I’ve written broadly about my hotel pet peeves, as we all have our own preferences when staying at hotels. Regardless of whether we’re talking about luxury or limited service hotels, I appreciate a functional and well designed bathroom. There are certain hotel bathroom design choices that drive me bonkers, and leave me scratching my head.
Along those lines, there was recently a national story about how hotel bathroom design keeps getting worse. I’d like to talk about that a bit, and then share the hotel bathroom design choices that frustrate me the most.
In this post:
Are hotels cutting costs on bathroom privacy?
Big picture, we’ve seen the enshittification of the hotel industry as time has gone on, particularly in the United States. Hotel owners want to maximize their profits, and the major hotel groups only care about growing their total room count, even if it comes at the expense of quality or brand standards.
The Wall Street Journal recently had an interesting story about how “hotels are getting rid of proper bathroom doors and guests are revolting” (thanks to Jason for flagging this).
The story is specifically focused on how an increasing number of hotel rooms don’t have real doors between the main part of the room and the bathroom. Admittedly I think this applies more to limited service properties than more luxurious ones, but the idea is that we’re seeing more hotel rooms with sliding panels, frosted glass, curtains, or no separation at all, between the bathroom and the rest of the room.
Hotel owners suggest that this trend is due to rising construction, maintenance, and energy costs, which are causing them to cut corners. Simplifying room layouts not only reduces construction costs, but also reduces long term costs.
However, an increasing number of guests are furious about these design changes, and point out how it makes it increasingly awkward to share hotel rooms with others. The idea is that what happens in the bathroom shouldn’t be seen, heard, or smelled, outside of the bathroom area.
Some people don’t even like this layout when staying at a hotel with a long-term spouse, but say it’s manageable. Meanwhile they say it’s completely unacceptable for situations where you’re staying with a friend or other family member.
Now, I’m not sure to what extent this is actually impacting stay decisions, but some people claim they’ve started calling hotels before their stays to ask about what the bathroom setups are like, for situations where it’s not clear based on the website.
Proper doors seem to be the latest thing to be eliminated from hotel rooms, following the elimination of things like proper desks, seating areas, etc. And let’s not even talk about the elimination of things like housekeeping and room service.
My hotel bathroom design choice pet peeves
I’d like to think that I’m not too much of a diva when it comes to this stuff, but it never ceases to amaze me how poorly designed some hotel bathrooms are. You’d think that if you’re going to take a design and use it hundreds of times (across all rooms in a hotel), you’d make sure that it’s functional. Yet all too often, I’m just in disbelief at how poorly designed hotel bathrooms are.
Let’s start with privacy:
- Just like the above complaints, I agree that hotel bathrooms should have proper privacy, separating them the bathroom from the rest of the room; this should be a real door, and not frosted glass, or anything that’s sliding (even from a light pollution perspective, if someone needs to use the bathroom in the middle of the night)
- For hotel rooms that aren’t super compact, ideally there’s actually some proper separation between various parts of the bathroom, with the toilet being in one room with a door, the sink and shower area being in another part of the room, etc.
- All of this glass shield and peep show stuff needs to stop; like, it’s fine to have a glass shield if it has blinds that can be lowered all the way, but unless you’re renting hotel rooms by the hour, bathrooms should be about functionality, and not helping people put on some sort of a sexy show
- It’s particularly important for privacy to be a consideration in rooms with multiple beds, where it’s less likely that the guests are a couple
Then there’s the shower situation:
- Showers should be completely enclosed so that water doesn’t flood into the rest of the bathroom; it always amazes me how many showers just have a half glass shield, and then the shower is elevated above the rest of the bathroom, so that water flows out
- The temperature and pressure controls should be clearly labeled and easy to use; I’m not claiming to be a stable genius, but I’m also not some complete idiot, and if I can’t figure out how to use the shower controls, then they’re too complicated
- The shower controls should be controllable without having to step into the shower; that seems so obvious, but so many showers require you to get wet to even select the pressure and temperature, and it shouldn’t be that way
- Personally, I very strongly prefer a walk-in shower or a proper soaking tub, and I hate the shower/tub combos, as I feel like they give you the worst of both worlds
Privacy and poorly designed showers are my two biggest hotel bathroom issues. However, it’s also worth mentioning the whole category of hotels that try too hard to make their bathrooms look stylish, rather than focusing on function (which partly overlaps with the above).
