Thermostatic shower/bar shower. What am I looking for?

[ThisMustBeMyDream]

I am getting a new shower in the bathroom. I want a thermostatic shower. However I have never had one before. Only a crappy electric one. I have no idea what I'm looking for to know if it's a good shower. Google didn't help much! Plumber just said get a higher flow rate one. But that doesn't help me either!
I have decent water pressure, so what thermostatic shower is going to give me a great shower experience?! Budget £200-300 hopefully. Thanks!

you will find what you need at the local plumbers merchant. they usually have a website so you can do your research now. you can have them with rainforest heads as well as normal heads but i have never opted for that because by the time the water reaches me it is scattered too much cos i am small. a normal adjustable height is best

https://www.toolstation.com/mira-atom-erd-thermostatic-bar-diverter-mixer-shower/p34484?utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=googleshoppingfeed&mkwid=_dm&pcrid=&pkw=&pmt=&gclid=Cj0KCQjwmvSoBhDOARIsAK6aV7hDdIkN_9XfCje7d77LoCf9KFHflZWHBYJjUIZlxYV0iTr0j37QbJMaAnTxEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

After much research I got a Mira Atom, I believe Mira is one of the best shower brands. I had mine installed 9 years ago and it is still excellent today. Best shower I've ever had and it never gets overheated or burns, nor loses too much water pressure no matter if someone flushes a loo or uses the kitchen sink downstairs as I think it has a top temp of 39°C.

I got one with both a rain head and a hand held head as it was for over a bath, I dye my hair at home so the latter is great for that as well as general cleaning too. I use the rain head for most of my showers though.

I’ve got a similar Mira version of this upstairs, Can also recommend. I love the double head, so useful for just a quick body wash without setting your hair.

my plumber’s brand preference is Hans Grohe but I’ve had two Mira ones, no problems and I have a Grohe one downstairs which was more expensive but no better than the Mira. He fitted them all easily.

Not much to say really. Had one fitted about 3 years ago - it works fine. £200 is a big budget unless that includes fitting.

I would get an all metal one rather than one with the plasticy bits on it. It was those bits that broke on the last one I replaced.

Noticed the thread as I'm planning a bathroom refit.
Thanks for this recommendation.

I've got a Grohe thermostatic shower (single flow to handheld) in my ensuite which was fitted when the house was built 25 years ago and which I've never had any issues with.

I've brought cheap thermostatic bath/shower mixers (approx £40-£50) for the main bathroom and they've only lasted 4 to 5 years.
1st one the one/off went (plastic inner and the teeth/gears on the turning mechanism wore away).
2nd one same issue but on the temperature side.

I have a Mira shower like the one linked above and it's excellent. I chose Mira because they do spare parts as well, which made me believe that if there's an issue, I can fix rather than replace

We had Mira ones in previous house, at ten years they were still doing great. Current house have fitted grohe ones as for over bath we wanted a single unit to do bath/shower flow which works brilliantly.

Thanks for asking this as I’m looking to refit our bathroom and replace a fancy built in Crosswater valve. It cost a small fortune to put in and has been trouble regularly since. £110 a go to replace the cartridge in the thermostat section. Apparently we’ve had more trouble than most but tbf since adding a non return valve the trouble has reduced. But even still digging the plate off the wall, removing the mastic and de-scaling every other year has been a pain. So I’m defo opting for a surface mounted bar unit with 2 heads like the unit linked above this time.

Thanks for the Grohe and Mira suggestions.

Anyone got advice on durability of finish? I was thinking black or gold/brass instead of chrome this time. Viakal discoloured the chrome waste in our basins and bath - does it do the same to other finishes please?