When we stayed at the Thistle Victoria in London in March, we had to request a facial wash cloth each day. We will be staying in Munich in October. Should we bring our own facial wash cloths or are they provided on request at Munich hotels?

Hello Dahling.
I found a solution to bring along premoist face makeup remover tissues.."Oil of Olay" or any other brand works wonderful, they very affordable, in Duane read you can buy generick for $4( or so)a pack of 30..I buy refill and put them in Zip Loc(G-d bless creator of ZipLoc) What comes to service in Germany Hotel we never had a problems...
Happy trip.
Marina

You should take your own wash cloths (face flannels) to most places in Europe. They are considered personal items - see the recently topped post about wash cloths.

I am amazed the hotel actually gave you one every day. They would have figured you would go out and buy yourself one after about the 2nd day.

That is a real difference - Americans assume wash cloths are provided while most Europeans would not dream of using a wash cloth someone else had used before.

So either do what igemini suggests or just take a couple of oldish wash cloths from home and discard them after your trip.

Thanks for the advice. Here in the United States wash cloths are always provided in hotel and motel rooms. The hotel laundries use very hot water and bleach, so no one thinks anything about using the cloths they supply. That's why I appear so naive about the practices in Europe.

Hotels generally do not provide waschcloths, but B&B's do. We took our own this summer, and never had to use it.

How about using the two built-in washcloths at the end of your arms--your hands?

So well said, Betsy! I agree completely!

Europeans would never use a washcloth someone else used before????? What the bloody hell does that mean??? A towel goes the same place a washcloth does, sweetie, so what is the difference if it is laundered???? Or don't we Europeans use towels either, we drip dry??? You are daft. Do you go into a restaurant and demand new silverware because someone else had that fork in their mouth, even though it has had a wash up????? It is a MYTH that the English don't use washcloths. All my relatives use them and I remember using one as a child. Just my two pence, sweetie. Don't get yourself in a jumble.

I find it best just to take your own, it hardly takes any room -- I just bring a thin, cheaper one on any trip to any country.

I don't understand the remarks from some Europeans, either, as to why this is a personal item any more than towel, sheets, you name it. Following that logic, nobody would use the toilet, would they?. I think it's just what they are used to so don't think about whether it makes sense. I know a lot of people have cultural ideas as to the way things work that may not be really logical in fact. Also, that would imply they never use them at home, either, unless they label all washcloths with individual's names.

Actually, I find naming them "face flannels" or called them "facial cloths" unusual because I do use them for washing (elbows, necks, feet, etc.) as there is no easy other way to do that, to me -- I don't feel that clean otherwise. But I have never used one for my face, and don't feel any need for one on my face as that is the one place that is easy to just put a little soap in your hands and splash it on your face. Maybe some people have two kinds, one for the body and one for their face? I don't know, until coming on this board I never heard of people needing washcloths for their face in particular. Actually, the idea of using my washcloth which I only use for feet, armpits, neck, etc on my face doesn't appeal.

My experience has been that it depends on the hotels you stay in...some have provided washcloths and some have not. Sometimes you have to ask for them and you'll get them as happened to me recently in Rome but I always bring a couple of my own just in case.
Unfortunately, I see we are about to have another Fodors pissing contest on this "issue" so I'll happily bail out ahead of time. Enjoy your trip.

The reason I don't just use soap and the washclothes at the end of my arms, is that the cloth is NOT smooth and does act as an exfoliater doing a better job on my body of removing the dead skin cells.

These silly arguments about the "personal" nature of a washcloth remind me of the funny sequence on FRIENDS. Chandler is upset because Joey used his toothbrush. Joey says, "what's the big deal? We use the same soap in the shower." Chandler say, "But that's soap. What's cleaner than soap?" "Well, OK" says Joey, "but the next time you take a shower just think about the last place I used the soap on, and the first place you use it."

Hey, ThinGorJus - I wasn't saying which was right. I was just explainng the differencees between European Hotels and American ones. American travelers are used to having wash cloths provided - Europeans are used to providing their own.

And all my British friends use wash cloths too - Their Own . . . . . .

These references to people only using their own washcloths. . .does that mean they have them marked so that after they are laundered, no one in the family will get someone else's? I don't think the intention is that anyone shares a used washcloth. Yet people are acting like having a clean laundered one that was once used by someone else is really horrible.

If washing the sheets & towels gets them clean enough for the next person to use, why wouldn't washing the washcloth do the same?

For more on this fascinating topic, pull up the "travel with your own sheets?" thread on Other Topics. We humans sure are odd critters.

Of the many interesting, amazing and useful things I have read on Fodor's, I think the varied cultural opinions about washcloths are near the top of the list. I do believe after a couple years of reading such threads that there are people who believe wash cloths are personal items and would never dream of using someone else's. This is a cultural difference I never would have suspected. But the comments that I find the most amazing are those which presume to tell other people which ways of washing themselves are superior.

I use a wash cloth and always have. I bring them with me to Europe, a practice I would never have begun had I not frequented this forum. I can't imagine any objection to this, they are pretty easy to pack. There are, however, people who have posted replies suggesting that this habit of mine stems from the discomfort of touching my own body, and that hands are far superior washing implements. Then there are those who use washcloths to remove makeup from the face and those who can't imagine doing so. Some use them only for the face, and some for everything but. Who knew there were so many opinions about washcloths?

I love Fodor's.

Nikki, I gave up washcloths in my teens when I decided they were unnecessary. I think using my hands is superior only in that I have one less item in my life to go into the weekly laundry or pack for a trip. You feel exactly the opposite, and yet, we belong to the same species. Isn't it amazing?

For the most part, I have traveled alone through Europe. I also always reserve a double room for single use. one of the luxuries is that there are always plenty of hand and bath towels for one person. I never bring wash cloths with me, mostly because I bring a bath sponge. However, on the odd occasion that I need a wash cloth - I wet one of the hand towels. It might be larger than a wash cloth, but it works just as well.

As to why they are called "face flannels," the answer is that it is an old name. It goes back to the era when indoor plumbing was rare, and bathing in a tub was something you only did once a week or so. On the in-between days, you made sure to wash your face and neck (because they showed) and any other parts that really needed the extra attention, and since you were doing that standing up on the bedroom floor, next to a washstand with a bowl and pitcher, you used a damp cloth to reduce the drip factor. Most English cloth was wool; "flannel" was simply the generic term for cotton cloth with a nap on it. It was a piece of cotton cloth used to wash the face, thus a "face flannel."

Also, remember that for most of modern history, the English used coal fires to heat their homes, and it tended to leave a residue on everything, including exposed skin. Coal residue is greasy; washing with your hands alone won't remove it.