For example, take SAX Paris, Hilton LXR. The below bathroom looks stylish, right? Double sinks in a room the size of a broom closet is nice, but the issue is then that there’s virtually no counter space. So it’s a situation where I almost wish the sinks were smaller (or there were one sink), so that there would be more room to actually place things. And don’t even get me started on how the sinks sprayed, and how they were oddly difficult to use.
Bottom line
There are many things that contribute to a good hotel stay, including functional and thoughtfully designed bathrooms.
It seems that hotel bathrooms are the latest area of cost cutting for many hotel developers, as they choose to no longer have proper doors between bathrooms and the rest of the room. That’s not great, and it’s a trend that many guests aren’t happy about.
My frustrations with hotel bathrooms go beyond that, though. Yes, privacy needs to be a huge focus, but I also think that so many hotel showers are so poorly designed, in terms of ease of use, stopping water from gushing outside of the shower, etc.
What do you make of the evolution of hotel bathrooms, and what are your pet peeves?
Only a man would design a bathroom with ONLY a rain shower head.
The half glass shower wall all day. It's truly awful and I don't understand it. They seem to love them in the UK as they are everywhere and I truly don't understand it when I am over there. Massive pet peeve.
Couldn't agree more about the glass panels that allow water to spritz everywhere even if you are trying not to soak the bathroom.
However, the one issue I don't see mentioned here already is the lack of ventilation. All bathrooms should have exhaust fans (I prefer the continuous versus a switch given some people forget).
The bathrooms without ventilation are mold and mildew factories. The humidity and overall indoor air quality in these rooms...
Couldn't agree more about the glass panels that allow water to spritz everywhere even if you are trying not to soak the bathroom.
However, the one issue I don't see mentioned here already is the lack of ventilation. All bathrooms should have exhaust fans (I prefer the continuous versus a switch given some people forget).
The bathrooms without ventilation are mold and mildew factories. The humidity and overall indoor air quality in these rooms has got to be awful -- even if it's a 5 star hotel, it's going to start smelling like a FL motel. Gross.
The Le Meridien in Mauritius just had clear (well, orange tinged, but still clear) glass walls around the bathroom. Even in rooms with two beds. Beyond awkward on a girls trip, and it definitely makes you wonder who thinks their design ideas are good.
Wet rooms with no floor separation of the shower at all - i.e. once anybody has used the shower, nobody can use the toliet without getting feet wet.
Happens in some micro hotels, E.g. bloc.
But also in the Accessible rooms of which EU regulations require hotels to have x%.
I have experienced at a Holiday Inn, and also at a London hotel where I was paying $300 a night.
How about bathroom night lights?
Do you mean ones that are permanently on?
Yes, that is annoying, like LEDS on electronics that prevent blackout.
Very low level ones pointing downwards just above the floor are an excellent luxury to avoid waking up oneself or one's room-mate.
With the lack of proper shower doors, just let the water go everywhere and they will realize they aren't saving money.
The lack of bathroom privacy is terrible.
I've never been fond of the extremely bright lights in the bathroom. You get up in the night (often due to jetlag) to use the bathroom and are blinded by the bright light.
It is just another standard of living thing that is going downward like most...
With the lack of proper shower doors, just let the water go everywhere and they will realize they aren't saving money.
The lack of bathroom privacy is terrible.
I've never been fond of the extremely bright lights in the bathroom. You get up in the night (often due to jetlag) to use the bathroom and are blinded by the bright light.
It is just another standard of living thing that is going downward like most of the USA. THe USA peaked a decade or two ago and everything from medical care to travel has gone downward and will continue to do so.
