# Hotel room w/shower only=more upscale? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 30, 2010, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotel-room-w-shower-only-more-upscale/534394 "2010-03-30T22:55:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Maple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jeff\_Maple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Maple)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotel-room-w-shower-only-more-upscale/534394/21 "2010-04-04T01:51:39Z")
> [@Waenara](#): > > I can confirm that, second-hand from my sister who worked as a chambermaid in a classy hotel. Sheets get changed, bedspreads don’t. She recommends asking for a new bedspread from the maid, and if you can’t then “accidentally” spilling something on it to justify getting a new one. Is there any reason we should believe you? Or Ellen Cherry? My sister/brother said so? Seems unsupportable. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotel-room-w-shower-only-more-upscale/534394/22 "2010-04-04T02:05:33Z")
> [@Jeff\_Maple](#): > > Is there any reason we should believe you? Or Ellen Cherry? My sister/brother said so? Seems unsupportable. Conversely, what is your reason for doubting it? ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Maple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jeff\_Maple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Maple)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotel-room-w-shower-only-more-upscale/534394/23 "2010-04-04T02:07:22Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > Conversely, what is your reason for doubting it? People should support their posts with evidence, not anecdotes. Don’t you agree? ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotel-room-w-shower-only-more-upscale/534394/24 "2010-04-04T02:50:15Z")
> [@Jeff\_Maple](#): > > People should support their posts with evidence, not anecdotes. Don’t you agree? I believed my sister that not changing the bedspread was the standard practice in her upscale hotel, unless it was visibly soiled or a guest asked for a new one. I clearly indicated that my post was anecdotal. If you don’t want to believe it, it doesn’t matter to me. I’m not forcing you to ask for a new bedspread. I’ve tried googling and didn’t find anything quickly directly from a hotel stating their bedspread-changing standards, so I posted my anecdote in the meantime. I did find [this article](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52862-2005Jan31.html) from the Washington Post that talks about some hotels switching from infrequently washed bedspreads to more frequently washed duvet covers. > [@](#): > > Many of the nation’s largest hotel chains have long had bedding policies that turned off the likes of Pearson. While hotels changed the sheets daily, or as often as guests requested, some major chains cleaned the bedspreads only once every three months or instructed housekeepers to remove them only if they saw spots or soiling. > > Now the nation’s largest hotel chains are breaking with tradition. Several – including Marriott, Hilton and Crowne Plaza – have ditched their colorful, yet hard-to-clean, bedspreads and replaced them with duvets and comforters that are encased in sheets for easier, regular cleaning. Most hotel bedspreads had to be dry cleaned because of their fabric and bulkiness. > [@](#): > > Steve Samson, who oversees supplies and standards at Marriott, said the bedspreads weren’t cleaned between customers and were instead “cleaned quarterly.” > > Under the new program, Marriott’s white duvets will be washed after each guest checks out. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotel-room-w-shower-only-more-upscale/534394/25 "2010-04-04T11:44:28Z")
I think it is both to save money and have the appearance of being upscale and modern and also to make the room more handicap accessible. Also just not the initial costs, but bathtubs take much more hot water, which cost more ongoing in energy costs. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotel-room-w-shower-only-more-upscale/534394/26 "2010-04-04T11:50:22Z")
The poshest hotel I’ve ever stayed in, the Peninsula in Hong Kong, had a shower stall, and a separate bathtub, and a separate toilet. It also had a tv with waterproof remote at the end of the bath, and three separate phone lines in the shitter. I can only imagine the importance of the person who has to host four-way conference calls while taking a dump. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotel-room-w-shower-only-more-upscale/534394/27 "2010-04-05T18:24:25Z")
**kanicbird** said: > [@](#): > > I think it is both to save money and have the appearance of being upscale and modern and also to make the room more handicap accessible. As I already stated, handicap showers tend to have no lip at the bottom and drain to the center of the bathroom. Also, unless the shower has grab bars and a seat, it’s not particularly more accessible unless the bottom has no lip, and then one has to use one’s regular wheelchair or walker. Then you have to contend with things like taking shower, getting dressed, and then sitting down on soggy wheelchair. > [@](#): > > Also just not the initial costs, but bathtubs take much more hot water, which cost more ongoing in energy costs. I’m skeptical that a bath actually takes less hot water than a shower. Unless you’re stepping in, rinsing down, then turning off the water while you lather up or something. I’m fairly certain (though have no cites on hand) that showers are actually more water wasteful - hot or otherwise. But regardless, I think most people are using the shower feature of their bathroom anyway, so I don’t see how there would be a difference between a shower in a shower stall and a shower in a bathtub with a curtain. The advantage I could see of a shower over a tub is the lack of the curtain cling effect. The disadvantage is not having the option of a relaxing soak if desired. Question: do those shower stalls also put the clean towel rack inside downrange of the shower head? That’s the worst hotel bathroom feature I’ve encountered, and it’s pretty much standard. Soak your dry towels while you’re showering. Yeah, brilliant. (Yes, I manually move the stack of towels off the rack and onto the sink counter or toilet. Of course housekeeping puts them back. Or replaces them with new ones.) ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotel-room-w-shower-only-more-upscale/534394/28 "2010-04-05T18:37:54Z")
> [@Waenara](#): > > I believed my sister that not changing the bedspread was the standard practice in her upscale hotel, unless it was visibly soiled or a guest asked for a new one. I clearly indicated that my post was anecdotal. If you don’t want to believe it, it doesn’t matter to me. I’m not forcing you to ask for a new bedspread. Pay no attention to him—Virtually every post he has made (no matter what thread) has been the same kind of quasi-confrontational horseshit. He won’t be here long… ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotel-room-w-shower-only-more-upscale/534394/29 "2010-04-06T02:51:02Z")
What I want to know is what’s up with the little half-doors I’ve found on hotel showers here lately? We’ve stayed in a few fairly nice hotels in the last few months, and none of them have had a shower curtain or a full door. Instead there’s a door that goes about 65% of the way across the stall/tub. I don’t get it–the water tends to spray further than the door extends, so there’s a bigger mess, and there’s nothing to hold the heat/steam in if you’re cold. (And those bathrooms _never_ have the little heat lamp I remember always having in hotel bathrooms as a kid.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotel-room-w-shower-only-more-upscale/534394.md?page=1)