What's the obsession with the size of bathrooms?
Nov 27th, 2007, 02:48 PM
#61
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>>which makes the American standard of living superior to Europe,<<
I think that's partly the issue, some people do seem to think that we Americans have such a higher standard of living....personally, yes, our homes may be bigger, but at what price? Longer commute and longer working hours? I'll take a small bathroom for a shorter work week anytime. Hey, better to have a lot of time to spend in a small bathroom rather than a large bathroom to have little time to spend in.
I think that's partly the issue, some people do seem to think that we Americans have such a higher standard of living....personally, yes, our homes may be bigger, but at what price? Longer commute and longer working hours? I'll take a small bathroom for a shorter work week anytime. Hey, better to have a lot of time to spend in a small bathroom rather than a large bathroom to have little time to spend in.
Nov 27th, 2007, 02:56 PM
#62
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"As I've mentioned before; some people (mostly men) say "no", and some people (mostly women) say "yes"."
I had no idea that gender was so important in perception of the ideal size of bathrooms, but after giving some thought on Ira's and Nikki's comments I think I understand the logic behind. After all for a man only the space for a tooth brush is enough while women need the space for all those toiletteries.
I had no idea that gender was so important in perception of the ideal size of bathrooms, but after giving some thought on Ira's and Nikki's comments I think I understand the logic behind. After all for a man only the space for a tooth brush is enough while women need the space for all those toiletteries.
Nov 27th, 2007, 04:45 PM
#64
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I would forego a bathroom for "roughing it" as I am always up for adventure. However, some of those Turkish toilets really are the pits...
Give me the experience or adventure over luxury any day.
Give me the experience or adventure over luxury any day.
Nov 27th, 2007, 07:17 PM
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"Would you forego the experience of another country if you had to rough it? I've decided I would not (after my first trip to Africa)"
Actually some of the places we've stayed in in Africa were much nicer than some places we've stayed in, so called, civilization.
Actually some of the places we've stayed in in Africa were much nicer than some places we've stayed in, so called, civilization.
Nov 27th, 2007, 07:29 PM
#66
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It is so nice to have a lovely bathroom. I am so relieved (no pun intended) when I see my room has a nice roomy or pretty bathroom. Nothing wrong with pampering yourself on a vacation. If I knew ahead of time I was roughing it, I wouldn't expect a great bathroom. It all depends on the trip itself.
Nov 27th, 2007, 08:08 PM
#67
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My bathroom is 12x18=216 sq.ft. Ceiling is 18 ft. high with skylights over the jacuzzi. Separate shower stall big enough for 2 with rain shower heads. 2 sinks.
I can't expect the same during my travels. I was happy to have a ensuite accomodations during my time in Afghanistan. I don't expect much when I visit Iraq next month, but whenever possible I do have an obsession with large bathrooms in the places I stay at and it does become a deal breaker. I like the luxury, the abiliy to treat my body to the healing powers of water, the comfort of enough room to stretch out, share the water healing time with my gf, etc....
If it I had to chose between a bigger, bathroom with rain shower, separate tub, with a smaller room or a bigger room with a small bathroom, I would pick the bigger bathroom option.
with rain shower heads. 2 sinks. I can't expect the same during my travels. I was happy to have a ensuite accomodations during my time in Afghanistan. I don't expect much when I visit Iraq next month, but whenever possible I do have an obsession with large bathrooms in the places I stay at and it does become a deal breaker. I like the luxury, the abiliy to treat my body to the healing powers of water, the comfort of enough room to stretch out, share the water healing time with my gf, etc....
If it I had to chose between a bigger, bathroom with rain shower, separate tub, with a smaller room or a bigger room with a small bathroom, I would pick the bigger bathroom option.
Nov 27th, 2007, 08:30 PM
#68
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There was once a mildly funny book by a humorist named Corey Ford, with a title something like
"You know you're MIddle-Aged if..."
(sorta like that stand-up routine, "You know you're a redneck if")
The one I remember was
"you know you're middle=aged if...
you wouldn't go to see the Taj Mahal if it meant you'd have to sleep on a cot."
I wonder how many people on this Forum are 'middle-aged" either chronologically or born that way.
Me, I'm not even grown-up yet.
"You know you're MIddle-Aged if..."
(sorta like that stand-up routine, "You know you're a redneck if")
The one I remember was
"you know you're middle=aged if...
you wouldn't go to see the Taj Mahal if it meant you'd have to sleep on a cot."