I think I read somewhere that the half-glass door (or even no door) showers became popular because it made people use less water since they didn’t want to flood the bathroom. I guess US hotels are catching on to the water cost savings of people being too annoyed to take long showers
You should have just left it at “Are Hotels cutting Costs?” The answer is YES (and it’s not just the Bathrooms).
Towel bars and hooks! Hotels want us to re-use towels and I’m all for that, but you have this giant bathroom with all these blank walls yet nowhere to actually hang said towels to dry. Hooks and bars should be everywhere!
Agree. Particularly annoying variations are:
1) Hooks within the shower, so if one puts the towels there then they get wet.
2) The workaround of hanging the towel over the shower wall being prevented by the wall reaching all the way to the ceiling.
I'd be fine with hooks on the outside of the shower-wall, but I suppose the artistic designers would object to the glue showing from inside.
Solution: put...
Agree. Particularly annoying variations are:
1) Hooks within the shower, so if one puts the towels there then they get wet.
2) The workaround of hanging the towel over the shower wall being prevented by the wall reaching all the way to the ceiling.
I'd be fine with hooks on the outside of the shower-wall, but I suppose the artistic designers would object to the glue showing from inside.
Solution: put a rail held by a metal channel around the open edge, to wall at the end of the glass where screwed/glued to the plain/tile wall.
Dumb de dumb dumb.
For years we can tell if the design team of anything was an all male team.
Also we can tell when women are on the team.
It is not a prejudice. Woman see things differently, especially the details, that men just won't see.
How many times do we not find a proper mirror in the room, or placed in the wrong area. For example, mirror with no...
Dumb de dumb dumb.
For years we can tell if the design team of anything was an all male team.
Also we can tell when women are on the team.
It is not a prejudice. Woman see things differently, especially the details, that men just won't see.
How many times do we not find a proper mirror in the room, or placed in the wrong area. For example, mirror with no electric near it, women dry their hair with a mirror. Woman guests also like full length mirrors to check before leaving the room.
Men don't care. But if you put one their, men will definetly use it too.
And bathroom privacy is a priority. If a hotel bathroom is with windows and openings, we'll check out the very next day. Its ridiculous.
Again, if a man, a businessman stays alone in the room, not a big deal. But what about all the other guests.
I used to think that, but the poor lighting by the bathroom mirror affects those who shave as well as those who ear make-up.
Honestly, the most frightening thing for me is finding one of those electro-chromic 'smart glass' windows between the bathroom and the bedroom. Even though I rarely have to change the state, I’m always terrified it’s going to glitch out and turn clear at the worst possible moment. Just give me a conventional curtain any day—it’s so much cheaper, but infinitely more trustworthy!
The first time I came across a glass wall in Switzerland I looked for such a switch.
But it was not electro-chromic - just plain glass!
The daft 2/3 length tubs in a lot of North American (I've had them in Canada so this isn't just the US) hotels wind me up. After a day's travelling or just walking about the city, I want to stretch out and unwind, not sit there with my knees around my neck. It's not like a Japanese bath where I'm showering first.
Although to be fair, this is the same in most American houses too.
So a country issue, rather than a hotel issue.
THANK YOU for providing this place to finally vent my annoyance about hotel bathrooms!! I had to laugh at the photo of the bathroom window over the bed, and the SAX Paris, Hilton LXR sinks & counter (or lack thereof) are ridiculous.
100% with you Linda.
Need counter space and under sink space. Having 2 sinks is a waste of space.
LIGHTING! I'm convinced the lighting is purposely dim so you don't...
THANK YOU for providing this place to finally vent my annoyance about hotel bathrooms!! I had to laugh at the photo of the bathroom window over the bed, and the SAX Paris, Hilton LXR sinks & counter (or lack thereof) are ridiculous.
100% with you Linda.
Need counter space and under sink space. Having 2 sinks is a waste of space.
