Hogging the hot tub

Why would you want to share a bath/petri dish with two hot sweaty men?🤮

That wasn't a reply to you, as you know.

If you were happy to get in with them - then there's no problem as there was plenty of room.

Had you not have been happy to get in with them, it would have been a "you" problem not a "them" problem as they are just as entitled to be there as you are.

Yes, I agree and I might do that if I knew of a female only gym/spa locally and felt very uncomfortable rather than just a bit. As it is I don't give into the discomfort unless it's half a dozen men, in which case I adjourn to the sauna. I might be a bit miffed if someone spent an hour in the hot tub, but the gym/spa I go to has notices up saying 20 minutes is recommended limit and most people keep to that.

I didnt renew my Bannatynes membership because of the obnoxious men who over use the hot top, steam room and sauna, spreading out so you have to ask them to move over, and sometimes even then their legs still touch you, then talking really loud voices etc. Totally get it, its annoying.

Meanwhile everyone else were waiting for you to get out of the bloody pool 😃😄

Then you need to join a single sex facility or one with the ability to book exclusive use. A shared, mixed sex facility isn't an appropriate choice for you. It's a you problem, not a them problem.

I think if there were only 2 of them in there then that's ok really. Other people can still get in. It would be unreasonable if the hot tub were actually full (6 people) and people were staying in for ages so no-one else could get in.

If there are several men in the hot tub I feel a bit uncomfortable going in as well - I guess others could feel the same, including OP?

Who is to say what is too long though? You said you sometimes stay in for half an hour others may argue that’s too long.

unless there is a sign to say “no more than 10 minutes” then people can surely make their own decisions?

I don't get the issue either, there was space for 4 others and nobody else got in during the 90 minute period apart from you.

If a hot tub is public then there is a high chance it won't be empty when you want to use it and you will have to share. You could get in and then 5 minutes later 2 men get in too.

I would rather not share a hot tub but I don't like sharing anything. Not a lot I can do about it unless I can one day afford a private hot tub, pool and a gym at my house.

I was sat in the hot tub alone at my gym for ages one day, probably not 90 minutes but I sat there for as long as I wanted. Nobody else joined me but maybe they were also fuming at me being entitled at me hogging it despite there being space for several other people.

Not to mention I've used a lot of gyms in my life and never, ever encountered one without a clock.

and confused again - there is no clock but you know they were there for 90 minutes?

So what is the problem? I've got this far and still not seen what the issue is

You either wanted it to yourself - selfish
or... ? not sure what another option would be?

as a pp said, don't sign up to a mixed sex facility then.

It's not faux confusion. There were two people in a hot tub with room for six; this is not an etiquette issue to any normal person.

Hot tubs are marvellous for joint pain. It’s usually older people (including myself) who are in there for longer because it’s a wonderful relief.

As long as there were free spaces available they could stay in all day if that’s what they like. They’re using the facility as they like just as you’re using it to swim as you like.

I think if you can get in and out easily without having to brush past them, then it's ok.
Places I've been have signs suggesting that you should get out every 15-30 mins for health and safety reasons, it's not really great to immerse yourself in hot water for a long time.
I'd be annoyed too, OP, perhaps unjustifiably, but unlike most people on this thread, I see your point.

Yes @mrsm43s !

This is the unspoken standard etiquette for hot tubs and saunas and everything else similar. Only when it’s at or approaching full capacity does the need arise for someone to get out. And then it’s a case of whoever has been in for longest should be the first to make a move to get out.

In the scenario that OP described, it was never approaching capacity so there was never a need for the original people to get out.

My local gym is like this too. Thankfully I'm not keen on the hot tub so it doesn't impact me.

In my experience, its usually the older gentlemen who reside in the hot tub for as long as humanly possible. In my gym, everyone has to get out when the bubbles go off for, for filtering purposes. Many of the hot-tub-hoggers will just sit up on the side and wait for the bubbles again so they can reclaim their permanent spot.

I call it Old Man Soup.

Nope. Not the "standard etiquette" anywhere I've every been.

If there are still two thirds of the spaces free in a hot tub, the need to get out isn't triggered as there's still plenty of room for people to get in comfortably.

If the hot tub is full or approaching full - say just one spot left - then yes, it stands to reason that you get out after 20 minutes or so, to allow others a turn. And generally if it's full/getting full the first to get in should be the first to get out.

But this was 2 people in a hot tub for six, in a facility where there was also another hot tub available. Plenty of room. No need to get out. Even when OP got in with them it was still only half full, leaving a full 3 spaces should anyone want to get in as well.

Nobody at that facility at that time had paid for exclusive use or single sex use, so it would be very unreasonable for them to expect it. If that's what they want or need, then they either need to attend in "single sex" designated sessions (most places run a women only session a couple of times a week) or they need to pay the additional costs to go somewhere which offers exclusive use of hot tubs. That's "standard etiquette" -that you don't expect exclusive or single sex use of mixed sex shared facilities, you accept that they are shared spaces and you are expected to share just like everyone else.