I wonder how many people on this Forum are 'middle-aged" either chronologically or born that way.
Me, I'm not even grown-up yet.
Nov 27th, 2007, 10:25 PM
#69
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For some, the bathroom is the second library, so it needs suitable landing space for books, magazines, newspapers, mail, etc.
For others (like moi), a deep tub built for two is a must.
BTW, our house is 1082 sq. ft., which is small for the States, but I love it. One bathroom, too, with a huge, deep tub.
When I travel, I just prefer a clean bathroom with a hairdryer. I don't take baths then.
For others (like moi), a deep tub built for two is a must.
BTW, our house is 1082 sq. ft., which is small for the States, but I love it. One bathroom, too, with a huge, deep tub.
When I travel, I just prefer a clean bathroom with a hairdryer. I don't take baths then.
Nov 28th, 2007, 04:00 AM
#70
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Are we talking, relatively speaking, about requests for a salmon or a tuna-sized bathroom?
As for what people are doing, I have been known to use the bathroom for sleeping accomodation. It spared my snoring husband from being suffocated by a pillow, so that makes size important, no?
As for what people are doing, I have been known to use the bathroom for sleeping accomodation. It spared my snoring husband from being suffocated by a pillow, so that makes size important, no?
Nov 28th, 2007, 05:47 AM
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I also have waist-length hair, and it is very difficult to maneuver trying to wash this (needs two hands) while trying to tame the shower-snake of death. Often there is no holder for such shower-snake, so you need to shut the whole shower off (after having taken 10 minutes trying to get the temp right), lather, and try to get it working again. Often by this time there is no hot water (brr).
At home I have a very luxurious bathroom. The bedroom suite we live in was built for someone in a wheelchair, so the shower is big enough to wheel in the chair, as well as separate vanities for him and her, and a huge area around the toilet. There is a cable hookup in there, as well as a phone - we use neither.
Shared bathrooms I've done - usually they are larger, no worries. And the B&Bs I stay at normally have decent sized bathrooms. It's the occasional closet that is fun. One such place was in a 14th C. Manor House converted to B&B in Scotland. Very luxurious bedroom, but the shower was literally a small closet with no light - all wood walls, no room to turn, much less reach down to the floor to pick up your shampoo (no place to put it in arms reach). I resorted to having my husband hand me each item I needed from the outside, or I risked getting the carpeting soaked.
At home I have a very luxurious bathroom. The bedroom suite we live in was built for someone in a wheelchair, so the shower is big enough to wheel in the chair, as well as separate vanities for him and her, and a huge area around the toilet. There is a cable hookup in there, as well as a phone - we use neither.
Shared bathrooms I've done - usually they are larger, no worries. And the B&Bs I stay at normally have decent sized bathrooms. It's the occasional closet that is fun. One such place was in a 14th C. Manor House converted to B&B in Scotland. Very luxurious bedroom, but the shower was literally a small closet with no light - all wood walls, no room to turn, much less reach down to the floor to pick up your shampoo (no place to put it in arms reach). I resorted to having my husband hand me each item I needed from the outside, or I risked getting the carpeting soaked.
Nov 28th, 2007, 05:55 AM
#72
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Bed and bathroom size can matter when you get the following:
- "skinny" single beds - where you are at risk of falling out of bed when rolling over in the middle of the night (Hotel Graspo de Ua, Venice)
- a shower cubicle so small that you (1) keep elbowing the glass every time you move and (2) have to squeeze into the cold corner in an attempt to not get burnt by the water which runs either too hot or too cold, but never at a reasonable temperature (Hotel Graspo de Ua, Venice)
- the toilet is so close to the wall and accompanied by a heating element on the same wall that forces you to sit somewhat sideways on the toilet (Sonne Hotel, Fuessen).. remembering that women sit on each occasion.
That is when bathroom size matters.
Showers over baths which leak water everywhere are also a big pain in the preverbial as are bathrooms without proper exhaust fans.
- "skinny" single beds - where you are at risk of falling out of bed when rolling over in the middle of the night (Hotel Graspo de Ua, Venice)
- a shower cubicle so small that you (1) keep elbowing the glass every time you move and (2) have to squeeze into the cold corner in an attempt to not get burnt by the water which runs either too hot or too cold, but never at a reasonable temperature (Hotel Graspo de Ua, Venice)
- the toilet is so close to the wall and accompanied by a heating element on the same wall that forces you to sit somewhat sideways on the toilet (Sonne Hotel, Fuessen).. remembering that women sit on each occasion.
