A recent WSJ piece highlighted a trend that makes me wonder if hotel designers have ever actually stayed in a hotel: the push to ditch bathroom doors entirely.
Apparently, “open concept” now means your vanity, toilet, and bed offer a new level of togetherness that precisely nobody asked for. There are things you just don’t need to watch your spouse do, and a hotel stay shouldn’t change that. But while the industry debates whether a door is an “obstacle to flow,” I’d like to pivot to my personal favorite: the half shower glass.
It may look good in architectural renderings, but in real life, you are essentially showering directly into the bathroom; the floor is soaked, the towels are wet, and the pro forma was likely the only thing that benefited. At some point, we have to ask if we are designing for guests or for spreadsheets. And we wonder why people often prefer Airbnb.
I am going on the record: the half-shower glass is my personal #1 hotel pet peeve. What is yours?
