Lay-Z-Spa Boracay

Is the Lay-Z-Spa Boracay worth buying?

The Lay-Z-Spa Boracay is worth buying at £389.99 if you want a session already warm when you walk outside and you never seat more than four people. It holds 669 litres, runs 120 AirJets on two intensity settings and takes commands over wifi from the Lay-Z-Spa app, on Android or Apple, with Alexa and Google Assistant handling the hands-free part. Buying it is a decision about convenience, not about water per pound.

Treat it as a two-to-three person tub that happens to seat four. The wifi control, the two-level bubbles and the energy saving timer are what the money goes on, and none of those features exists on the cheaper Lay-Z-Spa models in the same 180 cm circle. If you want the largest soak for the least cash, this is not the one.

How much water does the Lay-Z-Spa Boracay hold, and does it matter?

669 litres is the figure that shapes everything else here, and divided into the £389.99 price it comes to 58p a litre. That is the steepest per-litre rate on this page: the Nordivale asks 25p for its 1,000 litres, the Dellonda 36p for 1,200 and the Barcelona 44p for 910. In short, the premium buys the app and the smaller body of water, not more of it.

Fewer litres do flatter the jets. Spreading 120 AirJets across 669 litres gives one jet for every 5.6 litres, denser than the Nordivale's 130 jets over 1,000 litres, which is one per 7.7 litres. In practice the bubbles feel more concentrated around you, and the pump keeps heating and filtering while the AirJet system runs, so a long soak does not turn into a cooling one.

What comes in the box and what is it like to live with?

The box contains the spa, a pool cover, the pump, one VI filter cartridge, a ChemConnect dispenser, a repair patch and the AirJet system. Inflating it takes under 10 minutes with the pump supplied and no tools, so a patio can be ready the same afternoon, and the energy saving timer lets you schedule a session for the hour you get home rather than heating all day.

It measures 180 cm across and 66 cm high, the same circle as the Miami and the Cancun, and it weighs 33.9 kg empty. That is 13.9 kg more than the Nordivale and 1.6 kg more than the Miami, so two people should carry it and the spot needs deciding before the first fill. The grey DuoPlus and Beam wall is UV treated, and Freeze Shield keeps the water from freezing on cold nights for as long as the heater is on.

Where does the Lay-Z-Spa Boracay fall short?

The water is expensive. At 58p a litre the Boracay is the priciest fill here, and £10 more buys the Arebos Barcelona with 910 litres, which is 241 litres more for a family that wants to stretch out. Anyone measuring value by capacity is looking at the wrong tub at this price.

The owner base is thin at 25 ratings, carried at 4.3, where the Miami has 1,243 behind it. The app is also the part you cannot try before you buy, and wifi control is only worth paying for if you actually use a phone to start things. Four seats is the hard ceiling, so a household that regularly has six adults round needs a bigger shell.

How does the Lay-Z-Spa Boracay compare with the Miami and the Barcelona?

The Lay-Z-Spa Miami costs £351, which is £38.99 less, and it runs the same 120 AirJets on the same 180 cm circle. The Boracay's extra money buys the wifi app, the voice control, the two bubble intensity levels and the timer that schedules a session, while the Miami answers with 1,243 owners rating it 4.5 instead of 25. Buy the Boracay if you want the spa warm before you get home, and the Miami if you would rather follow a crowd.

The Arebos Barcelona costs £399.99, £10 more, and holds 910 litres against 669, with 130 jets and 543 ratings at 4.2. That makes the Barcelona the better buy for four to six bathers who want room and a deep owner record, and the Boracay the better buy for two or three who want the app and a smaller circle to heat.