If you follow me, you know I love hotel bathrooms. And through the course of my years traveling as a travel writer and vacationer, I’ve found some aspects of hotel bathrooms that I really love, and some that I think are bad ideas. So I’m going to go through both, and I’ve chosen to host this video from a positive place: namely my guestroom bathroom at Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun, a beautiful all-inclusive Mexico beach resort that’s just south of Cancun. This hotel bathroom gets it all right. And it serves as a great place to start my review of the good, the bad and the ugly of hotel bathrooms. (I got so enthused about this beautiful Mexico hotel that I even did a video version of this post, hosted right from the bathroom!)
The Toilet: A lot of resort style hotels and other luxury hotels have toilets set in their own private water closet, a space that’s separates from the rest of the bathroom, so you can have privacy, even if someone else is using the sink, the shower or the bathtub. That’s great. And at Secrets Maroma Beach, the water closet has real, floor-to-ceiling walls.
And what’s a toilet situation that I’d rather avoid? A water closet that’s surrounded by glass. Here’s the thing about glass walls. They may offer visual privacy if the walls and door are frosted, but glass tends to echo the sound. Do you really want your loved one/roommate to hear every sound you make echoed on the toilet? (And do you want to hear it yourself, for that matter?)
Even worse, in my personal experience, is a water closet that’s surrounded by mirrors. This has only happened to me once. I went into my luxurious hotel bathroom, closed the door of the water closet, sat down to do my business and when I looked up, I realized I was surrounded by full, floor-to-ceiling mirrors on every side of the toilet cubicle. It was like a hall of mirrors in a toilet-themed funhouse. I don’t care how much you work out and how young and beautiful you are; seeing yourself perched on a toilet is not an attractive sight.
Hotel Bathroom Lighting: Have you ever looked at yourself under the relentless glare of some hotel bathroom lighting? Secrets Maroma Beach has flattering lighting. But I’ve looked at myself under some harsh bathroom lights and noticed hair growing out of parts of my face that I’d never seen before. Seeing myself under unflattering lamps is probably the most ugly experience I’ve ever had in a hotel bathroom (well, maybe it ties with the toilet mirrors).
Hotel Bathtubs: Bathtubs can be a nice indulgence during a hotel stay. They can also be really romantic. Some hotels even put bathtubs right in the middle of the sleeping room, near the bed, to make it even more romantic. That’s great. But have you ever had to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom? It’s not romantic when you walk right into a giant bathtub in the middle of the night (it’s happened to me). Hotels that know how to illuminate well can make the situation less risky, but otherwise, be careful when you make midnight bathroom runs if there’s a tub near your bed.
Hotel Amenities: I love bathroom amenities. Luxury hotels and all-inclusive hotels usually do pretty well with the amenities, and properties like Secrets Maroma Beach do even better, with generously sized lotion bottles as well as uncommon extras like toothpaste, sunscreen and insect repellant. I stayed at a super luxury hotel in São Paulo years ago that included condoms in their bath amenities. I later heard that they removed the prophylactics, possibly because some guests felt they weren’t appropriate for a luxury hotel. But I think they’re a great idea. Why not provide lots of amenities, and those who want to use them will? Bathrobes are another great amenity, especially when they’re comfy. The risk is that you may never want to put on your clothes or leave your room. But if you’re staying in a beautiful hotel on vacation, there’s nothing wrong with that (unless you have mirrors next to your toilet).