Nordivale Inflatable Hot Tub 208X208CM

Is the Nordivale Inflatable Hot Tub 208X208CM worth buying?

Yes, if you want the most water per pound at this end of the market: the Nordivale Inflatable Hot Tub 208X208CM costs £251.79, holds 1,000 litres and seats four to six adults on a 208 cm circle. It arrives with a thermal insulated cover, a ground sheet, four filter cartridges, two filter covers and an inflation hose, so there is nothing else to buy before the first fill.

The trade is the owner record. Sixty buyers have rated it 3.8, where the Lay-Z-Spa Miami carries 1,243 ratings at 4.5, so you are buying the cheapest six-seat body of water on the page rather than the best-known badge. If the water and the price are what you are shopping on, that is a fair swap.

How much does the Nordivale Inflatable Hot Tub 208X208CM cost per litre?

Divide the price by the water and it lands at 25p a litre: £251.79 over 1,000 litres is 25.2p, where 1,000 litres costs 36p a litre in the Aoxun and 38p in the Arebos Santorini. The litres are the part you sit in, so the lowest number on the page is also the one that fills the tub.

In use, 1,000 litres is about 167 litres for each of six bathers, or a generous 250 litres each with four in the water, spread across roughly 3.4 square metres of surface. That is enough for adults to stretch their legs without knees meeting, which is where a 180 cm tub usually runs out of room.

What comes with the Nordivale Inflatable Hot Tub 208X208CM, and how hard is it to set up?

The box covers the basics: a thermal insulated cover, a ground sheet, four filter cartridges, two filter covers and an inflation hose, with the 1800 W heater and filter pump built into the unit itself. Assembly is on you, and at 20 kg empty the shell is light enough for one person to carry but easier to place with two.

Once up it stands 65 cm tall and 208 cm across, and because it deflates it slips through a standard door frame, so it can start the summer on the patio and finish it in a conservatory or bathroom. The outer wall is 0.66 mm PVC with a reinforced mesh layer for puncture resistance, and the smooth 0.65 mm white liner wipes clean, which matters in a hard water area where limescale and mildew build up. A 2 year manufacturer guarantee covers the tub.

Where does the Nordivale Inflatable Hot Tub 208X208CM fall short?

It is the slowest heater among the six-seaters, adding 1 to 2 °C an hour, so a cold fill is a day-long job rather than an evening one; the Dellonda manages 1.5 to 2.5 °C in the same bracket. There is also no freeze protection built in, which means draining, drying and storing it flat once night temperatures head towards freezing.

Sixty ratings at 3.8 is a smaller and softer record than the Lay-Z-Spa tubs carry, and a filled tub weighs about a tonne, so the spot needs settling before the hose comes out. The 208 cm circle also wants roughly 2.3 m of clear patio to walk around, which rules out a narrow balcony.

How does it compare with the Aoxun and the Dellonda?

The Aoxun is the same tub at a higher asking price: 208 cm across, 1,000 litres, 130 air jets and an 1800 W heater for £359, which is £107.21 more and works out at 36p a litre against 25p. Buy the Aoxun only if the Nordivale is out of stock, because the water will not feel any different.

The Dellonda goes the other way at £434.98, £183.19 more, and it answers a different question: 1,200 litres, 140 air jets, a 160 cm inner circle and a smart pump that reheats whenever the water drops 2 °C, at 1.5 to 2.5 °C an hour. Take the Dellonda if six adults will be in it most weeks or you want the quicker warm-up; take the Nordivale if price per litre is what you are shopping on.