The Lay-Z-Spa St Moritz Inflatable Lid Problem — and the £35 Bestway Pool Float That Fixes It

Why the official Lay-Z-Spa St Moritz lid keeps failing

If you own a Lay-Z-Spa St Moritz (also marketed as the Lazy Spa St Moritz), you already know the pain. The thin inflatable top lid that sits inside the outer cover is a weak point. It punctures easily, loses air within months, and leaves you chasing expensive replacements that are almost always out of stock just when you want to use the tub.

The official replacement lid from Lay-Z-Spa (around £60–£70 when you can actually find one, and typically back-ordered) is made from the same fragile vinyl as the original. Many owners end up replacing it once or twice a year. That is not cheap, and it is not fun — you just want to keep the heat in, stop leaves and rain getting into the water, and enjoy the tub without constant hassle.

🛟 The fix: a Bestway pool float instead

After yet another lid failure, a simple alternative started circulating in Lay-Z-Spa Facebook groups and forums: use a round Bestway pool float instead of the official replacement lid. The floats are made from thicker vinyl, cost a lot less, and — at the right size — sit perfectly inside the St Moritz rim under the outer cover.

The specific float we recommend after testing is the Bestway 2-Person Inflatable Pool Island in the Fruits of Paradise design, 1.88 m (188 cm) diameter. The St Moritz has an inner diameter of roughly 166 cm, so the 188 cm float overlaps the top edge and creates a snug seal under the outer zip-up cover.

Why this beats the official lid

• Much thicker vinyl — far less prone to puncture than the original Lay-Z-Spa bladder
• Two independent air chambers — one puncture does not fully deflate the lid
• Repair patch included in the box
• Bright tropical Fruits of Paradise design — looks cheerful in the garden instead of like a sad grey bladder
• Inflates and deflates in minutes with any standard pump
• Folds flat for winter storage
• Holds up notably better in UK weather (cold nights, rain, occasional frost)
• Around £35 on Amazon UK — roughly a third of the official £60–£70 lid

Will it fit my Lay-Z-Spa St Moritz?

Yes — if you have the 5–7 person St Moritz AirJet (any year from 2017 through 2021), the 188 cm Bestway float overlaps the inner rim and seals well under the outer cover. The St Moritz inner diameter is approximately 166 cm, so the float sits with a small overlap on top, which is exactly what you want to trap heat.

It likely also fits the Lay-Z-Spa Santorini HydroJet, because Bestway uses the same inflatable top lid for both models. If you own the Santorini, worth checking the interior diameter before buying — it should be the same 166 cm, but double-check against your user manual.

How to Fit the Bestway Float as a Lid Replacement

The swap takes about five minutes. Here are the exact steps:

• Order the Bestway Fruits of Paradise 2-Person Pool Island (188 cm) via our Amazon link above.
• When it arrives, open the box and inflate both air chambers using any standard pump — the Lay-Z-Spa's own pump works, but a bicycle or airbed pump is faster.
• Remove your old, punctured inflatable lid from the St Moritz. Keep the outer zip-up cover and thermal lid in place.
• Drop the inflated Bestway float down inside the outer cover, sitting on top of the water. The 188 cm diameter will overlap the 166 cm rim slightly on all sides.
• Zip the outer cover back up over the float. That slight overlap compresses under the cover and traps heat against the water — the same principle as the official inflatable lid, just with a more durable float doing the job.
• When you open the tub, lift the outer cover and the float will come up with it (or just push it aside).

Does this really save money over the official lid?

Over a typical UK season, yes. The official Lay-Z-Spa St Moritz inflatable lid is around £60–£70, and if you get two seasons out of it before a puncture you are lucky. The Bestway Fruits of Paradise float is around £35 on Amazon UK, and the thicker two-chamber construction typically lasts multiple seasons. Even if you replaced it twice as often as the official lid (which is unlikely based on owner reports), you would still be ahead.

Is the Bestway float weather-resistant enough for UK winters?

The float uses thicker PVC than the Lay-Z-Spa inflatable lid and has been more resistant to UK weather in our own use. That said, for genuinely cold winters the sensible move is to drain and pack the St Moritz away entirely — Bestway themselves recommend not leaving any Lay-Z-Spa inflated below 4°C. For spring through autumn use, the float handles UK rain, wind and sunny days without issue. Deflate and store it in the garage over winter alongside the rest of your hot tub.

Can I still use my outer thermal cover and lid with this?

Yes — and you should. The Bestway float replaces only the thin inflatable lid that sits inside the outer zip-up cover, not the outer cover itself. Keep using your existing Lay-Z-Spa outer thermal cover and lid on top of the float for best heat retention. The float does the insulation job the inflatable lid was meant to; the outer cover still provides the rigid, zip-sealed outer layer.

🍉 Alternative: Intex Watermelon Inflatable Island (6 ft / 183 cm)

Where to buy in the UK

Both floats are listed on Amazon UK. Our primary recommendation — the Bestway Fruits of Paradise 2-Person Pool Island at 1.88 m — is usually in stock at around £35, linked at the top of the page. The Intex Watermelon 6 ft is the popular alternative above, often slightly pricier but the same fix when it is available.

If Amazon's default seller is out of stock for either, click "Other Sellers" on the product page — we have found the Bestway fulfilled by Amazon EU at the same price when the UK seller was out. Delivery was quick in both cases.

Disclosure: the links on this page are Amazon affiliate links. If you buy through them, Amazon pays us a small commission at no extra cost to you. The price on Amazon is the same whether you use our links or not — we earn a few pounds if you do, which helps pay for hosting and keeps this site running. If you would rather not use an affiliate link, searching Amazon UK for "Bestway Fruits of Paradise Pool Island 188cm" or "Intex Watermelon Inflatable Island" will find the same products.