To think that all hotel rooms these days have en suite bathrooms?

[evilharpy]

Settle an argument please. I haven't stayed in an hotel since about 1998 that didn't have an en suite (and that was an absolute shithole). I just don't think shared bathrooms exist anymore. I can't imagine anyone would want to share a bathroom unless it was in a cheap youth hostel or a campsite. I'd rather stay at home.

Husband disagrees and says loads of hotels still have shared bathrooms. He has nothing to base this on as he only ever stays in hotels with me and we have never, in 14 years, not had an en suite. But he's adamant and says it's quite normal.

Who's right?

In case anyone is wondering, the "disagreement" arose while watching National Lampoon's European Vacation where someone walked in on the wife while she was in the bath.

it wasnt regency palace was it zaphod?

some hotels do still do this i wont stay in them though

I stayed in some cheap B&Bs in the UK in the early 00s that had shared bathrooms.

I'm working away this week and staying in a Holiday Inn, I've never stayed in one before and just had a moment of panic and had to go and check the website!

I'm not sure I can say I've won this argument as clearly they do exist but it sounds like they're really not the norm.

I stayed in a hotel in Ireland (Galway?) that had only shared bathrooms, very little heating, and best of all the previous owner had smothered it with turquoise pebbledash! I couldn't believe it when I saw it gleaming out of the twilight.

The young owners couldn't afford to fully modernise, but they joined us for dinner and played us irish folk music after. They were lovely.

Me and dh stayed in a hotel with shared bathrooms. Its was a strange hotel when we got there they told us to put our name on a bit of paper then

Said doesn't have to be our real name but we missed last train home and we were young but we became sure it was were lady's of the night went to do business

To be fair, this was 25 years ago. And the lack of amenities meant 1 star rating, so we probably would never have rocked up there if we hadn't been lost, hungry and saw a sign on the road.

Depends on whether you categorise b&b as hotels. I don’t. Hotels in the uk don’t typically have shared facilities.

I stayed in a Formule 1 in calais that had shared bathrooms

It depends on the location and the budget, really. It's also hard to say because there is such a crossover between hostel and hotel these days. I've stayed in hostels that are better than hotels, and I usually look for places that straddle the line between the two because they're the best value for money.

When I search for hotels on aggregator sites, I do make sure I check, because shared bathrooms are certainly not unheard of. Especially if you're staying somewhere a little quiet or outside of "the West".

Yeah, loads of hotels in the U.K. have shared bathrooms. I've stayed in plenty.

Yep, me too. It's probably less than 5% of hotels nationally, but in some places (London, Blackpool) it's common.

I just don't think shared bathrooms exist anymore.

I think you must be fairly privileged for it to be so far from your experience.

donquixote you say I must be fairly privileged but you also say that it's probably less than 5% of hotels nationally. Not sure I agree with your logic there. I'm privileged if I've managed to avoid staying in 5% of the hotels in the UK?

Look on sites like booking.com and you'll see these are a good few still around. But chains like Holiday Inn will always be en suite. I used to like the idea of staying in independent B&Bs till I realised they tend to fall into two camps: boutique which have en suites and are lovely but VERY expensive, and horrible ones, possibly with shared bathrooms. Now I book chains and avoid any unpleasant surprises.

A few in the town I live in it would seem having just Googled. I've stayed in 2 I think, ever, last one circa 1998 like you op. I always go for a wee in the night so it'll never be an option for me. All the big ones like holiday inn are all en suite though so don't panic!

I recently paid £13 to stay in a room in university halls and it had an ensuite shower room. Pod51 Hotel in NYC has some rooms with shared bathrooms.

I've stayed in several hotels in London over the past few years with shared bathrooms.

Its common in historic buildings.

It's a few decades since we had a hotel room without an en-suite bathroom and that was a listed building I think - possibly trickier to fit in. In fact I've just looked it up on the internet and it now says 'most' rooms are en-suite so it's clearly still an issue!

I stayed in a 'hotel' in Italy with a shared bathroom and they had a frosted glass pane in the door so you couldn't see someone shitting but could see the shape of someone shitting!
Nothing to do with the hotel arguement but I stayed in an airbnb in Greece with 2 bedrooms (in laws took the other room) and the door to the shared bathroom had frosted glass in as well!
Open, not private individual changing rooms in Budapest baths as well!
Why do Europeans enjoy their family/strangers watching them shit, shower and shave so much?

@evilharpy

I am sure hotels with shared bathrooms exist. I have just never stayed one - ever. I have travelled to 2 dozen countries over 4 continents, and stayed in probably 50 hotels in my life (including work trips.) And I have never had one with no en suite.

I think there is the odd B & B in Aberystwyth or Barmouth or Skegness maybe, that was built a century and a half ago, where they have a couple of single rooms with a shared bathroom, but I have never actually stayed anywhere like that.

I saw a room advertised with a private bathroom. I rejected it as I interpreted it as a bedroom where you had to go out onto the landing to use a bathroom which would be for your own use. A friend disagreed and said it would be en suite. Any thoughts?

I stayed in one in Brighton (Paskins) and had to share a bathroom, which made me pretty uncomfortable as a single female traveller. It wasn't cheap either.. around £85 a night if I recall.

I go away often, as cheap as I can. There are Hotels with shared bathrooms in every town/City.

I don't do, shared bathrooms, but sometimes, if a group of us is going, we only shell out for one ensuit and all use it.

Cheap small hotels do often have shared bathrooms. Doesn't bother me.

If I stayed in a big hotel - even a cheap one - and found I had to share, I'd be surprised and dismayed, because I would have assumed it was ensuite.

I think you must be fairly privileged for it to be so far from your experience.

Eh? Travelodges and premier inns are all dirt cheap and en suite. I wouldn’t have thought staying in those hotels was particularly “privileged”?

The thing is why does anyone need to assume or be surprised by what the bathroom arrangements are? I’ve stayed in all types of hotels/B & Bs and it’s always been obvious on the booking details whether the room has an ensuite or not.