LIGHTING! I'm convinced the lighting is purposely dim so you don't notice if the bathroom is poorly cleaned.
And for the love of god, why are there never hand showers? And how does housekeeping clean showers and tubs without them? It must be a royal PITA! It just doesn't make sense. There must be a reason they aren't added that I don't understand (break too often??). But jeez, it can be hard to rinse certain parts of the anatomy, or shave, when the showerhead is mounted 7' high and the spray pattern hits everything but your body.
The half glass shower partitions don't really bother me, unless of course you have to get wet to turn on the shower. That is just dumb.
Having bathroom doors, well that shouldn't even have to be mentioned.
Who designs these things? There's only been about a trillion hotel bathrooms built, how hard is it to figure out how to make a good one?
Phew! Thanks, I feel better now.
My hotel bathroom peeve is how few rooms — especially those with king beds — have tubs. I decompress in a tub, and in cold climates, they get me warm again. It’s gotten to a point that if a hotel has no tubs, I don’t stay there.
I enjoy the bathtubs in open areas and I'm fine with a shower window into the main room provided they have a blind (its the only way to get natural light into the bathroom in most layouts). But I generally travel alone.
Agree, overly open bathrooms in 2X bed rooms doesn't make sense.
Window into the room is fine if it comes with proper blackout blinds that leave absolutely no light going either way when pulled down. Unfortunately most of the time you end up with some cheap curtain that lets 50% of the light pass through, or blinds with gaps on sides etc.
So many things that drive me nuts about bathrooms, I wonder if the designer has ever stayed in a hotel. A hotel needs:
Top of sink counter storage, shelving under the sink for storage, a faucet that you can put your face under, decent lighting, and a hand held in the shower.
“We receive few complaints” is my favorite excuse. Do better without people losing their minds, okay?
Towels stored on shelves above the toilet also grosses me out.
Also, many hotels have nowhere to store clothes, and have no hooks for used towels.
If one person gets up at 5:30 am to shower the other does not want to hear or see that..If not door you hear and see it all.... Having different schedules make it difficult if No doors between Bedroom and bath.. The other issue little to none-lighting in the bathrooms-Trying to put make-up on can be a real challenge..
Preach! Maybe those idiots will even listen.
"...guests are revolting"
Yes, they most certainly are very revolting.
Real door, no glass. Not even blinds because light still get through blinds.
In hotels in the US, it seems common to have showers that are fixed to the wall. I find this to be the worst hotel bathroom design feature. Is it really that cost prohibitive to have a hose?
I totally agree, I detest not having a handheld shower.
This! I never understood how am I supposed to use these without doing actual acrobatics in the shower. Absolutely terrible. Whenever I travel to the Americas (not just the US), I triple check that the hotel I'm booking actually has an actual shower, not just a "faucet in the sky".
Agree that this is annoying.
I hadn't noticed that it's a US (or American) thing, but you are probably right.
Amen, @Ben. I HATE tub/shower combos with a passion. I will look at the pictures/descriptions and work very hard to find a hotel without one. Not only are they generally an awful experience, but often the curtains are nasty with mold at the bottom and tubs are frequently seriously slippery. Use a little conditioner and I get to do a little extra balance practice. They also tend to be dark. And they're even worse in...
Amen, @Ben. I HATE tub/shower combos with a passion. I will look at the pictures/descriptions and work very hard to find a hotel without one. Not only are they generally an awful experience, but often the curtains are nasty with mold at the bottom and tubs are frequently seriously slippery. Use a little conditioner and I get to do a little extra balance practice. They also tend to be dark. And they're even worse in Europe with extra deep tubs.
It never ceases to amaze me when I walk into a room and it's clear that everything in the room and bathroom has been updated except for the tub/shower combo!
In civilized Japan the toilet and bath areas are always separate rooms
That's not really true at all, even for Japanese business hotel chains.
My pet peeve has been the recent trend for showers that don’t close. Both in hotels and airport lounges.
