Built by hand.
Built in Tivoli.
Hudson Valley Hot Tubs is John Cox — a craftsman and cooperage builder based in Tivoli, NY, who builds cedar hot tubs by hand and installs them himself throughout the Hudson Valley and Catskills. No factory. No distributors. No gap between the person who made it and the person responsible for it.
The builder
John Cox —
cooperage craftsman
Every cedar hot tub we sell was built by John Cox at our workshop on Route 9 in Tivoli, New York. When you call us, John answers. When the tub arrives, John's team installs it.
John Cox founded Hudson Valley Hot Tubs after years working with wood — drawn to cooperage, the ancient trade of building watertight vessels from shaped wooden staves, as the defining craft of his workshop. The cooperage tradition predates modern manufacturing by centuries, and it is the reason our tubs are built the way they are: by hand, with natural materials, to last.
John lives and works in Tivoli — a small Hudson River village in Dutchess County that has been home to artists, craftspeople, and farmers for generations. Building here, for the Hudson Valley community, is not incidental to what we do. It is the point.
Every consultation starts with John. Every build happens in Tivoli. Every installation is done by the same team that built the tub. This is not a company built on scale — it is built on the quality of each individual vessel and the responsibility of the craftsman who made it.
Cooperage tradition
Stave-and-band construction — the same principles used in oak barrel making for centuries, applied to cedar soaking vessels.
Based in Tivoli, NY
Our workshop is on Route 9 in Tivoli — the heart of Dutchess County and minutes from Rhinebeck, Red Hook, and the Hudson River.
Builder installs
We don't use third-party installers. John's team delivers and installs every tub we sell — the same people who built it.
8 counties served
Dutchess, Columbia, Greene, Ulster, Orange, Putnam, Westchester, and Sullivan. Every installation within driving distance of Tivoli.
The craft
An ancient trade.
A modern soak.
Cooperage — the craft of shaping vertical staves of wood into a watertight vessel and binding them with metal hoops — is one of the oldest and most physically demanding woodworking traditions in the world. For most of human history, cooperage was the technology behind every vessel that held liquid: wine barrels, water casks, butter churns, ship's barrels. The cooperage tradition is ancient, practical, and nearly extinct.
We apply its principles to cedar hot tubs. Each stave is milled from clear western red cedar — selected for tight grain and freedom from knots, the same standards a barrel maker would apply to oak. The staves are shaped to fit together in a curve, fitted by hand, and bound with stainless steel bands. No adhesives. No synthetic fillers. The joint between each stave is tight enough to hold water before the wood even swells — and when it swells, it tightens further, as the cedar absorbs water and expands.
This is the physics that makes a cedar hot tub different from an acrylic shell. An acrylic shell is a manufactured product — it fits together mechanically and holds water because its structure forces it to. A cedar hot tub holds water because of the natural properties of the wood itself, the precision of the cooperage joinery, and the physics of a vessel that was designed, from the beginning, to be wet.
Cedar selection
Every batch of western red cedar is assessed for grain, moisture content, and freedom from defects. We use clear cedar only — no knots, no sapwood in structural staves.
Stave milling & fitting
Staves are milled to precise dimensions, shaped to the curve of the vessel, and fitted by hand until each joint meets our tolerance standards.
Assembly & banding
Staves are assembled around the base, raised, and banded with marine-grade stainless steel. The banding is tensioned by hand — tightened to the right compression for the vessel size.
Finish & quality check
Natural cedar is sealed and inspected. Shou sugi ban finish is applied by fire, brushed, and sealed. Every tub is checked before delivery.
Where we work
Tivoli, NY —
on the Hudson River
Our workshop is on Route 9 in Tivoli — a small village on the west bank of the Hudson River in Dutchess County, between Rhinebeck and Red Hook. It is one of the Hudson Valley's oldest communities, home to artists, farmers, and craftspeople for generations.
Building in Tivoli means we are genuinely local to our market. Rhinebeck is 5 miles south. Hudson is 15 miles north. The Catskill communities we serve most actively — Woodstock, Kingston, Phoenicia — are 30–40 minutes west. We are not a company that ships from a warehouse. We are a workshop that serves a region we know intimately, building in the same landscape where our tubs end up.
Hudson Valley Hot Tubs
1403 Route 9, Tivoli, NY 12583
(917) 578-9948
@hudsonhottubs
What we believe
The principles behind
every tub we build
The builder installs
We don't hand off to a third-party crew. John's team delivers and installs every tub we sell — because we know what was built and how it needs to go in. There is no warranty gap between the builder and the installer.
Natural materials only
Clear western red cedar. Stainless steel. No acrylic, no fiberglass, no synthetic fillers. Every material in our tubs is chosen for longevity, performance, and compatibility with the cedar vessel.
Built for this climate
Hudson Valley winters are hard on outdoor products. Cedar handles freeze-thaw cycles, extended cold, and seasonal moisture better than any acrylic alternative. We build for the climate where the tub will live.
Custom, not catalog
Every tub is sized and configured for the specific property. We don't stock finished tubs waiting for a buyer. We take a consultation, size the vessel, build it, and deliver it.
Long-term relationship
We're available after installation for questions, maintenance, and service. We're local — if something needs attention, we come back. That's what it means to be a workshop, not a retailer.
Honest about tradeoffs
Cedar is not the right choice for everyone. It requires consistent care. It costs more than entry-level acrylic. We'd rather tell you that upfront than sell you something that doesn't fit your life.
Where we work
Serving the Hudson Valley
from Tivoli
We install throughout 8 counties — every property within driving distance of our Tivoli workshop.
