Public restroom-be very aware of your surroundings

[PollyannaMom]

These descriptions of foreign hotel rooms really make me want to stick to domestic travel.

 

[Smugpugmug]

We had the same set up bathroom in Barcelona only the glass wasn’t frosted it just so happened too that the shower curtain didn’t go around thevwhole tub. Just when DH was taking a shower the maintenance guy came up
fix the tv. Gee I never DH move so fast. Also we were on a cruise and took the tour to Paris. We stopped at a very nice rest station only thing there was no seat on the toilet. I used a lot of toilet paper to cover the bowlinteresting traveling to other countries

When I went to Japan, I was very surprised to see that even in public places like train stations and malls, the bathrooms all had a "washlet" (it's like a combination of a traditional toilet and a bidet). Having the toilet be heated was surprising too lol

 

[Moliphino]

This hotel in France actually had a switch that would change the bathroom glass opaque. I was a little worried going in, but you really couldn't see anything when it was opaque. There were not a lot of hotel options in Angouleme, so we went for it and crossed our fingers.

 

[RoseColored97]

Shoe Hotel in Santa Monica does this as well. A plastic curtain comes down on the outside of the bathroom (IIRC) which is awkward.
https://2486634c787a971a3554-d983ce...hotel/media/SHORE-photos-16-59badaa0e7c36.jpg
https://2486634c787a971a3554-d983ce...hotel/media/SHORE-photos-16-59badaa0e7c36.jpg

 

[CdnCarrie]

Two hotels I stayed at in the USA last year had sliding barn doors that don’t lock on the bathrooms, one had a bit of a gap on one edge when closed.
Not a fan of this trend.
Guess it’s so there is room to fit bed closer to door as you don’t need the sweeping range of a regular door?

 

[Kwami]

Two hotels I stayed at in the USA last year had sliding barn doors that don’t lock on the bathrooms, one had a bit of a gap on one edge when closed.
Not a fan of this trend.
Guess it’s so there is room to fit bed closer to door as you don’t need the sweeping range of a regular door?

There's also a trend of not having vents in hotel bathrooms. Combined with doors that don't shut. It's kind of gross.

 

[kdonnel]

The shot of the tub looks like there's a pull down curtain available for privacy, but I can't tell.

There is. Between the tub and room and for the window as well so people can use the balcony while someone is in the tub.

Nothing for the shower but it is more opaque than your picture.

But the room only sleeps two and it is Vegas. I don’t think the shade gets used much.

 

[DLgal]

I would suggest it morphed into something strange at the end of page 1 when it was suggested the man was probably peering into the neighboring stall for innocent reasons before fleeing like a bat out of hell. Or suggesting that it's odd that an adult woman might take comfort in her husband waiting nearby while she uses the women's restroom.



That's gross, though. Maybe that would be ok with an off-brand purse, but I don't want any of my designer purses touching the toilet or being nearby when toilet particles fly into the air when it flushes. Ew...

Um, my bag never touches the toilet. It hangs to the side, by my hip. It only touches my body.

And the flush happens on the way out, usually. You really think your purse is any safer hanging on the door at that point? Aren't you going to pick it up and put it against the same clothes that just caught the toilet particles as they flew through the air?

 

[xipotec]

**

No, it is not normal either on this side of the pond either. Describing it as something out of a horror movie is more uncommon. I think most of us would shrug it off, yell the perv to get out and go on with their lives. How it is described is as if he came at her with a machete.

I would take her warning a lot more serious without the hyperbolic language.

I am all for supporting women in vulnerable moments, but I am also for not blowing things out of proportions and not installing fear on others.

Yea, it sounded a bit like a dog whistle to me also.

Plenty of people live in constant fear though. We were talking to a couple from NJ and all they could seem to comment on was the rampant crime in Orlando…

 

[TipsyTraveler]

I’ve waited 35 years for just the right moment to resurrect a joke I used to tell in the third grade and this thread seems like the best it’s going to get. Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado….

If you’re American when you go into the bathroom and American when you come out, what are you while you’re in there?

European.

Ba-dum-tssh!

 

[anniemae]

Two hotels I stayed at in the USA last year had sliding barn doors that don’t lock on the bathrooms, one had a bit of a gap on one edge when closed.
Not a fan of this trend.
Guess it’s so there is room to fit bed closer to door as you don’t need the sweeping range of a regular door?

I noticed this too. We stayed in a hotel with a big barn door for the bathroom door. When it was shut, there was a huge gap. Not a big issue if just spouses traveling, but we are a family of four with a teenage son and daughter. We figured out a way to hang a towel so you could not see through the huge gap.

 

[Imzadi]

I was waiting until this turned into a discussion about how in Europe, you have to pay to use public bathrooms unlike in the US since the convo was morphing into a Europe vs. US bathrooms discussion.