I enjoy a warm, relaxing shower. But, when there’s no door or curtain, maybe a small glass shield that covers 1/3 of the shower with the rest open, the constant flow of cold air from outside the shower takes away that enjoyment. Half of my body is freezing. And the floor is probably soaked.
And,...
My pet peeve has been the recent trend for showers that don’t close. Both in hotels and airport lounges.
I enjoy a warm, relaxing shower. But, when there’s no door or curtain, maybe a small glass shield that covers 1/3 of the shower with the rest open, the constant flow of cold air from outside the shower takes away that enjoyment. Half of my body is freezing. And the floor is probably soaked.
And, if it’s an airport lounge, there’s no way to keep the heat of the shower in, so the whole room becomes a sauna, and I’m sweaty again, defeating the purpose of the shower, before I even have my socks on.
Completely agree on both points.
In the hotel that's probably a cost-saving measure - so that you don't stay in the shower for longer than 10 minutes.
I'm just happy when there's a place to hang a towel.
I won't start with the pathetic makeup mirrors.
Not to mention the lighting. I’ve stayed in hotels where there was barely enough bathroom light to shave accurately, so I can’t imagine how you’d apply makeup in such conditions. Bathroom mirror lighting needs to be very bright, and very white.
It seems to me that the TVs are getting bigger while the bathrooms are getting smaller. Recently I have stayed in rooms with two TVs but just one sink. Who thought that was a good idea?
I think our biggest pet peeve is when hotel chains hire illegals to clean our rooms and they end up stealing our electronics.
and that happens to you frequently? And you are sure that the person who stole your stuff was undocumented? I'd bet you that it's NOT someone who is undocumented, but rather a red-blooded American citizen. No one is going to risk getting deported over your iphone.
@AD and you would be 100 percent wrong. Odds are they would be from Mexico and here as an illegal immigrant. FACTS. NEXT!!!
Acts are illegal. A person isn't an act.
I agree with all the issues enumerated.
My most serious peeve is marble or ceramic floors that are slick. Add water to that mix and it is downright dangerous.
shower heads that are so small and with half of the holes clogged so that only a 1/3 of your body is wet at any given time.
the water on floors from one shower doors don't bother me. I just throw a towel on it. Advice: Always ask for extra towels just in case...
At least put a sink that does not splash in the toilet area. Don't locate a splashing sink the entry way. Good lighting is essential. Unless they think you will not notice the wet front of your clothing.
Besides the valid privacy concerns, even when I stay with my partner where that isn’t an issue, we have different routines and he gets up an hour or two earlier while I try to sleep in. That’s impossible if your bathroom is part of the room itself with no way to keep lighting or noise out.
We stayed at the SO/ Auckland two years ago, a huge room but no separation at all. The...
Besides the valid privacy concerns, even when I stay with my partner where that isn’t an issue, we have different routines and he gets up an hour or two earlier while I try to sleep in. That’s impossible if your bathroom is part of the room itself with no way to keep lighting or noise out.
We stayed at the SO/ Auckland two years ago, a huge room but no separation at all. The sink of the bathroom was built into the headboard of the bed, it was a ridiculous setup. Never staying there again
The half-glass / half open shower door. Who wants half their body freezing while showering?
Thank you! This is also a huge pet peeve of mine. I get it probably makes housekeeping easier and reduces maintenance costs (things without moving parts are less likely to break) - but yeah, hot shower in a cold room is not my favorite.
Hate combined shower/baths. Absolutely hate shower curtains. Just give me a proper shower with a proper glass door.
Hate sinks with lack of any space for stuff. Hate toilets that are crammed in where there is limited room to sit without touching the wall.
How hard is it? Why must the bathroom be reinvented in every hotel?
Poor lighting is unfortunately the norm in hotel bathrooms, and the fancier the hotel, the worse it generally is. How difficult is it to design and install lighting so that guests can shave, apply makeup, etc. while standing at the sink?
Agree with the comments on towel racks. It is amazing how many hotels do not have a convenient place to hang hand towels.
