bhuty2003

ira, crack up, really but so so true.

Few poignant comments here. Asia is the same, specially japan where its all a shower room or bathroom. Its not just the bath or the recess but its the whole room you use in some places.
so let it get wet.

Personally i have been in 4 star plus backpacker hostels and mostly i have had "normal" showers.

If it means that much to you then you can trust the major chains of hotels to provide normal showers. Personally i hate baths and handhelds so mostly i go the chains unless the hotel provides some unique experience like a haunted castle in UK

Cobos

ParadiseLost: Since I live in a small 30sqm student apartment with my gf/spouse with a 1.5sqm bathroom I know all about small shower cubicles But my trick for keeping the shower curtain outside the cubicle is I've got plastic shampoo bottle I've filled with water and then just leave it on the floor. That way it keeps the shower curtain where I want it

Sindre

Zeus

The poster that claims they stayed in over 200 European hotels and never encountered the aforementioned shower arrangement needs to stay in something other than Holiday Inns and Sheratons. I've spent a similar amount of time in European hotels, pensions, B&b's, gasthofs, homes, posadas and Agriturismi and I can't remember where they DIDN'T have at least a detachable shower head. Many of them slide up and down on the wall fixture and can be a real bear to detach. If it takes me more than ten minutes to determine how the damn thing actually comes off the wall, I just leave it attached and contort myself to wash-up. And most of the time it required this 6' 1" dude to bend at the waist just to shower his head.

If you can figure out how to disconnect the darn thing and hold it in your hand, you actually have to use the muscles in your wrist to combat the backward thrust that the spraying water causes. One gasthof outside Berchtesgaden has so much water pressure going through the hose and nozzle that I had to use two hands to keep from getting spun around in the shower. The only good thing about these removable shower heads (if you can indeed remove them) is that you can wash some of the smellier parts of your body a bit easier.

Of course, the Europeans aren't really known for their sensible bathroom fixtures. The heated towel racks can be nice, but what about those toilets? One of these days I've got to write my book about European toilets I have known. I mean, why do they have that little tray in the back of the bowl? Do I really need to see what I just created?

But then again, who goes to Europe to tour the bathrooms?

Marilyn

Zeus, thanks for the morning chuckle at the image of you being spun around in the shower by the water pressure.

I've never had a problem with those showers, even when there's no curtain. You just have to learn how to use them, i.e., keep the shower head close to your body so it doesn't spray everywhere and don't get absent-minded.

Our German friends sit down in the tub as if they were taking a bath, but use the shower head to wash.

BTW, Germany is the only place I recall seeing that little platform, and I've always thought it was very strange as well. I think a cultural analysis of individual countries as expressed in their bathroom/toilet fixtures and habits would be pretty fascinating.

indie

Zeus

For us short folks and having a fixed shower perched a foot + above my head is really uncomfortable. I would stand on my toes to make sure I rinsed the shampoo out when I washed my hair. However thanks to that I do have good calves We have replaced the fixed showere at home with a ahnd held now.
What I found challenging was in England, where a lot of places still have the seperate faucets for hot and cold - you have to fill up the sink with water if you want the right temperature and then wash your face!!!

francophile03

The only hotel that had the hand-held shower without curtain or shield was Hotel Tilsitt Etoile in Paris' 17th district. Two of us tried our best to kneel, crouch, or sit in the tub but nothing worked. And I was able to wet the whole bathroom including not only the floor but the sink and mirror.
I notice the hotel's new website pictures show that they've finally installed shower shields and wall attachments to place the shower hoses. I wonder why?

mjs

I am in agreement with Zeus. Having said that I do find less strange (to me that is) shower/bath gadgets in Europe over the last several years. It may be that bathrooms are changing in Europe or that my lodgings have gradually improved over the years from "cheapest possible place to sleep" to 3 star, 4 star etc. I remember one hotel in Italy when I was a student that came with "shower". The problem was that we could not find a showerhead, stall, curtains etc.
We did find faucets in the wall which when turned on caused water to sprout from a hole in the ceiling. Sprayed us, the towels, the toilet paper, everything in the bathroom. I guess the moral of the story is not to turn handles unless you know what they do. This axiom also applies to the toilets they now have in Japanese luxury hotels.

Marilyn

Oh boy, do I have some howlingly funny stories about Japanese toilets! Too long for here, unfortunately, and off topic.

GSteed

Why? Old hotels did not have rooms with water outlets. Some B&Bs still have this arrangement. Common bathing facilities were standard. Competition has forced improvements. Usually done with least expense and little skill. I suggest that a non-skid bath mat be toted about. Slippery shower floors cause many accidents. USA travellers need to remember that it wasn't too long ago that few homes had running water much less a bath room. Baths came on Saturday night in a tub in the kitchen! Water was heated on the wood fired stove. European cities often have commercial bathing facilities. Flexibility and agility please!

elina

Well, bathrooms usually have a shower that can be used either fixed to the wall, both hands free, or hand-held. My husband always has it on the wall, I hold it in my hand. I get the shampoo out of my hair a lot better like that. And how are you supposed to get your private parts clean if the water comes from above your head?

I have never come across with a shower room withour curtains or glass walls around the shower.

Hans

Being a German, my point of view is:

a) I absolutely prefer the hand-held showers. I can't stand it if they can't be detached.

b) I've encountered a lot of hotel rooms without shower curtains or doors. I'm as puzzled about that as anyone else since I've never encountered a private German bathroom without them. And I wouldn't dream about getting my or anyone else's bathroom totally wet while showering.
My best guess is that it's less effort to clean the bathroom floor than to keep shower doors and curtains spotlessly clean, especially if there's a lot of lime in the water. But that's just a guess.
As for dealing with it, I haven't found a better way than getting water all over the floor and letting the hotel deal with it.

c) These toiletts are really a German speciality and originate from a time when people really wanted to look at the result. It was the belief that you could diagnose your health that way. Though this idea has long gone, some people still prefer it the toiletts that way. Force of habit.

sempronia

Love the European "removable" shower-heads and not the fixed ones...You can take a shower without getting your hair wet and reach those "hard to wash places" . Not once did I stay in a hotel that did not have either a curtain or a half-door to match...But the point brought up earlier is a valid one- most European bathrooms are completely tiled and not wallpapered (!?!) which makes them more functional and water-proof..If you get some on the floor, wipe it with the floor-towel..

Marilyn

Hans, thanks for explaining the German toilets. I have wondered about that for many years!

japeters

My solution is to put a little bit of paper in the adjustable clamp that holds the shower head so that it will stay in the direction I point it. That way I can aim it at the wall and take a nice long shower without getting very much water on the floor.

janisj

Okaaaay(?) You registered to top an 8 year old thread to tell us you cram paper in the shower???

adrienne

I've learned a new word - chaote (not that I really understand it)! Thanks, bilbo!

I'm with janis - why do people register just to top an ancient thread and then not come back. What's the point of this?

I love the bathrooms w/o shower curtains or plastic dividers. If I ever design a house I'm gonna have one of those.

StCirq

I hate to continue topping this thread, and I'm not having heartburn or anything similar over it, but it IS curious, IMO, that SO many ancient threads have been topped recently by newbies. I make that mistake myself from time to time, so can understand it, but lately there's been a plethora of them.