We used to have to pay to use the public bathrooms in the U.S. It became illegal about 50 years ago. One of the reasons it became illegal was that women were the ones that ended up paying as they used stalls with toilets. The machine to insert a coin was locking the doors to the stalls.

Meanwhile, men used open access urinals in their bathrooms and didn't have to pay.

 

[Smugpugmug]

We used to have to pay to use the public bathrooms in the U.S. It became illegal about 50 years ago. One of the reasons it became illegal was that women were the ones that ended up paying as they used stalls with toilets. The machine to insert a coin was locking the doors to the stalls.

Meanwhile, men used open access urinals in their bathrooms and didn't have to pay.

Interesting. I didn't know it was illegal. In many European countries, the turnstile to pay is before the stalls and urinals so everyone has to pay. Or in some places there is someone sitting in front of the bathroom (these are unisex bathrooms) that you give the money to. When I was studying in Germany the American restaurants like Starbucks and Mcdonalds had a code on the doors that the employees only gave to you if you bought something. The code changed everyday so you couldn't go back in and use the same code.

 

[Jangles]

We used to have to pay to use the public bathrooms in the U.S. It became illegal about 50 years ago. One of the reasons it became illegal was that women were the ones that ended up paying as they used stalls with toilets. The machine to insert a coin was locking the doors to the stalls.

Meanwhile, men used open access urinals in their bathrooms and didn't have to pay.

In the U.K. the expression ‘spend a penny’ as a euphemism for going to the loo came from this.

 

[Imzadi]

Interesting. I didn't know it was illegal. In many European countries, the turnstile to pay is before the stalls and urinals so everyone has to pay.

Wow. Shhh! Don't give people here the idea to put turnstyles in our public toilets.

Here is what ours looked like. It was a lock on the door. You insert the coin and then would be able to turn the deadbolt lock to swing open the door. (Man, I'm having PTSD just seeing this again. I remember being a little kid having to go really bad, and my mom didn't have a quarter. I had to crawl underneath to get inside.)

Or in some places there is someone sitting in front of the bathroom (these are unisex bathrooms) that you give the money to.

I'm glad you told me this. I'd think someone was jerking my chain, that I have to give them money to get into the bathroom. We have homeless people here in NYC that often wait in front of some businesses, opening the door to the store, like a McDonalds, even though we can all open the door ourselves. They are not hired by the store, but they are hoping for handouts. I seriously would have thought someone standing and asking for money to get inside the bathroom, was one of these people. If they didn't let me pass, that's when I'd go find another bathroom.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I noticed this too. We stayed in a hotel with a big barn door for the bathroom door. When it was shut, there was a huge gap. Not a big issue if just spouses traveling, but we are a family of four with a teenage son and daughter. We figured out a way to hang a towel so you could not see through the huge gap.

We just stayed in a Home 2 Suites in Orlando near the airport that had that although it was only for the night and we actually only spent like 5 hours at most in that room. Even with it being my husband and I I said "yeah let's not stay at one of these again" It also had big gaps on each side because the door was never truly flush with the wall.

 

[Imzadi]

In the U.K. the expression ‘spend a penny’ as a euphemism for going to the loo came from this.

I saw that in a movie once. I wondered what they were talking about. Thanks!

 

[Smugpugmug]

I'm glad you told me this. I'd think someone was jerking my chain, that I have to give them money to get into the bathroom. We have homeless people here in NYC that often wait in front of some businesses, opening the door to the store, like a McDonalds, even though we can all open the door ourselves. They are not hired by the store, but they are hoping for handouts. I seriously would have thought someone standing and asking for money to get inside the bathroom, was one of these people. If they didn't let me pass, that's when I'd go find another bathroom.

Oh, the people that collect money for the bathrooms are employed by the establishment. I only really saw that in Eastern European countries. Most places in Europe had turnstiles or self service kiosks type systems.

 

[Moliphino]

I was waiting until this turned into a discussion about how in Europe, you have to pay to use public bathrooms unlike in the US since the convo was morphing into a Europe vs. US bathrooms discussion.

You don't have to pay everywhere. Usually if you're inside a museum/restaurant/paid attraction there will be free bathrooms to use. Some cities also just don't charge - there are free public bathrooms in Ghent right near Gravensteen that we hit up a few times, for example.

But yeah, one of my favorite things about vacationing in WDW is the overabundance of bathrooms.

 

[penn19]

I was at a casino once and a guy walked in holding a drink. He looked at me and looked at another woman and said “Holy ****” and bolted. I think his was an honest mistake. The one in the OP? Not so much. Trust your gut. I feel like that’s being forgotten here. Trust your gut but…..and a list of reasons why you shouldn’t.