This is our third Lay‑Z‑Spa, and it’s only now that we’ve realised why our previous pumps kept failing: Birmingham water is extremely soft and really needs calcium chloride adding. The more you know…
We chose the Carrara because it’s marketed as energy‑efficient and we keep our spa running year‑round. It replaces a Lay‑Z‑Spa Zurich, which was also energy‑efficient, but the pump finally failed (again, likely the water). The cost of a replacement pump was basically the same as buying a Miami from a discount shop, but this seemed the better long‑term option.
First thing to note: the box is MASSIVE. It wouldn’t fit through our front door, so we had to unpack it on the drive and carry it through the house in pieces.
Set‑up was quick and straightforward. You slot the rigid sections together in the cover and zip it around. We already had the foam floor mats. We fill it from the kitchen tap, so it’s hot right away.
The footprint is the same as our previous Lay‑Z‑Spas (Fiji and Zurich), but the internal space is much larger thanks to the rigid walls. The internal pump is also very quiet, and not having to accommodate an external pump unit is a big plus.
The walls are very rigid and feel strong. They also seem slightly taller than the inflatable walls on previous models, though this may just be because there’s no give in them.
When I’d researched this, I was led to believe the AirJets had two power settings, 100% and a less intense 50%. That feature has been removed and the jets are either on or off- although it does have a ring of bubbles in the middle for your feet as well as the normal ones around the outside.
The WiFi app is useful too. We had no problems getting it set up with our home WiFi - downloaded the lay-z-spa app from the App Store, signed in and it just worked. It’s much easier to set a schedule using the app.
I’d kept all our old air pipes and filter housing, but unfortunately none of them fit as the Carrara uses different fittings, so they’re redundant. What I really wish I’d kept, though, was the old Zurich lid. It was rigid, insulated, and far better designed.
The Carrara lid is just the normal inflatable bladder with a thin vinyl cover and the inflatable part doesn’t fit particularly well. It’s essentially a standard Lay‑Z‑Spa bladder floating over the larger spa opening, and it feels like a real design flaw. I don’t see how this lid offers any extra energy efficiency over the standard Lay‑Z‑Spa cover.
Thankfully, the Lay‑Z‑Spa thermal cover we’ve had since the Fiji fits this model too, but I’m still kicking myself for not keeping the old Zurich lid.
It does seem to maintain heat better and heat faster than previous tubs.
Overall, the spa itself is excellent, but the lid lets it down badly. It would have been 5 stars if not for this.
