Tia

A friend who recently moved to the US from London told me to be sure to take a wash cloth with me when we go to London. I guess they're called flannels there??? When he told me to take flannels with me, I thought it would be cold and we'd need our flannel shirts (which I really don't ever wear at home!!)!! I'm wondering if this is the case as I like to use one to remove makeup at the end of a day. We're staying at the Thistle Bloomsbury. Do you think they'll provide them or should I throw one in the suitcase just in case?? Thanks...sorry I've got so many questions, but we're leaving in two weeks and I'm so excited!!

Tia

TravelMaster

Tia:

We stayed at the Hilton/Docklands in London and don't recall needing them there, but we still had a few clean ones as we'd just come from Kenya (where we did need them). This past March we were in Budapest (needed wash cloths) & Vienna (didn't need them). But they don't take up much space when packing, so you might as well pack you 'old' ones that way if you do have to use them you might not mind leaving the dirty one behind when you leave.

Z

Koshka

I find it helpful to pack one or two, just in case.

Heck, I pack them when I travel to Washington State, as my in-laws often don't provide them. I'm a face-scrubber too at the end of the day!

swalter518

Pack them and bring a ziplock bag to bring them home in if they're still wet--last hotel we stayed at had them but they were very thin and scratchy!

BonnieGirl

Hi - Purchase some disposal face clothes, the ones I use already have soap in them and just have to be moistened and then discarded. They take up little room and you don't have to worry about carrying around wet used washclothes.

RachelG

Most hotels I have stayed in Great Britain don't have washclothes (exception being the Marriott in London, but it's an American chain). They do have hand towels however, and I just use those to wash my face.

Patrick

I always travel to Europe with two washcloths for each of us, color-coded for each of us. And I always take a few sandwich sized ziplocks to put wet ones in if traveling to a new hotel that day.

daria

If you want a wash cloth, I think you should take one because they do not always provide them in England, or elsewhere in Europe. The idea to take a zip lock is a good one too.

BrimhamRocks

My family and I just stayed in a hotel and a B&B while sightseeing around northern England and the Borders area of Scotland. Neither place offered a washcloth. Towels, hand towels and shower mats, yes, but not a single washcloth.

Definitely bring your own!

rex

The gneral concept is that a washcloth is as intimate and personal as underwear, thus not provided. I can see it that way, I guess, though I have no qualms sharing at home.

Best wishes,

Rex

Budman

Soap - Don't forget to bring the "big bar" of soap with you. You never know what you are going to get on the other side.

Gino

We take nylon scrubbies? attached to a cord. They look like a balled up cheesecloth. Work great and dry out almost instantly.(Squeeze them out in a towel)
They normally come with a body wash such as Dove or Oil of Olay.
You can buy them at Target. Also work great with liquid soaps which normally are supplied at European hotels.

Tia

Thanks for the info. I'm glad I asked. I'll have to pack one for sure now! The idea about the disposable face cloths with the soap already on them is a really good idea. That way I could leave my bar of soap at home. One more little corner of my suitcase for which to put a little gift for myself from London!! Thanks again to everyone who so kindly responded to my endless list of questions!

Tia

Gino

P.S.
Cords are color coded--Blue, white etc.

m_kingdom

Any half decent hotel will supply adequate toiletries and bathroom requisites. Certainl no need to supply your own at a chain hotel such as Thistle.

sandi

The disposables are so each to pack (Dove, Oil of Olay and others make these), just throw them in with packets of tissues and you're set to go.

This way don't have to worry about wet cloths and who would want to use the same cloth for your entire trip and wherever you put them to dry and whether they'll disappear (by mistake by housekeeping).

I've been surprised what I haven't found in hotels where you'd expect to find certain amenities. Likewise, what I do fine when I don't expect to.

However, at a big chain hotel (4*), not finding facecloths (though I've been bringing own [more recently disposables] for years) did ask and housekeeping provided these immediately. Apparently, facecloths are considered "walk-aways", so unless they are specifically requested, you won't find them in the room.

WillTravel

You can get a pack of washcloths at a discount store for a few dollars and then discard as you go. Best to be safe, I think.

celticdreams

Tia

If you don't use the disposable cloths at home, I would try them before you go. I don't have particularly sensitive skin, but the only ones I can use are the Biore ones (and you don't even need to rinse off after those) That said, I only use those for my face and use one of the nylon puff things with shower gel for the rest of me.

Jayne11159

I always carry washcloths and zip lock bags as mentioned numerous times above. Another thing I like to do to economize on packing space is buy whatever toiletries I can in the sample sizes. For instance, if we're gone three weeks I'll take two sample size shampoos, toothpaste etc. When one is empty halfway through the trip, I toss the container and free up a little more space instead of lugging one large container the whole time.

Ronda

You may not like this idea, but I purchase Handiwipes disposable kitchen towels to use for wash cloths. I cut them in half, use one per hotel, toss it before going to the next. No need for zip loc bags. They come in handy if you bring food in your room and need to wipe up the table, etc. Of course, use a different one for the table than you use for your face