xc60 - sounds great - I know just enough to be dangerous. I love this forum. I learn more from it than going to the plumbing showrooms. katmomma, you will have to search this forum for air tubs. I can help you with selecting drop in tubs based on shape, size, quality. You basically want a good quality air tub without the price tag. Mirabelle tubs are well designed, deep and I see that folks on this forum have purchased them as air tubs. They are private label for Ferguson (made by Clarke). I like the feel of their acrylic better than Kohler. I don't see folks talking about Kohler air tubs but they make a solid whirlpool and are priced right. I do not know how the Jacuzzi air tubs are but I personally like their designs - they are priced right for you too. Jason, owned by the former Jacuzzi folks, can get pricey. Same with MTI, Hydrosystems, and Americh. Maax tubs are nice but I see on this forum that folks say that their air tubs are loud.

Can you flip your plumbing? Giving you the space on the 98" present tub wall for two large vanities since it's a Jack and Jill. Is the shower out past the wall as in the photo? If so you could flip the toilet into that space and add a door and have a private water closet there with door and add more privacy. That's a decent amount of space to allow for some dual use with two users able to use it at the same time with some privacy concerns met. There is a lot of space there to do layouts that would work well for a J&J shared bath. We have a Jack and Jill bath upstairs and it is divided with the tub and shower area walled off with a door and the vanity with dual sinks in a separate area. That way one can still use the sinks while the other person in in the shower/tub/ toilet area without tying up the entire bathroom for the other person. I have a tub on a pedestal or plinth as some call it and I don't have any cleaning issues with it. It's 68" which is plenty long enough, it could be shorter actually since I'm only 5'4". My faucet is the British telephone type that hangs up on it's stand. It has it's floor mounted water supply. That was an expensive faucet even with going cheap with an off brand it was still over $800 and if I had gotten a name brand it would have been more than $2000 for it all. I found that the spout and two faucets with spray was one thing but then they have to add in all the components of the chrome pipes to the floor and I don't know what all before it was all said and done. Sort of like when you buy the washer and they need to add for the hoses etc. It still wasn't a deal breaker. I ended up buying a Victoria + Albert "York" model tub and I love it. I"m so glad I ripped out that horrid jetted gigantic tub. I have never looked back on that decision. We never used it and ti took up so much space. It had gunk in the jets from day one and I couldn't get past it no matter how much I cleaned it the black gunk still came out. You did well to rid yourself of that space hogging tub. Well done!

I love a hot bath-- but I am not sure I see the value of Hotsoak. Adding additional hot water from the tap seems simpler, faster and vastly cheaper. I have a jetted tub that I use regularly and it has an inline heater. But, I also use this tub for quiet jet free soaking and find that the water stays hot for longer than in my previous tubs. My contractor spray insulated the tub underside before dropping it in. You may find adding underside insulation to your new tub solves the cooling off too quickly issue.

The WetStyle f/s tub has a removable tray that sits across the tub. I like numberjunkie's idea of a shelf or ledge behind the tub for placing items and also like the idea of having the shower wall next to the tub tiled half-way up to have a space for installing a grab bar. WetStyle has an optional shelf that surrounds the tub, but I think it would make it more challenging to get in and out of the tub - would need to hop over the shelf. The drop-in tub I was initially considering was 72"x42" but that would likely not fit, so would need to be 72"x36". This weekend I looked at an open house (new construction) in my area that had a drop-in tub with a narrow space for the deck surround (see attached photo). The deck was tiled on the top and on the apron with white subway tile. I noticed that with the narrow deck space (about 2") and the tub overhang, it would be awkward to sit on the edge of the tub and swing my legs in or out of the tub. Wiithout space for a deck that is wide enough to comfortably sit on, ease of entry or exit may come down to depth of the tub and options for placement of grab bars. The Wetstyle tub is 22" deep; the drop-in tubs are generally deeper, more like 26"