For the last couple months I've been reading all your reviews on hotels and B&Bs--mostly for Paris, Provence and the Riviera. I've been wondering if 2 or 3* hotels in Paris and the places in Provence that are, say, around $200/night have showers. Or, is there a variance within each location and one has to ask when booking? P.S. I know I have to bring my own washcloth.

My experience is that 2 star hotels have shower stalls, no bathtub. In some case, the stall is no larger than a telephone booth. The same goes for equivalent B&B's. When you have a bathtub, you will discover that often there is no shower curtain so that you have to use the hand-held shower sitting down to avoid splashing water all over the bathroom.

Many hotels have bath/shower combinations, usually--though not always--with a hand-held shower attached to an arm. I like those a lot; in fact that's what we have in the shower at home.

Some upscale hotels will have separate shower stalls, but they're not very common.

All the French hotels I have stayed in (2* and 3*, under 100 euros/night) have showers. They are a complete shower, no bath. Housekeeping always provides towels and soap. I don't see any need to bring your own face cloth. My experience has been perhaps in Provence, the hotels might be a bit more rustic, but there are still amenities such a shower in the bathrooms. If this is a concern of yours, then you should certainly confirm with the hotels when booking that there is a bathroom inside the room with both a toilet and shower.

Hi hoping,

Our favorite Paris hotel is a 2* and has a bathtub with shower.

Hi

Some hotels have a cheaper rate for shower-only and a higher rate for a bathroom with a bathtub.A shower "stall" only is usually the minimum you would find. "Stall" isn't always accurate, sometimes it's just a shower area within a small bathroom.

Up a level from that is by far the most common, and that's the tub with also a hand-held shower head on hose (really meant for rinsing off after a bath, but it works as a shower as long as you are ambidextrous.)

At higher hotel levels you will find
tubs with modern shower heads coming out of the tub enclosure wall (a la, the usual in the US) or even a separate shower stall in the fanciest places.

Thanks. Yes, my neck disks find this important. I even know people who travel with their own pillow (which I'm not going to do).

Huitres,

We stayed at a 3* hotel in Paris that did not provide a washcloth, as well as any number of others in Provence. You just never know.

My understanding is that Europeans consider a 'wash cloth' a personal item and do not offer them in hotels, so you are right to bring your own.

I have had tubs with hand-held sprayer (it isn't really meant to be a 'shower'), shower stall with curtain, tub with wall shower w/ half-door, and other combinations. I don't think you'll know what you're getting until you get to the room.

Hi

If you scour this site you'll see what facilities are available.

anything over USD50 generally has a shower or a bath.

Peter
The Languedoc Page
http://tlp.netfirms.com

We travel budget and have always had a shower in one form or another. We haven't always had a face cloth (wash cloth). We have often gotten a wash mitt but neither of us care for the mitt concept so we take our own washcloth. It's easy enough to buy one in a store when you arrive if you forget. (Not that I ever forget anything 8^)

BTW, I consider budget around $100 a night or less . . . as less as possible. At $200 a night, you will have a shower.

Enjoy it.

Great a place to ask our burning question-what is up with shower curtains in Paris? We stayed at the Hotel Brighton and we had a tub with a handheld shower head (no place to hang it) and a shower curtain. We had friends who stayed elsewhere who had a showerhead (and a tub) but no shower curtain. We also had a peek at the 230Euro room next to us and it had a place to hang the handheld (and a tub) but no shower curtain. Can someone explain this to us? TIA

French shower = kitchen sink sprayer

I have also wondered about this lack of shower curtains - even in $200+/night hotels, so it's not an economizing thing. Also, not just in Paris but all over the country. I always figured some enterprising marketer will someday introduce shower curtains to France.

OK, I have to confess why I'm asking. In '98 trip to England--mostly bathtubs, some with the 'kitchen sink sprayer' thing. On 2000 trip to England, more rooms had showers. On 2001 trip to Ireland, the more expensive places had showers. And I do mean wonderful: huge, marble bathrooms with enclosed shower stalls with forceful, warm water. Then, there was that night in Dingle when I was catching a cold and we stayed in a b&b that actually turned off the heat in our room while we were out to dinner! The shower was an actual showerhead above a tub, with a circular curtain around it and a little dribble of lukewarm water. No problem, except I knew I was getting sick. By the time I got home after our 1-week Sept 11 delay, I had bronchitis and pleurisy. Now, a hot, steamy, long shower and a warm room might have prevented that!

haha, xxx, so true.

Maybe Paris hoteliers are just looking out for your health:

http://www.nature.com/nsu/040216/040216-2.html

I bring a nylon shower puff with me when travelling to europe, it dries fast and I just toss it when I leave...

My experience is a little contrary to some others, I guess hotels vary a lot. Mainly, I have definitely had regular showers in 2-3 star hotels in Paris, with glass doors and everything. These were not the really cheap airplane type showers, either, I think it just depends on how recently renovated or maybe stingy the hotel is. For example, the 2 star LIbertel Maxim in Paris has a nice regular shower with glass doors.

As for the problems people have with not knowing how to bathe, it is because things are different in France. That sprayer is just to rinse yourself off, it is not the same as a shower. that is why you don't have a shower curtain because it isn't a shower. YOu are supposed to bathe yourself and then use that to rinse off. I like this. That is not necessarily a cheap thing, either, I have stayed at very nice 4 star hotels with full bathtubs and very nice rooms that only had the sprayer and no shower curtain ... because it was not a shower.

On the other hand, I have never had what Elaine refers to as just an area in a room that is not a real shower or not a tub. I'm not sure what that is, exactly. I've stayed in some rather modest places, also, but never encountered that.

I'm not sure that all of use are talking about the same thing here, I think hopingtotravel means is there a shower as opposed to a tub .. I guess, I'm not sure, as I sure wouldn't pay $200 a night for a hotel room with a private bathroom.

I've also been in quite a few 3* hotels without washcloths in Europe -- I dont use one for my face, and don't call them facecloths, but do like one so always take a cheap or old one. Cheap ones are actually better to take because they are thinner and you don't care if you lose it or throw it away because you don't want to bring it home.

Hi
I haven't stayed in such a place in Paris recently, but twice in the past I had the following types of showers, and one was at the much-praised (but not by me) hotel Marronniers in Paris:
There was a shower head in the upper wall in one corner of the bathroom, and a drain in the floor, no curb or other separation that would keep water contained. At the Marroniers there was a clear acrylic partition about 3 feet high, that sort of corresponded with the body area from chest to knees, depending on one's height. The water simply drained into the floor, but of course got the entire bathroom floor wet.

I rush to say again that at the Marronniers (I'm 90% sure that was the hotel) this was 10-15 years ago and don't know if they still have this type of bathroom. The other similar shower example didn't even have the acrylic panel, just water draining into the floor, I simply don't remember which Paris hotel it was, or it might have even been elsewhere in France.