Steel or acrylic bath?

[Pannacotta]

Having read lots of bathroom threads on here, and seen recommendations for the steel Bette bath range which looks great, I was all set to order a steel bath for our new family bathroom. (I also like the idea of steel as its better environmentally, both to produce and dispose of.)
But when we went to a smart local showroom the manager told me straight off that he would recommend acrylic baths instead, that they keep the heat better and are easier to clean.

What are your experiences/preferences?

TIA

Its a while since we had a steel bath but my goodness it took the warmth right out of the water and I would never have another one

I was one of the people keen on the Bette in theory (and for looks) but in the end we went for acrylic mostly because we wanted a particular shape which only came in acrylic. Plumbers said it would be more than strong enough for us.

So no useful information I'm afraid, but if you've been reading old threads I thought you might like to hear what we did in the end.

Thanks Hearts I remeber talking to you about it.
I do think the steel baths look nicer, more stylish somehow, but the showroom chap was quite convinved an acrylic bath would be better for us (two small DSs, one who is not entirely house trained!).
I dont like the idea of steel being cold either...

Agree with mmmperuna steel baths take the heat out of the water straight away. Go acrylic.

We have a steel bath at the moment and I can't wait to change it to an acrylic one. The water just looses its heat so quickly, there's no such thing as a long soak in the tub with a steel one.

we have a steel bath. we used to have acrylic but replaced it as neither of us liked it.

we are really happy with the new bath and haven't had a problem with the water losing heat quickly. i like the fact that it looks more solid and has a nice sheen rather than a plasticy shine.

How about a wooden one? It would keep the heat in fine. :)

steel every time - acrylics can be damaged by enthusiastic cleaning, whereas steel - although you can chip the enamel (which is a bit tragic) that's not likely to happen after installation....

my mums acrylic bath has misshaped slightly from people standing to use the shower, an is slightly discoloured round the plug where the removal of water deposits has left it scratched.

we have a conventional-shape steel bath (i see the Bette ones are all modern-looking ines) and as the room is not usually cold and we insulated under the bath (having found draughty floorboards underneath leaching heat out) the steel isn't that cold either, thus litle heat lost when the water goes in. As Dh is a big bloke i wouldn't have wanted anything less sturdy.

In our previous house we had a roll-top bath which was stone resin. It had the sturdiness of a steel bath, but wasn't as cold or as heavy. I'll see if I can find a link.

I'm getting a Carronite one in my new bathroom which is a combination of both! Has the strength of steel and the practicality of acrylic or so i've been told. I've had an enamelled one which was nice for a while but with my 2ds's it chipped quite quickly and has discoloured.

here

Ours is steel and it feels really cold if you don't have the water really hot. It's fine for me but not so great for dh who doesn't like red hot water or ds. I can't say I've noticed the water losing its heat any quicker though.

The enamel chips too. Ours has had two big chips out in the last month.

Thanks all, am now rather confused!
The showroom manager mentioned Carronite as an option, but it didnt mean much to me at the time!
niggle which bath model do you have and was it very £££?
The Albion baths look great but I have the impression they are expensive, there is a showroom where I live so will have to go in and have a look...

We had one with claw feet. I remember it was quite an extravagance, but we didn't have loads of money at the time. We loved it though, and we really miss it!

Thanks niggle, will go and have a look at the Albion showroom (once term starts again).
A really nice bath would be lovely...