What has happened to the Luxury Hotel Bathtub?

It used to be that a big bathrub was standard in most luxury stays…

A few years back I remember checking into a gorgeous room at the Four Seasons in New York City. Amazing view, large bed, and a large marble bathroom with Bulgari bath products and… a large bathtub. There was a bit of a ceremony about it, positioned centre stage of the bathroom, I was told it could fill up in under 2 minutes, it was special. 

I am a bathtub person. It helps me sleep, relax, I like bubbles or bath oils and to go to bed feeling clean. Even more so when I am travelling and my legs and feet are sore from endless walking, I cannot wait to soak in a hot bath, even better a huge tub usually found in luxury hotel. Yet more and more my luxury hotel experiences have included less bathtubs and more just showers. Perhaps this is modernisation, more people on the go just shower these days and great expense has been done to put in luxury showers with rain shower heads, and powershowers. Still, a bathtub is part of what I would call standard in any upmarket hotel, especially in Europe, where let’s face it standard also includes a bidet. So if bidets are in every hotel bathroom why can’t they leave in the bathtub?  

More and more I arrive into these gorgeous hotel rooms only to find just a shower in the bathroom. All the top hotel brands are renovating and updating historical properties into these new gorgeous rooms only to downsize in the bathrooms by taking out the bathrub. For me this is always a huge disappointment and unfortunately takes something away from my hotel experience no matter how spectacular the room. Many hotels have put in both a proper bathtub and a separate shower which is the best of both worlds. At the end of the day the bathtub is the symbol of a luxury hotel stay.