No doors, frosted glass: Why hotel bathrooms feel like peep shows
Hotel are sacrificing guests’ privacy for space and budget.
Los Angeles comedian Fahim Anwar was showering at an Austin hotel when he reached a boiling point. As water sprayed onto the floor, a shallow pool forming, he realized he could no longer stay silent about the partial door.
“I have experienced it so many times that I was like, ‘Enough is enough. This must be addressed,’” Anwar said. “I am so tired of the lack of doors.”
That night, he performed a stand-up bit about the shower’s half-partition that was more than a joke; it was a truth. The crowd related, laughing hard.
Hotels have been removing doors on the most private sanctum, the bathroom. In their place, designers are installing flimsy curtains, frosted or fogged glass, saloon or sliding doors or, sometimes, nothing. The doorless trend comes with consequences, from wipeouts to indecencies that you can’t unsee.
The indiscreet arrangement can lead to awkward or alarming moments between friends and partners. On Hotels.com, a guest at citizenM in D.C. said her husband “found great joy” in startling her while she sat on the commode. Management responded that the bathroom design was part of a “unique concept” that provided an “open and modern experience.”