An aside on European bathrooms. They are the worst and dangerous. Shower tub combinations with high sides are an invitation for slips and broken limbs.
Reminds me of the time I was forced to share a hotel room with Tom Deuce (Also known as The Dunce, sometimes known as Liddle Schwarzenegger, and occasionally known as Willy Wonka), due to a DELTA "flight" cancellation (how can something that didn't even end up happening be called a flight anyways?). But anyways. It was one of these hotel rooms with an improper separation between the bathroom and the rest of the facility (bedroom)....
Reminds me of the time I was forced to share a hotel room with Tom Deuce (Also known as The Dunce, sometimes known as Liddle Schwarzenegger, and occasionally known as Willy Wonka), due to a DELTA "flight" cancellation (how can something that didn't even end up happening be called a flight anyways?). But anyways. It was one of these hotel rooms with an improper separation between the bathroom and the rest of the facility (bedroom). Specifically "Improper Odor Seperation" as they say. Total nonsense. Truly a scary day for "me" and hence where he got the name "Tom Deuce" ! Terrible!
Sharing a room from a flight cancellation - is that acceptable in the US?
I would not regard it as acceptable in Europe, although I could understand if stuck somewhere very remote.
Lack of counter space to store toiletry items is a big one for me. Also lack of/insufficient places to hang towels. Plus where the bath towels are hung are way too far from the shower so you have to splash water all over the bathroom floor walking over to them. Poor lighting around the mirror - specifically solely overheard lighting at the mirror that creates shadows on either side of your face. Having to shave with your face in shadows is not too fun.
"Honey! Finally, the solution to that bathroom toilet problem where we have too much privacy! This open-bathroom concept lets us finally watch each other lay a deuce and then wipe!" said nobody ever anywhere at anytime on any planet in any solar system.
Better yet: Two toilets facing each other. Perfection!
Saturday Night Live did a skit on this.
1. Bathrooms with half a shower door. The fu$king water goes everywhere. What crack addict thought that was a good idea? 2. Particularly new hotels, walls that are paper thin. I really do not need to hear the people next to me get it on. It's why even some older, dated hotels (like the Burlington Landing Hotel south of SFO) are great. Walls with actual noise barriers. The people next to me could be swinging from the ceiling and I would not hear it.
Newer NYC hotels have no water pressure. I become a climate-denier whenever I’ve stayed at one. Gimme that waterfall like at Greenwich Hotel in Tribeca, anyday.
The glass door where you have to reach all the way to the wall to turn on the water and get blasted is irritating. What crackhead thought lets make it really difficult to turn on the water.
Yes overseas recently we had some hotel stays where there was zero bathroom privacy. It was borderline offensive and made it very uncomfortable sharing a room. Heck I would go as far to say that some of these rooms were inhabitable by anyone other than solo travelers and couples. As a result I have started looking at hotel bathrooms prior to booking. The places where I have run into these ridiculous designs were far from budget accommodations. Totally unacceptable.
I don't accept those rooms even when travelling as a couple. Just because I have sex with someone doesn't mean I wanna watch them take number two!
Pet peeves:
Lots and lots of towels but only 1 or 2 hooks/towel bars.
No face cloths.
Swinging glass shower doors that are missing the plastic trim fins to keep the water in the shower.
Credit where it's due - a common standard (if old) Residence Inn format has a single basin in a huge counter opposite the wardrobe off the bedroom with no door. Then a door to the toilet and bathtub/shower.
They also have enough light at the basin.
Enough people calling hotels to check this sort of thing might actually get the message through that it matters.
“Be the change you want to see in the world.”
—Confucius
Mahatma Gandhi....
The meta solution is that several sufficiently senior hotel employees (GMs, Head-office etc) should spend two consecutive nights in any draft pilot before it is approved for rolling out.
Yes, and airline CEOs should use their airline lounge's showers. Why is the water pressure so ridiculously low? For a long haul flight, we're about to burn up nearly a hundred tons of fuel. I'm sorry, but making the shower experience miserable is NOT going to detract from that nor make any dent whatsoever in climate change.
