I like the look of the Victoria & Albert tubs but they all seem to be freestanding. xc60- Thank you for the information about the acrylic tubs being hard to clean. I kept reading threads where people said they didn't like acrylic but some didn't indicate why they didn't like it. I was drawn to the idea of the Basc heated feature that Kohler is offering on some of the newer tubs but it sounds like it hasn't been around very long so I might worry about the longevity of it. I heading out to Ferguson now to take another look. At this point, I'm leaning towards the Memoirs, but we'll see.

"I could also just get a pull-down faucet for the sink and aim it at the tub to fill it." You could - but you won't like it. The most one of those will fill is 2.2 gallons a minute - some less that that. Divide your tub's capacity by that and you're looking at 20 minutes to fill +/- Not good. beekeeper - I have one of these and have placed more than half a dozen in projects over the past few years. What you get for your money is a machined brass body that mounts in the ceiling or wall and a plated trim piece. The body is a substantial piece of hardware and chrome,brass, nickel plating costs $$$ too. Whether that's all worth 500 + bucks, is up to you. Like davidro says, it doesn't matter what the delivery system is, this is just an opening for hot water to come out of, albeit one with a bit of engineering. GD & Spanish - the splashing is very much dependent on the mounting height of the unit AND the tub selected AND the location of the water column inside the tub. Mine hardly splashes at all. The ones I have seen that splash only do so for a minute or so until their is enough of a pool in the tub to counteract it. Flat bottom tubs with tall ceilings are going to splash more than one from 7' into a sloped contact point in the tub. Besides , we're talking water in a bathroom, generally tiled so what's the big deal ??? It's not like the amount of splash is the same as taking a shower and leaving the door open. 2. While you are correct in that "the water cools off much more than it would from just a regular tub filler", it's not as if it cools off enough for anyone without a thermometer to tell a difference, and a very sensitive one at that! Sure the air cools the water more from a stream falling from 8 feet than one falling from two feet. But bath water that is 100 + degrees is not going to cool down to 90 deg. in the xtra 1-2 seconds it takes it to fall from the ceiling- get real. Additionally , that filler produces a very dense column of water (laminar) that has little to no air in it, so one might argue it will be hotter and less prone to heat loss than a "regular" filler that introduces room temp air into it's stream - thus cooling it off on it's way to the tub. So don't worry Spanish -your tub will still be plenty hot with that filler if you choose it. IT'S A NON -ISSUE people. I've already alluded to the real issue for lower tub temps - FILL TIME. That's directly related to the delivery system ( valve). If your valve and accompanying filler will only deliver 5 gallons a minute it's going to take a while to fill an 80 gallon tub, and there will be some heat loss. Select a valve that delivers 20 gallons a minute and you can be soaking quicker that most people can undress. Here is a link that might be useful: laminar valve body - see page 2

I have the Kohler Archer and Underscore. Both have held up well. The Archer is used by 2 people's daily showers and baby's bath. Minor scratches can be buffed out and if damaged, you can get an acrylic repair professional. The biggest benefit of the acrylic is the deeper water depth and ability to retain the heat of water for longer compared to cast iron. Cast iron will be more durable. If you choose acrylic, have your contractor install it in a mud base to the floor...it will make it feel very solid.

There's no anti-slip surface in my Underscore, but probably that's because it's a drop-in and not intended to be used for someone standing up showering. The website says the alcove version has "textured bottom surface." The American Standard site says the studio alcove has "textured floor." You might want to see if you can look at these in person in a Fergusons or other plumbing supply store. I couldn't tell from the sites, but if I were picking from these 2 I think I'd want the one that has the most "flat" inches, so it's safer to step in and out of. I couldn't tell online which one that would be, but seems like it would be the Kohler since you said the slope angle on the AS was greater. We have shorter AS alcove tubs upstairs and they have texture on the bottom, but not the scratchy kind I remember from childhood; it's more of a ripply surface.