Arctic Spas vs Hydropool: hot tubs and swim spas compared

Last reviewed September 2026. Hydropool details come from hydropoolhottubs.com on that date. Specs change, so check with a Hydropool retailer before you decide.

Hydropool is built in Mississauga, Arctic Spas in Alberta. Both are Canadian, both build hot tubs and swim spas, and both take winter seriously. We sell Arctic Spas, so read this knowing that. We've tried to lay it out the way we'd explain it to a friend.

The short version

• Hydropool's signature idea is self-cleaning. A skimmer, a floor vacuum and pressurized filtration keep debris moving out of the water. It also has the widest swim spa range in this comparison: 13 to 19 feet, including dual-temperature models.
• Arctic's signature idea is salt water. Its salt systems monitor the water and help keep conditions where they should be (you'll still test now and then). Classic and Custom hot tubs add a built-in floor that doesn't need a poured pad, and a 5-inch cover.

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Who they are

Hydropool: Based in Mississauga, Ontario, where it builds its hot tubs and swim spas. It started out in commercial pools and sells through independent retailers, including ones in Waterloo, London and near Windsor.

Arctic Spas: Founded in 1994 and built in Thorsby, Alberta. Arctic says its tubs are purpose-built for extreme weather. They're sold and serviced through dealers. In Kitchener, London and Windsor, that's us.

Keeping the water clean: self-cleaning vs salt water

This is the real difference between the two brands, so it's worth a minute.

Hydropool: Its Signature hot tubs and its AquaSport, AquaTrainer and Executive swim spas are self-cleaning. A surface skimmer and a floor vacuum pull debris through a pressurized filter. Hydropool is clear that you still balance the water, add chlorine or bromine, and drain the tub, just less often. Its PureWater system (ozone plus UV-C) is standard on Signature and optional on Serenity. Hydropool sold salt systems until 2019, then stopped; its view is that salt is harder to maintain.

Arctic Spas: Arctic went the other way and designs its tubs for salt water. Nearly 9 in 10 of the hot tubs and swim spas we sold in the past year went out with it.

• Spa Boy is a salt water system exclusive to Arctic Spas. It monitors the water and helps keep conditions where they should be, which makes hot tubbing easy. You'll still test the water and add chemicals from time to time. Spa Boy is available on Custom Series tubs, on swim spas, and on Classic tubs with the Custom upgrade.
• Onzen, Arctic's simpler salt system, is available on every Arctic model.

Arctic's factory salt systems are covered by its warranty, as long as you use Arctic Pure salt at the recommended level.

Where each wins: Hydropool's focus is getting debris out of the water. Arctic's focus is monitoring the water and helping keep the sanitizer where it should be. If you've owned a tub before and the chemistry was the chore you hated, sit down with both dealers and ask each one to walk you through a normal week.

Insulation: closer than you'd think

Both brands keep the heat the pumps give off, rather than filling the whole cabinet with foam.

• Hydropool hot tubs use a layered system. Thermal blankets wrap the plumbing and floor, closed-cell foam sits at the lip and floor, and a sealed cabinet holds in the pump heat. Its swim spas use a hybrid of thermal blankets and blown-in foam.
• Arctic insulates the floor and the walls, and keeps the pump heat inside the cabinet to warm the shell and water. Arctic calls this FreeHeat. You can reach the pumps, valves and motors without cutting through foam.

Both are built for Canadian winters.

Cabinet, floor and cover

Hydropool: Faux-woodgrain synthetic cabinets on a steel frame. Hydropool stopped offering cedar some years ago. Its hot tubs sit on a polymer floor and need a strong, flat surface; its swim spas need a concrete pad. Hydropool describes its HydroWise hard cover as part of its energy-efficiency system.

