Hot tub hire from DB Entertainment used to run like this: we delivered a solid-sided spa to your garden, set it up and treated the water before we left, then came back at the end of the hire to collect it. The fleet was built around the Rio 6/8 Seater hot tub, an American-made, rigid-sided spa with built-in seating, hydro jets, LED lighting and all-season heating, and it runs off a standard 13-amp socket. One thing to know up front: hot tub hire is currently paused while the fleet changes, and some of the ex-hire Rio tubs may be for sale. The rest of this guide still covers how a proper hot tub hire works, what it cost and what to check before you book one from anyone.
What you get with a proper hire tub
The Rio is a rigid tub, not something you inflate. It has moulded built-in seats for six to eight people, hydro jets for a proper spa feel, LED lighting for the evening and a heater that holds temperature in all seasons. It comes with an insulated cover that keeps the heat in while nobody's in the water, which matters more than people expect - an uncovered tub loses heat overnight and costs more to run the next morning. The DIY inflatables you see advertised at lower prices aren't built for the hire market in the way a solid tub is, and they show it within a weekend of use.
What was included in the price
Every hire covered delivery, setup and collection by our own crew, and the tub arrived steam-cleaned and sanitised from the previous hire. A full chemical kit came with it, so the water was treated and safe from day one rather than from whenever you got round to the first test. If anything went wrong during the hire there was a 24-hour support line, and the crew carried spare parts on the van, so a small fault rarely meant the tub sat cold for two days waiting for someone to come back out.
Power, space and access
The tub plugs into a standard 13-amp outdoor socket, so no electrician is needed, but the socket does need to be sound and reachable with the lead. On space, you want a level patch of ground bigger than the tub itself, with room to walk around it, and a route from the van to that patch wide enough for a tub on a trolley. It's worth measuring your gate before you book, as it goes - a narrow one holds everything up on the day. Water comes from your own tap, and a fill of that size takes a while, so we set up early in the day to give the water time to heat before the evening.
What a weekend hire cost
Weekend hires started at £225 for a Thursday-to-Monday booking of four days, which gave a day for setup and heating at the front and a day for emptying and collection at the back. Most customers paired the tub with a 3x4.5m gazebo for shelter and a set of garden games for the rest of the party, and adding both to the same delivery worked out cheaper than a second trip.
Indoors or outdoors?
Outdoors, almost always. A tub puts a lot of moisture into the air, so anything under a roof needs serious ventilation, and the weight of a filled 6/8-seater is well beyond what most conservatories and upstairs rooms are built for. In the garden the usual answer is a gazebo from our marquee hire range over the tub for shade, rain cover and a bit of privacy, with a gazebo heater clamped to the frame for the walk between the tub and the house.
Where things stand now
Hire is paused for the foreseeable future and we're sorry for the inconvenience. If you're after a proper solid-sided spa, some of our ex-hire Rio tubs may be for sale, and the office can talk you through what's available. Give us a ring on 0114 345 0135, and our delivery page covers how we move kit around Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster, Barnsley and the rest of the UK.
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