"En Suite"
 

What does "en suite" mean when it is used in reference to a bathroom or shower?

En Suite means that the bathroom or shower is part of the room. It is included with the suite as it were. I am sure a Fodorite out there knows the exact translation. It is used to differentiate between having a private bathroom/shower/tub in your room or having to share one that is down the hall, which is still common in many b & B's.

"En Suite" just means that there is a bathroom or a shower room, with toilet attached to your room. You don't have to share it with anyone else or go down a corridor to find it. <BR>Angela

It's just a British-ism, something they started using to mean bathroom in your own room. It's not authentic French. Sometimes they make up terms that are supposed to sound classy, I think. I started noticing this term used in UK a few years ago and it's a combination of a French preposition "en" with the English definition of the word "suite", which was derived from French but means something diff. (a suite of rooms) than it does in French. Without separating the words, "ensuite" is a real French word, but it just means "then" as when naming a list of things to do (ie, first...., then....and last...)

Be aware that, at least in Britain, in many cases the en suite bathroom is a converted closet - there may not be much space and possibly only a shower stall instead of a tub. Obviously not true in all cases, but if this is important to you, be sure to look or ask before booking. I prefer not staying in en suite rooms because sometimes I barely fit in the little shower stall (being a fat American).

Well...In fact, "en suite" has really a french origin, even if it's forgotten.It doesn't come from a single word (ensuite)but from "en" (in) and "suite" (which has the same meaning in french than in english when refering to an hotel). So you can translate it by "in the suite"...the word "bathroom" being omitted for some reason.However, this term is not in use in France. <BR> <BR>By the way, the word "suite" come from the verb "suivre" (to follow) and designated originally the...suite, the train which "suivait" (followed) a monarch or another important person. Of course, to lodge all these followers, more than a single room was needed. with time, the word suite was used to designate appartments spacious enough to lodge a "suite". <BR>