to keep that with tax and delivery and custom cover. Our wonderful sales person did not apply any pressure and helped make our budget happen, very similar to buying a car. It helped to buy off season in Feb 2014 and Sundance was offering a $500 visa card if delivered before April. Sometimes they have specials on floor models but we special ordered our preferred colors (cover, inside and outer). Other significant costs include any electrical hard wiring required and whatever you choose as a foundation. Took us a long time to get the site prepped with electrical and have a concrete deck poured! Do you have a good site in mind? They should not be located out in hot sun.

Hi - Did you end up purchasing the Pulse. I am trying decide between the Chelsee and the Pulse. The Chelsee will cost me about $1,200 more.