Showers in Paris
 

Forgive me if this is silly, but I'm wondering if there's a trick to using those showers that look like a short bathtub with a shower wand and no curtain. Doesn't the bathroom get soaked? If the hotel advertises a "full bath," is there a way to know what kind of shower it is? (We're staying at Le Regent in the 6th district). I know it's a minor point of the trip, but many of you seem so experienced at Paris travel, so I thought I'd ask. Thank you!

Hi Dee, the hotel that we stayed in in Paris last year did have a curtain, but the one in Athens the year before did not. There usually is a drain in the floor if there is no curtain and yes the floor will get wet. Part of the fun of traveling.<BR>Regards,<BR>Art<BR>

We've stayed at Le Regent several times, and while I don't specifically recall what the shower was like, I remember that the bathrooms were extremely elegant (nicer than the rooms, actually), and I'm sure the shower was not the shower wand kind. I'm pretty sure the shower was a shower stall with a door (not a curtain).

My wife &amp; I recently stayed in an apartment in the 6th. The bathroom was very nice, but there was indeed no shower curtain. And the tiled floor of the bathroom had no drain. After several unsuccessful attempts to be careful about splashing water everywhere, we just decided to mop up with a towel. No big deal--plus, the water pressure and quality were excellent.

I found that the only solution was to go easy on the water pressure. It is more of a drip than a shower.

Those showers DO require a certain skill level -- just make sure the toilet paper is out of range -- otherwise go for it!

Ah, showers in Europe. Makes travelling quite the adventure. My husband and I thought about taking one of those plastic hooks with adhesive on the back to put on the wall and hang the shower wand on it. In the past, we have also just said the hell with it and let the floor get soaked and mop with a towel. Also, taking showers together with one holding the shower works :).

My Personal favorite is when the light, plastic shower curtain sticks to your body! Otherwise, as stated before just be sure the toilet paper is out of range...and lay down the ugliest towel, to try to soak up the water so you don't slip! One of the joys of travel... heck when back packing many years ago, my best girl pal and I stayed in a youth hostel for 3 months in December in Dublin, that had NO hot water period! That which does not kill us...

I have never been in a French hotel room with a shower and no curtain, and I've been in plenty of two-star hotels. I think there may be some confusion as to the mechanism you are referring to, which is not supposed to be a shower head that is mounted high on the wall, it is simply a sprayer to rinse yourself after bathing in the sabot bathtubs (small ones). This wand is not on the wall except perhaps to hold it, it's not supposed to be used as a shower head where you stand under it (in fact, you can't in the ones I've seen)--now I've had one of those in an apt I rented in Paris, but never in a hotel. There is no way you could get it on the floor unless you held it and directly aimed it at the floor; it's just to rinse your body off at close range after bathing in the sabot tub. I have never had a hotel with a drain in the floor, either, but I guess that would go with some curtainless shower system; I've just never seen one. I have had French hotel rooms with shower heads (with tubes, can be removed from the fixture) mounted on the wall higher up that are to be showers you stand under, but these have never been curtainless, and have usually had glass/synthetic sliding doors, in fact (which I much prefer).

Thanks to everyone. I knew you would have had experience with this! The last time I was in Paris was 14 years ago when I was 17 and just out of high school, and the shower of the very inexpensive hotel was down the hall. So just having a private bathroom is going to be a vast improvement! :-)

I think the solution to the Paris shower situation is to visit Vienna, particularly a hotel called Der Altwienerhof. The showers there are beautiful, fully enclosed, with plenty of room to turn around.<BR>

Dee, what you questioned is what Christina described - if you want a "shower", you have to sit in the tub like you were taking a bath and sprinkle away (it IS easy to turn the head at an angle and squirt the floor and/or the toilet paper). I always try to rinse my armpits, with the resulting pooling of water on the ceiling. I will never learn. <BR><BR>I have experienced the shower built into a corner, with glass walls at 90 degree angles from the wall, forming a teeny weeny square - and the glass walls do NOT meet - there's about 6" of - er - ventilation through which I am quite capable of dumping several gallons of water. <BR><BR>Thyra, I do love those saranwrap shower curtains - especially when they have a generous growth of local flora. eeeeyuuuuuu.<BR><BR>My favorites are the showers with the hand held head that is mounted too high to be effective where it is, and if you try to use it as a hand-held, it writhes and twists like a demented cobra. There was a discussion quite a while ago about the various contortions one could use to hold the shower head while lathering, etc.

Ahhhhh...the 'shower-bath', as my husband and I call it! <BR><BR>Usually, there is a hook or holder on the bath wall on which you can hook the shower head, and, squatting down, you can take a 'short shower'.<BR><BR>The bathroom does get soaked...I'm laughing about moving the toilet paper...I thought we were the only ones who had trouble with it! :-)

They have showers in France? Could have fooled me.

Dee--see post below. The mysteries revealed!

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