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Jacuzzi, hot tub, whirlpool or soaking tub: what you get in a hotel room

Hotels use six words for a tub, and only some of them have jets. Here is what each one means when it is in your room, and which ones we count.

The short answer

A jacuzzi, whirlpool and jetted tub are the same thing in a hotel room: a bathtub with water jets that you fill for each use. A hot tub stays full and heated; in a room it is usually on a private deck or balcony. A soaking tub is deep but has no jets. A spa tub or spa bath can be either, so check for the word jets.

How often hotels use each word

Across the tub rooms on Tubroom: whirlpool tub 81.4%, jacuzzi tub 16.9%, hot tub 8.1%, 2-person tub 2.9%, soaking tub 2.4%, spa tub 2.0%, heart-shaped tub 0.7%. A room can carry more than one word, so these add to more than 100%.

Which ones count on Tubroom

We list a room when it has a jetted tub (jacuzzi, whirlpool, jetted, spa tub with jets) or its own hot tub. We leave out soaking tubs without jets, and any hot tub shared with other guests by the pool or gym.

Room size

Where hotels give the size, a jacuzzi room is a median 390 sq ft (middle half 325 to 500 sq ft). 4.6% of the rooms we list say the tub fits two. See hotels with a 2 person jacuzzi.

Questions

Is Jacuzzi a brand?

Yes. Jacuzzi is a brand of jetted tub that became the everyday word for one. Hotels use it for any jetted tub.

Is a whirlpool tub the same as a jacuzzi?

In a hotel room, yes: both are jetted bathtubs you fill for each use.

Is a soaking tub a jacuzzi?

No. A soaking tub is deep but has no jets.

Tub rooms worth booking

A few standouts from our lists, ready to check for your dates.

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