glass-walled bathrooms?

bedroom at Four Seasons Tented Camp (c) 2018 by David Ourisman

It used to be the case, many years ago, that travelers had to request a private bathroom when booking a hotel abroad. I remember staying in a small hotel in Paris with the rest of my winter-semester-in-Paris classmates way back in 1972. While a few of the hotel's rooms had en suite bathrooms, most of us had to use the communal bathroom in the hallway. Private bathrooms are now pretty universal among 3* and higher hotels.

So I'm not sure what some hotel architects are thinking when I see some of their open floor plan designs. Annabel Fenwick Elliott writes in the travel section of The Telegraph that "open-plan bedroom-bathrooms layouts ... for newer, edgier establishments ... has become something of a trend." Her article includes half a dozen photos of such starkly open bathrooms in luxury hotels.

I've encountered the same thing. It's not a problem when you're traveling alone, but when you're traveling with your partner? Not so wonderful. Our guestroom in Xi'an, China was beautiful and spacious, but the walls of its bathroom were clear glass. Not only did bathroom occupants lack privacy, but there was an unaddressed practical conundrum — what to do when using the loo in the middle of the night? Turn on the bathroom lights and wake your partner? Or leave the lights off and feel your way to the WC?

A small number of hotels locate bathtubs right in the bedroom. They call it a "spa room." I'm not so sure. While I can totally forgive Four Seasons Tented Camp for the open soaking tub in our luxury tent (after all, we were in the middle of the jungle), I have to question the judgment of city hotel planners who think this is a good idea.

I wonder whether some architects ever stay in the rooms they design. I remember inspecting a brand new contemporary hotel in London before its opening. Beautiful room, gorgeous decor, but the doors to its bathroom were nothing more than sliding panels of frosted glass. While affording visual privacy, the designer somehow failed to take into account the physics of light: light waves tend to go right through glass. It's frequently the case that one guest will get up early and take a shower, but merely turning on the bathroom light will wake your partner up. Solution: I've taken showers by flashlight, but really ... this is not an obscure concept.

Trendy and edgy might be good for some clients — but there's a reason they sometimes call it "the necessary room." Just my two cents!

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