Lighting for the bathroom mirror is often not bright enough to see properly for shaving or applying make-up.
Astonishes me, as most people (and so most designers?) do one or the other.
I don't care how long-term your relationship is. You should never be forced to use a bathroom where your spouse can see/hear everything you're doing in there.
Who said those rooms are for your spouse. You underestimate the perverse of guys
I don't mind half-door/ partition shower stalls, as long as there is a physical barrier to stop the water flow, or there's sufficient slope to drain water properly. How come it's so difficult to execute? Poor workmanship?
Then, as others pointed it out, lack of towel bars or hooks, or inconvenient mounting spots... Where am I supposed to hang them in between and after? You cannot fold them back, when wet...
-- Toilet paper holder located 4 feet behind you when sitting on the toilet, moronic.
-- Yes, that stupid half-glass shower "curtain". I just don't get it.
I think that anyone designing a bathroom should be forced to live in it for a week with family before accepting the design.
Soo
I'm currently in a hotel, a room for 3 people. The "private room" is well secluded from the bedroom, (it has a proper door) but the issues starts immediately you enter inside.
By your left is the showers, yes, showers, 2 shower stall separated by a single wall (about 75% of the full height) and no curtains or some form of glass screen.
Then by the right is the toilets. It's double...
Soo
I'm currently in a hotel, a room for 3 people. The "private room" is well secluded from the bedroom, (it has a proper door) but the issues starts immediately you enter inside.
By your left is the showers, yes, showers, 2 shower stall separated by a single wall (about 75% of the full height) and no curtains or some form of glass screen.
Then by the right is the toilets. It's double also, separated by a single wall (like those kind of American toilets you see in movies). This fortunately have an aluminium door unlike the shower stalls. But the design flaw is that, (even for a 5'7") you can not reasonably seat on the toilet seat and close the door, your legs will physically block you.
What horrible hotel is this? Name and shame.
The half shower doors, I understand that frustration as it literally makes the bathroom floor soaked.
The privacy part has an easy solution. Stop sharing rooms with adult friends. The number of women who do that is mind blowing. If you have a child, get a connecting room for them and hire a nanny lmao. Otherwise, get an Airbnb or Vrbo. Or hell, use the hotel lobby bathroom to take your post coffee dump.
Ahhhh yes. An easy solution that doubles the cost. You sir, you are a true problem solver
It’s funny - as a man, actually I’ll sit down in stalls next to friends and share hotel rooms with friends and it’s no worries about bathroom noises. With a romantic partner? Oh hell no.
If an hotel cannot offer a two bedroom, two bathroom suite, for our preferred dates, then we look for an alternative.
How about shower heads mounted so low on the wall that if you are taller than 5 feet tall you have to duck to not bash your head into it?
Not enough towel bars and hooks (especially when they have a placard asking you to reuse hotels for environmental concerns)
“Environmental concerns” should be read as “the hotel would like to save money by not washing as many towels as frequently”
I don’t care what the reasoning is - give me a place to put the towel that’s not across the bathroom! I don’t need a clean bath towel twice a day, I’m only using it when I’m already clean.
Some of the pictures really drive the point home:
Water spilling out? Check.
Unintuitive placement of shower controls and toiletries? Check.
No shelf/rack to put my own toiletries? You bet.
Towel rack with fresh towels sitting right in the splash zone? Of course.
I mean, I've stayed at cheap Etap hotels that featured a shower inside a glass tube right in the room. At least the glass was frosted in strategic places. You expect better at an upscale hotel.
Are there really hotel rooms where the toilet is not separated by a door from the sleeping area? That seems difficult to imagine. Shower/tub/sink not separated by a door (could be ok in some contexts) is a very different issue from the toilet not separated by a door (is never ever ok).