That is when bathroom size matters.
Showers over baths which leak water everywhere are also a big pain in the preverbial as are bathrooms without proper exhaust fans.
Nov 28th, 2007, 06:08 AM
#73
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So the answer to the question may depend on whether you see a holiday as an adventure or as a refreshing break.
Simply put...and to be sure a generalization...
If an adventure...facilities are less important than what is happening outside the hotel room
If a break, the amenities are important and are what makes the holiday worthwhile
For me, a toilet and a working shower are the basic necessities...and even then they both could be shared
Simply put...and to be sure a generalization...
If an adventure...facilities are less important than what is happening outside the hotel room
If a break, the amenities are important and are what makes the holiday worthwhile
For me, a toilet and a working shower are the basic necessities...and even then they both could be shared
Nov 28th, 2007, 06:19 AM
#74
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Part of today's USA Dollar woes are connected to the bathroom size craze. Customers opted for the super sized bathroom and an extra bunch of dollars. When they couldn't make the payments...look what has happened. Grandparents will remember the outdoor privy and the Saturday night tub in the kitchen. When the oil disappears, so will the hot water! Enjoy all now!
Nov 28th, 2007, 02:56 PM
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My bathroom at home is six feet by seven in a 950 square foot house for my family of four, so anything bigger in a hotel is a treat. To be honest, in all our travels, I would be hard pressed to describe the bathrooms in the hotels we have stayed. But I would love a bidet!
Nov 28th, 2007, 04:46 PM
#76
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Gosh, I thought I was rather jaded in some respects...and probably am...but I'm still just so gosh-darned happy to be traveling anywhere that the last thing I care about is the size of the bathroom! As long as there's warm water and the toilet flushes, I'm a happy camper. But I'm sprite-sized, so don't have a lot of space issues. You could fit three of me in the average European bathtub. I can see if one were of an ample size a small bathroom could be confining or even downright claustrophobic.
I have on a couple occasions been in a European hotel room that was so small you had to stack the furniture in order to find any leg room. Did not enjoy that, but neither did it spoil my enjoyment of the trip.
I've also splurged periodically on lovely rooms in Europe, and sure, loved it, but it was never a trip deal breaker if I ended up in a less than lovely hotel. PBProvence and I once ended up in a moldy basement room in a hotel near Montpellier that had actual muddy bicycle tracks on the bed covers and spiders and crickets galore - we laughed about it.
Regarding Africa, I just returned from Nairobi last night, and the hotel bathroom we had there was a whole lot bigger and better appointed than many I've had in Europe. Really unpredictable hot water, though. It's all part of the wonderfulness of travel - being adaptable is the biggest part of the travel equation for me. I think I'd rather stop traveling altogether than develop some complex about bathroom requirements.
I have on a couple occasions been in a European hotel room that was so small you had to stack the furniture in order to find any leg room. Did not enjoy that, but neither did it spoil my enjoyment of the trip.
I've also splurged periodically on lovely rooms in Europe, and sure, loved it, but it was never a trip deal breaker if I ended up in a less than lovely hotel. PBProvence and I once ended up in a moldy basement room in a hotel near Montpellier that had actual muddy bicycle tracks on the bed covers and spiders and crickets galore - we laughed about it.
Regarding Africa, I just returned from Nairobi last night, and the hotel bathroom we had there was a whole lot bigger and better appointed than many I've had in Europe. Really unpredictable hot water, though. It's all part of the wonderfulness of travel - being adaptable is the biggest part of the travel equation for me. I think I'd rather stop traveling altogether than develop some complex about bathroom requirements.
Nov 28th, 2007, 05:10 PM
#77
I can't believe I'm adding to this post, but...
The hotel I stayed in in Rome earlier this month took the cake in terms of small bathrooms. The bidet was in front of the shower, with about 5 inches from the shower stall (not big enough to plant foot there). The shower was so narrow that I (size 6, btw, not "wide load") had to turn sideways to get in. The shower doors could not open outwards due to the bidet, so without my glasses and contacts, it was a challenge to climb over said bidet, push doors inward, maneuver sideways and get situated and then close the doors, all while not soaking the rest of the room. Then reverse the whole process coming out to a steamy bathroom. I had at least 3 near death experiences....
