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Whilst a comfy bed is essential for any hotel room (such as the excellent Westin Heavenly beds) most of the time spent there is asleep, and I personally seek out great bathrooms as a genuine differentiator between various hotels.
What makes a great hotel bathroom, and if you were designing one, what would your criteria be?
A key differentiator indeed - VK.
A good (ideal) bathroom will have:
A separate bath and shower - who wants to have to hop over the bathtub and through a wet shower curtain;
Good fluffy towels - not those threadbare rags that we all have to endure from time to time;
As vain as it may seem...good bath products (to take home to the missus). Tops for products include the Four Seasons Doha (L'Occitane); Hotel Imperial Vienna & Grosvenor House Dubai (Bulgari);
A TV speaker in the bathroom so that I can continue to pick up on the morning's news whilst getting ready;
and,
A nice view from the bathroom is always a bonus. Tops here include the Galle Face Hotel (Regency Wing) in Colombo, Sri Lanka; the junior suites at the Hilton in Tel Aviv; and, (ok, it's technically in the Felix Bar's toilet), who can argue with the view from the urinal at The Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong!
Has anyone actually used a hotel bidet?
Here are my top tips for hotel bathroom designers:
Many of these issues are generic to all bathrooms; some would never apply to a 5* property, where you expect a reasonable amount of space, but the list is exhaustive to cover all eventualities:
- my biggest NUMBER ONE bugbear is the toilet being next to the bath; this is unhygienic (water splashes everywhere) and unpleasant to look at when you are having a soak
- All toilets should have dual flush to conserve water
- Decent minimum two ply loo roll; amazing how many high end hotels have awful quality toilet paper!
- Ideally the toilet should be in a separate “water closet” off the bathroom
- I really dislike the standard American style “tubs” which are not ideal for soaking in. A really deep bath is a lovely luxury when away from home.
- Even in Las Vegas (Eg Wynn/Bellagio) a plastic bathtub (deeper than the standard tub) is often found in suites. A proper, roll top bath made of metal to retain the heat of the bath is perfect.
- Fast running, high pressure water flow – the ones at the Intercontinental Amstel are amazing and so good they come with a warning not to leave them running unattended!
- Hot, hot water. None of this tepid nonsense.
- Lighting over the bath – often overlooked but if the bath has an integral shower, it can get gloomy in there with the shower curtain closed, and also some people like to read in the bath.
- I like to be able to dim the lights in the bathroom, and indeed in the rest of my room
- I prefer a separate shower, preferably with a decent size drenching shower “rose” head
- Taps which can be turned with soapy hands (or feet!) (the paddle style taps are best for this)
- In the shower, plenty of shelving a reachable height for shampoo and soap, preferably in a position which doesn’t get overly wet and turn the soap to mush
- Throughout the bathroom soap dishes which give me a fighting chance of the soap drying out between uses.
- the wasteful replenishment of once used soap annoys me.
- Bath and shower water should be softened with a water softener in regions where hard water predominates
- A TV which you can see when soaking in the bathtub AND while shaving (a tall order, but should be possible!)
- I like to listen to the radio in the morning before work, so this should be possible through the TV as well or through a speaker in the bathroom
- Subtle nightlight you can leave on while sleeping; an unfamiliar room is an obstacle course designed to stub toes when you need to go in the dark
- Lots of hooks and towel rails to place used towels; I genuinely do not need all my towels replacing each time, but give me the tools to hang them so they dry out
- A mirror for shaving which doesn’t mist up (maybe with a heated element)
- Good ventilation (both extractor in the loo and a/c to stop excessive humidity building up when having a shower when the bathroom door is closed)
- In colder climes, heated bathroom floor (extravagant, but reduces skid risk on a wet floor)
- As part of the turn down service some lovely high quality bath salts or super-duper branded bath oil (like Jo Malone).
- When soaking in the bath (you can tell I do a fair amount of this) you are in prime view of the underneath of the sink – often this can be unsightly due both to dirt and poor decorative finishes; always good to design this so it cannot be viewed
- Decent strength Hair Dryer, I am often nervous of using this in the bathroom; having this outside also means one of us can use the bathroom while the other finishes getting ready so best to keep hair dryer out of the bathroom
- Reasonable size bath mat (the usual postage stamp means water sploshes all over the floor)
- Please ask your housekeeping staff what makes life easier for them; I would imagine a shower for swishing out the bath helps them clean up; the “fills from the ceiling” wet room concept in the Dubai Festival City must be a nightmare for staff to clean up after as it splashes everywhere
- If you have the opportunity to put a window with a view in the bathroom, make sure the window is low enough to see out from the baths ( Ritz-Carlton in Singapore scores top marks with huge octagonal feature windows overlooking the Bay).