Arctic Spas: On Classic and Custom, you can choose cedar, NOM composite or SMC cabinets. Cedar carries a 10-year warranty on both Series, so you can have real wood if you want it. Classic and Custom hot tubs sit on the Forever Floor, an SMC fibreglass floor built into the tub. You don't need a poured concrete pad: a level concrete pad, patio stones, compacted gravel, or a deck built to carry the weight all work, though bare grass or soil won't. It carries a lifetime warranty for the original owner. Core Series tubs use the Everlast Floor, which has a 3-year warranty against structural cracking. Classic and Custom come with the Mylovac Weathershield cover, which tapers from 5 inches to 4 inches. Like Hydropool's, Arctic's swim spas need a concrete pad or an engineered deck.

Jets

Hydropool: "Zone Therapy" organizes the jets into four zones, and Signature models add pre-programmed massage programs. It uses one or two jet pumps.

Arctic Spas: Arctic favours fewer, larger jets over a high jet count, with up to three pumps and 60 jets on Custom Series tubs. Try both; massage is personal.

Warranty

Hydropool doesn't publish a single warranty page for shoppers. Its model spec tables list "10/5/3", and its warranty guide explains that as 10 years on the fiberglass structure, 5 on the acrylic surface, 3 on equipment and plumbing, and 1 year on cabinets, cover and electronics. Ask your Hydropool retailer for the written terms.

*Labour is subject to Arctic's per-claim limits, and travel is extra; see the full terms.
†Swim spas must sit on a concrete pad or an engineered deck.

Swim spas

This is where Hydropool genuinely offers more choice.

Hydropool: 13 to 19 feet, across four families:

• AquaPlay: 13 ft, not self-cleaning.
• AquaSport and AquaTrainer: 14, 17 and 19 ft.
• Executive Trainer: 16 and 19 ft.

The AquaSport and AquaTrainer 19-foot models are dual-temperature, with a cooler swim area, and both Executive Trainers come with a built-in underwater treadmill. If you want a 16-, 17- or 19-foot tank, a dual-temperature model or a treadmill, Hydropool has one and Arctic doesn't.

Arctic Spas: Eight All-Weather Pool models:

• Seven are 14 feet.
• The Polar Bear is 18 feet.

Each has a swim current you can turn down for aquafit or the kids and up for training. Arctic swim spas carry Custom-tier warranty terms: a lifetime shell for the original owner and 5-year equipment.

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Choose Hydropool if…

• Self-cleaning is the feature you care about most.
• You want a 17- or 19-foot swim spa, or a dual-temperature model.
• You're happy with chlorine or bromine.

Choose Arctic Spas if…

• You want a factory salt water system that's covered by the warranty.
• You want the option of a real cedar cabinet.
• You want a lifetime shell and floor warranty for the original owner (Classic and Custom).
• You'd rather not pour a pad for a hot tub (Classic and Custom).

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Frequently asked questions

Are Arctic Spas and Hydropool both made in Canada?

Yes. Hydropool builds in Mississauga, Ontario, and Arctic Spas in Thorsby, Alberta. Arctic Spas was founded in 1994.

Does Hydropool offer salt water?

Not currently. Hydropool says it offered salt systems until 2019 and then dropped them. Arctic Spas offers factory salt systems, Spa Boy and Onzen.

Are Arctic swim spas only 14 feet?

No. Seven models are 14 feet and the Polar Bear is 18 feet. Hydropool's range runs from 13 to 19 feet.

Does a self-cleaning or salt water hot tub mean no maintenance?

No. Hydropool says you still balance, sanitize and drain a self-cleaning tub. The same goes for salt: Spa Boy makes hot tubbing easier, but you'll still test the water and add chemicals from time to time.

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Come sit in both. Try an Arctic in Kitchener, London or Windsor, or find the model that fits. Financing is available through FinanceIt, on approved credit.

Hydropool®, Signature Self-Cleaning, Serenity, AquaPlay, AquaSport, AquaTrainer, Executive Trainer, PureWater, Zone Therapy and HydroWise are trademarks of their respective owner, used only to identify their products. Competitor information was taken from hydropoolhottubs.com on September 27, 2026 and may have changed since. Arctic Spas Ontario is an authorized Arctic Spas dealer.