I'm not asking for roomy, just safe enough to take a shower while nearsighted!
The hotel I stayed in in Rome earlier this month took the cake in terms of small bathrooms. The bidet was in front of the shower, with about 5 inches from the shower stall (not big enough to plant foot there). The shower was so narrow that I (size 6, btw, not "wide load") had to turn sideways to get in. The shower doors could not open outwards due to the bidet, so without my glasses and contacts, it was a challenge to climb over said bidet, push doors inward, maneuver sideways and get situated and then close the doors, all while not soaking the rest of the room. Then reverse the whole process coming out to a steamy bathroom. I had at least 3 near death experiences....
I'm not asking for roomy, just safe enough to take a shower while nearsighted!
Nov 28th, 2007, 06:29 PM
#78
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Me neither - can't believe I'm adding to this thread either.
Most memorable bathroom experiences:
Showering in an outdoor shower somewhere in the wilderness hills of India - there were big gaps in the wood boards which allowed any passing wild beast a great opportunity (guess one could include men)...trickle of water, all cold.
Toilet in an out of the way small hotel in Hungary. When my travelling companion tried to pull the cord on the WC, the entire water tank fell out of the wall and landed on the floor! Talk about near-death experience! Then I tried to take a shower in same bathroom and found there was a shower curtain but no ledge to prevent the water from flowing out of the shower area onto the bathroom floor and thence out to the bedroom.
Vanity issues in a small hotel in Thailand. Turn on the water, let it flow into the vanity basin, and then onto your legs and feet! No plumbing to connect basin to drainage. All water ended up on the bathroom floor. Later that day got caught in a huge monsoonal rainstorm. BIG water experience day!
Smallest hotel bed: on the docked Queen Mary. I'm not that big and half of me was outside the bed - not enough room for the blanket and for me! One has to wonder how people stayed on those beds during pitching and rolling transAtlantic voyages. The Queen Mary also had one of the tiniest showerstalls like the previously described one: "lather up the wall, get in, and spin around".
Personally, as long as it's clean and everything is functional, size doesn't matter.
Most memorable bathroom experiences:
Showering in an outdoor shower somewhere in the wilderness hills of India - there were big gaps in the wood boards which allowed any passing wild beast a great opportunity (guess one could include men)...trickle of water, all cold.
Toilet in an out of the way small hotel in Hungary. When my travelling companion tried to pull the cord on the WC, the entire water tank fell out of the wall and landed on the floor! Talk about near-death experience! Then I tried to take a shower in same bathroom and found there was a shower curtain but no ledge to prevent the water from flowing out of the shower area onto the bathroom floor and thence out to the bedroom.
Vanity issues in a small hotel in Thailand. Turn on the water, let it flow into the vanity basin, and then onto your legs and feet! No plumbing to connect basin to drainage. All water ended up on the bathroom floor. Later that day got caught in a huge monsoonal rainstorm. BIG water experience day!
Smallest hotel bed: on the docked Queen Mary. I'm not that big and half of me was outside the bed - not enough room for the blanket and for me! One has to wonder how people stayed on those beds during pitching and rolling transAtlantic voyages. The Queen Mary also had one of the tiniest showerstalls like the previously described one: "lather up the wall, get in, and spin around".
Personally, as long as it's clean and everything is functional, size doesn't matter.
Nov 28th, 2007, 06:30 PM
#79
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AmyB, actually that is very good information. I take it this room was at the Hotel Parlamento?
If I had to choose between shared bathrooms of a safe size, vs. a private bathroom of the type you just described, the shared would definitely win out.
If I had to choose between shared bathrooms of a safe size, vs. a private bathroom of the type you just described, the shared would definitely win out.
Nov 28th, 2007, 09:25 PM
#80
Well, I wish I'd known in advance about the size of the bathroom in our room at the Hotel Flora in Venice about 15 years ago. We wouldn't have stayed there if we had known: we could stand in the middle of the room and touch all four walls; the "shelf" for toiletries was 3" x 12" but couldn't be used because the shower showered the entire room; the shower drain in the middle of the floor was so slow a puddle of soapy water flowed into the bedroom carpet (our own personal alta acqua!); the toilet was only slightly more effective. There was no way one of us could be in the bathroom while the other was taking a shower, and most of the towels ended up on the floor fashioned into a levee against the tide. It came to be a humorous memory (much, much later), but, needless to say, I have become obsessed with the size of European bathrooms ever since.