- The best bathroom in a hotel I have ever experienced was the remodelled rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain; simple, clean lines and excellent use of space with an enormous soaking tub
I think you may have covered everything for a good bathroom here VK. One of my pet hates are poor quality toilet roll. Best bathrooms I have come across are Hilton Dubai Creek and Intercontinental Singapore.
I liked the mirror that never steamed up in the Intercontinental in Wellington. I don't mind a shower in a bath if it is seperate from the tap system, some however have curtains that breeze up and wrap themselves around you! The Radisson in Jersey has a nice bathroom although the shower screen is a little too big which makes it difficult to check temperature.
Express by Holiday Inn bathrooms are not bad for basic accomodation
either having a decent sized shelf to put toothpaste, toothbrush, deoderant etc on....or one of those sinks that is recessed into the work surface, giving ample room for me to spread my condiments around!
i've lost count of the number of tinpot hotels i've ended up in, in eastern europe with no where to plant my toothbrush and razor!
Don't hide the hairdryer in a drawer - it's hard to dry hair upside down. If i put my towels back on the rack it's because I am trying to help towards green practices - i find too many hotels ignore this apparent environmentally friendly policy and I always have clean towels forced upon me. Well - they are hanging around when I return.
A single mixer tap. There are too many hotels (especially in the UK) which have separate hot and cold taps. This makes it very difficult to shave, as inevitably the hot water gets too hot for your hands and face.
I also agree about a washbasin surround that's sufficiently large to accommodate one's toilet bag etc.
Simon
Bathrooms and washrooms are an intrinsic part of any hotel or leisure facility’s identity, enhancing the experience of the user and a key criteria on which the establishment is judged. Increasingly the sector is demanding greater levels of functionality and style. The bathrooms of first-class hotels are defined by their luxury, style and quiet elegance. You can re-create this look in your own home by adding sleek accessories, fine toiletries, plush towels and rich fabrics. With your own hotel-style bath, you won't have to travel far to achieve vacation-level relaxation.
Resorts around the world are renowned for pampering their guests with the finest of everything and that starts with irresistibly soft textiles. To capture that decadent feeling at home, indulge yourself with fluffy, oversized bath sheets such as Grand Patrician Manor Towels from Linens 'n Things. While many hotels use white towels to keep laundering easy, more upscale properties feature luxe linens in calming colors like Shadow Green.
Camiguin Island l Camiguin Hotels
A decent set of scales to ensure my weight remains at 71.75 kg.
A decent set of scales that lies and tells me my weight is 85 kg.
Had anyone tried The Peninsula Tokyo? It has a separate and very spacious closet and powdering room (also equipped with a nail polish air drying for the ladies). In the opposite side is a very spacious bathroom - toilet seats and bathroom floors are warmed up, automatically lifted down and put down with sensor of movement, auto flush, there is a cushioning sound system for the phone so no one will know you are talking from the bathroom with the usual 'hollow' sound. Next to the bathtub (there is individual shower and bath), there is a a speaker phone, opposite the bathtub is a TV on the mirror, dimmer light are also available for a romantic mood for the bathroom and room. Try it out, it is one of the best part of the room.
Hello everyone,
once again I find myself agreeing with VK and could not add anything to what he said, even though I did try to think of something that he missed!!!
Simon, I agree about the scales but am happy for them to tell the truth these days as I have lost 8kg's in the last month as part of my cardio-rehab regime following my heart attack. Also very excited as can drive again tomorrow after 6 weeks. no flying though for another month. Also nice review of your flight to Shanghai!
Finally, very excited as if continue to recover well then I am off to Tel Aviv in 7 weeks time on BA, finally, and a friend of mine told me that there is a good chance that i will be on the new 777. I really hope so as it would be nice to experience the product on such a new aircraft.
Apologies to all for going off thread but I trust you will forgive me?
Safe travels everyone,
Jonathan
Jonathan, glad you are recovering nicely and good luck with the rehab.
The two things I want most are a shaver socket that is not so worn the pins of my chargers fall out, and a shower that is not fixed to the wall.
Finally, a fortune waits for the inventor that has a device to ensure warm water comes out of the shower immediately!!!
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09 September 2010, 10:12 AM +0000
