We had a bathroom tub/shower done by Bath Fitters, and I thought they did an excellent job. It looked 100% better when it was completed, and they were done in a day. I can't speak as to the long term durability because we moved three years after it was done, but when we moved it looked as good as the day they installed it, and we used it every day for the kid's baths.

Know your pricing for a remodel.

A neighbor was able to get a new tub, toilet, sink, tile surround, beadboard, tile floor, and all hired out labor for barely $300 more than the quote from Bath Fitters.

Yes, she was w/out her bathroom for almost 2 weeks, but the end product is so much more desirable. She was also concerned about resale value down the road.

I now have the name of her contractor and am working on what to do in our 40yr old bath.

Chipster
bathfitters are not cheap either. You might be looking for tub and surround 4-5 K cost.
I think as those companies go Bathfitters have less choices in finishes than other companies- Re-bath and Luxurybath and slightly more costly.
Also Bathfitters is only one company that offers tub surround that is one piece which is molded into 3 walls on the site. I would rather view it as disadvantage as walls have so ever slight shifts during the weather changes that is always recommended to leave tiny gaps when you hang your cement boards. So having one piece of tub surround might be less sturdy in the end as having all three walls fitted with separate pieces IMO. Of course it is better for leak protection. Other two companies offer 3 piece tub surround and glue it to the wall to fit precisely. This way when wall shifts or if wall/ corners are not level/ plumb you have no problems of surround breaking under pressure.
As far as acrylic quality goes it is same acrylic that you would buy high quality new tub- whirlpool or plain.
Rebath adn Luxurybath also offer various designs and patterns even travertine look alike without all the hassle of dealing with natural stone. Of course, once you look close you will see it as a fake but I have seen their showrooms and have to say one can get great looking design out of it. Disadvantage is that improper installation might bring you to a problem of water collecting between liner and actual tub. But again- if you have your tile/ new tub improperly installed you will have problems too, just different ones... So proper installation is the key no matter what you choose.
Many people who DIY scoff at liners/ surrounds. I believe it is mostly because one can not really DIY it. What is sold at big boxes is ill fitted and lesser quality so no matter how good DIY you are it still does not work well.

I've been thinking about this for a couple of years. Some of my clients go with Bath Fitters because of cost and speed. The finished product seems to hold-up fairly well and looks OK if not a little plain. My main concern is if mould was a problem before the new unit goes in, the damage doesn't go away. I've pulled apart tile walls with mouldy grout only to find completely rotten wood underneath. If mould is not an issue with the old unit, than this should not be a problem.
But how many times do people call Bath Fitters when their tiles & grout are in good shape?

This is very interesting. Several of my neighbors attempted to save some money by going this route, and all were unhappy. It may just be that we have very harsh water here, but their acrylic etched badly in about a year, and the process was not really any cheaper than a regular remodel would have been, assuming you can do some of the work yourself, like demo.

Perhaps their installers are more competent in other parts of the country, but the tubs from them that I've seen around here look pretty paltry after a few months. Nice to know it does work for some folks.

How about reglazing the tiles and the bathroom fixtures to match.
You might be able to do the floor as well.
The stuff smells terrible but it could last 10 years or more.
I did it in a rental unit 14 years ago and it still looks good.

The previous owner of our co-op went the bath fitters route and we hate it. In the four years we've lived here it has cracked in the corners of the shower surround, started to pull away from the wall in one spot, and is bowing on one of the shower walls as well. The installers were also very sloppy with the caulk (or whatever it is) they use to attach the pieces. No matter how hard I try I cannot get a decent looking paint line in the bathroom--the caulk runs so far up onto the walls (the walls are half tiled so the po had the walls covered too) and isn't even. Looks awful.

We're starting to plan a complete renovation now and I really can't wait to get rid of the stuff. It will certainly be interesting to see what the condition of the pink and black 60's tiles are underneath it! That's really all that has stopped us from ripping the bath fitters stuff out so far--we have no idea what's under there, could be pretty scary!

Sigh - I love the look of the 50's style tiles - the pink, green, and particularly the old burgundy tiles that I see are still available oversea's - I am a big fan of choosing a good, durable product, and keeping it just about forever, as long as it is in good shape. It is amazing how often I see shows or articles on before and after renovations - and I often like the before look better! Particularly if it has some good color in it - instad of - bland -

My in-laws had bath fitters do a tub/shower in one bathroom and a shower in another. I was shocked at the price. I think they could have easily had both ripped out and redone in tile for what they spent. The only benefit was time and mess. They were both done in a few days so they weren't without a bathroom for any extended period of time.

I have to say they are very happy with it, but I was not impressed. We had just finished our own master bath remodel so maybe I was especially critical because I had spent so much time looking at designer bathrooms.

I have a late 50's bathroom. I took the gnarly wallpaper down. The tile which is half way up the walls and in the shower area, is in perfect condition. My main issue is our bathtub which, I believe, due to hard water is stained and we tried a DIY coating product from HD which didn't last. We're trying to figure out how to replace the tub w/o destroying the tile and floor. Hmm.

I've taken a lot of projects from Bathfitters because their prices are so outrageous. If the homeowner demos the tub surround, so that when I come in, all I have to do is Durock, waterproof, ,and tile it, with the cost of the tile, a tub enclosure is about HALF the cost of bathfitters, and looks a whole lot better. And I'm making good money on it!!