I have yet to encounter a walk-in shower at any hotel—whether independent or chain, at any price point or star rating—that features a design not virtually impossible to clean and maintain, particularly with respect to mold and mildew. Sliding doors or half-doors invariably have seals or gaps that foster mold and mildew, and housekeeping staff cannot easily clean those areas. Most hotels are too cheap to regularly replace runners, seals, or caulking.
Bad:
no bar of soap, just communal liquid soap
toilet paper behind you, not to the side or in front of you
minimal counter space
no handheld shower head
sliding shower door on a shower/tub combination with a track on top (not on the ceiling) so you can bump your head while getting into the shower, along with tub faucets that twists to the side. This was in a cheap hotel near JFK
Glass walls in the bathroom are more common in other parts of the world than Europe; glass is not as thick as a wall.
I hate them wherever they are.
and if they are going to put them there, have some dimmer lights available (not in place of stronger lights - which is also a pet peeve)
With you 110% on the complaints about showers and lack of counterspace!
The elimination of desks sucks, and what the Hell happened to drawers in hotel rooms?!?
I generally agree with everything Ben wrote, but I have to admit that there was a time when I appreciated a design choice like this. Once, when on a business trip, I was put up in a hotel more upscale than I typically stayed in at the time. I don't normally take baths, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to try out the oversized Jacuzzi in the bathroom. There was a glass window that allowed...
I generally agree with everything Ben wrote, but I have to admit that there was a time when I appreciated a design choice like this. Once, when on a business trip, I was put up in a hotel more upscale than I typically stayed in at the time. I don't normally take baths, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to try out the oversized Jacuzzi in the bathroom. There was a glass window that allowed me to look into the living room and watch the living room TV while in the Jacuzzi. I really enjoyed watching TV from the bathtub.
I might have felt differently had I been sharing the room with someone else.
Yes, for those who travel solo, less structural wall/ more windows means more spacious rooms. I don’t care if the bathtub is placed at the middle of the living room of my suite.
My biggest recent issue is the bottles of soap/shampoo/conditioner attached to the wall of the bathroom. I don't mind the actual bottles, but since I need readers to see, I can never read which is which. Either the font is too small, or the contrast between the letters and the bottle color is not contrasting enough. Very simple solution, enlarge the font and make it readable.
As for the rest, I'm an exhibitionist, so I could care less about privacy :)
You’d love the W Fort Lauderdale Beach :P
I have the same complaint about the bottles, I must spend an extra 5-7 seconds at the sink every time I’m at an Admiral’s Club trying to read the incredibly tiny print so I don’t wash my hands with lotion.
Can't stand the half shower wall. Can't stand the lack of counter space.
And poorly placed toilet paper holders. And these showers with no shelves.
(Reposting for the nth time...)
I don't get the point of double sinks unless it's a positively enormous bathroom. You'll likely need to be moving about, retrieving things etc when you try and do the shaving, makeup or whatever it is for which you need the sink/mirror combination for more than a few seconds, it just doesn't work for me if there's another person around.
I haven't really observed a trend of worsening bathrooms. If...
(Reposting for the nth time...)
I don't get the point of double sinks unless it's a positively enormous bathroom. You'll likely need to be moving about, retrieving things etc when you try and do the shaving, makeup or whatever it is for which you need the sink/mirror combination for more than a few seconds, it just doesn't work for me if there's another person around.
I haven't really observed a trend of worsening bathrooms. If anything, I find that encountering a walk-in shower with lots of pressure in an Ibis Styles or similar midscale hotel is a lot more likely now than it used to be 10-15 years ago.
In my experience, the glass partitions are less about saving on construction costs and more of a case of trying to incorporate edgy design and/or make the room seem slightly bigger than it actually is.
100% agreed about double sinks. I don’t get it. I never share the bathroom with someone (at the same time) and both my wife and I want as much counterspace as possible.
And, both showers and bathrooms should - of course - be fully enclosed :)
My pet peeve with hotels is when you have to spend 10 minutes flipping dozens of switches all over the place just to turn the lights off.