The Hot Tub has spread across alpine chalets like a rash in recent years. No self-respecting chalet seemed able to peak out from under it’s snowy blanket unless there was a hot tub steaming away on the decking out side. It used to be the sauna which skiers would gravitate towards, let the Swedish steam gently soothe their aching muscles, and cleanse stressed out bodies.

(TRAVPR.COM) UK - September 9th, 2010 - For ski chalets owners and ski tour operators, the sauna was a double edged sword. On one hand it was certainly an asset for the chalet, raising it’s profile in the brochures, bit on the other it took up valuable internal space. With square metres a premium in the alps, the loss of a small bedroom to a sauna was the loss of two paying guests.

Then came the hot tub. Self contained, stand alone, and best of all outside. Precious internal chalet space was not lost, and all that was required was a bit of plumbing and some decking. Initially, hot tubs had a degree of exclusivity, and a consequently high quality. With a relatively small market, the manufacturers had to charge a high price, so the quality had to be high to justify this. It was mostly the high end catered ski chalets which adopted the hot tub as the new ‘must have’.

As with all ‘must haves’ of the rich & famous, those lower down the financial pecking order started to demand them too. Manufacturers reacted to this, smaller, mass produced units were designed, to a price. The hot tub became accessible to many more people. No self respecting row of semis was complete without a hand full of hot tubs bubbling away alongside the barbecue and the conservatory.

More and more Ski chalets started to sprout these oversized, bubbling, steaming, circular horse troughs. Ski brochures showed off the new additions, full of happy, bubbly clutching, steamed skiers.

Then, almost overnight, the backlash began. It may have been the appearance of blue neon lights, seemingly borrowed from a boy racers’ hot hatch along with increasingly ‘Chavish’ connotations. Or possibly the realisation that these small bath tubs could not cope with more than two people at once, at least without things get ‘cosy’.

More likely it is a combination of cost and health. A hot tub costs around €2,000 each year to maintain, on top the initial outlay, decking, plumbing, lighting etc. James Hardiman, MD of Alpine Elements, considers that “A hot tub able to cope with the demands of a winter season in one of our alpine ski chalets will cost in the region of €10,000”. During the season a hot tub should be emptied, cleaned, refilled and re-heated once a week. There is a cost in terms of water, electricity required for heat, and the cleaning. The weekly work will take 24 hours to complete, that’s 24 hours of no hot tub for the guests, which invariably means unhappy guests who have booked a chalet WITH a hot tub. Such costs will, of course, ultimately be added to the price of the holiday.

If the cleaning is not done properly then health issues raise their ugly heads.

Incorrect chlorine and pH levels encourage ‘pseudomonas’ bacteria, which can result in red and itchy bumps or blisters sometimes known as ‘Hot Tub Rash’. In the worst cases, hair can drop out as hair follicles are damaged, bacterial infection can spread, and sub-cutaneous (under skin) boils appear.

Enclosed area hot tubs can promote Mycobacterium avium, these become airborne as the water bubbles burst. Breathing this bacteria in can result in coughs, fever and chills, as well as difficulty breathing, and tiredness.

Originally confined to air conditioning water cooling units, Legionnaires Disease has again been in the news. This lung infection is, again, the result of breathing in vapor borne bacteria. Legionella can cause the same coughs, high fever and chills as Mycobacterium avium, and is generally treatable with a course of antibiotics. However the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention states that death can occur in between 5% and 30% of Legionella cases.

Correct cleaning regimes, guests showering before they enter the hot tub dramatically reduce the chance of infection. Make sure that your tour operator knows what they are doing with the hot tubs in their ski chalets. Alpine Elements have extremely strict guidelines for the operation of hot tubs at their chalets, which are stringently enforced.

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