Where Have All the Hotel Bathroom Doors Gone?

When did a little privacy in the bathroom become a novelty?

On a recent two-week trip to Japan with my fiancé — six cities, six hotels — every stay was gorgeous and perfectly appointed. We wanted for nothing. Except, in most cases, a proper bathroom door. Instead, we spent the better part of two weeks making accidental eye contact through frosted glass and translucent panels while one of us was otherwise occupied. A design choice, apparently. A test of intimacy, definitely.

It’s part of a much larger trend, as The Wall Street Journal reported on last week. “Guests are waving goodbye to the luxury of a fully closable, opaque barrier between the restroom and bedroom, checking in to find sliding barn doors, curtains, strategically placed walls and other replacements that aren’t especially proficient in the art of noise and smell containment,” Katie Deighton wrote. “In some cases, they’re not even good at hiding the view.”

In that context, sharing a room with your fiancé is the best-case scenario. Less ideal would be a friend, a relative or, God forbid, a co-worker. A frosted glass shower door or a peekaboo window into the bedroom can be sexy. But there’s something I don’t love about having sexiness imposed on me — particularly when all I want is a moment alone and a door that actually closes.

To be fair, the trend apparently has nothing to do with setting the mood. Per The Wall Street Journal, it’s largely about cutting costs, which somehow makes the whole thing feel even more deranged.

8 Pet Peeves of a Hotel Writer

The tiny annoyances that make or break a five-star stay

“Closing off an often windowless room to natural light means guests will run up energy bills and leave maintenance with more lightbulb-changing work. Concrete and wood are expensive. Door handles jam and break,” the report reads. “The Americans with Disabilities Act requires a door frame wide enough for a wheelchair. Many of the early modifications had drawbacks. Hotel architects installed pocket doors that don’t require space to swing inward or outward, but have mechanisms that are costly to maintain.”

At a moment when travelers are paying a premium just to stay somewhere mid-tier, the idea that hotels are scrimping on bathroom privacy to save a few dollars feels especially grimy. A door that closes all the way shouldn’t be a luxury. It should be the baseline.

One traveler was so rattled by the bathroom setup during a stay she shared with her father that she started an entire campaign in response. She’s emailed hundreds of hotels to ask whether their bathroom doors actually close — and whether they’re made of glass. “Bring Back Doors” is the resulting compendium, cataloging hotels that offer real privacy and those that very much do not.

On a Marriott subreddit, travelers commiserated over the increasingly popular design choice, with some admitting they’d booked additional rooms just to avoid the awkwardness. “I’ve come to the conclusion that most hotels are designed for solo men on business trips,” one user observed.

Another commenter raised a more practical concern: when the shower opens directly into the room, you’re inevitably going to get cold. It’s hardly as traumatizing as navigating a glass-walled bathroom on a trip with your dad, but it’s still something hotels might want to factor in.

Because if you’re paying hundreds of dollars a night, the least a hotel can offer is warmth, dignity and a door that actually closes, amirite?

Meet your guide

Lindsay Rogers

Lindsay Rogers is the Travel Editor at InsideHook. She covers all things travel — from industry news and travel guides, to hotel openings and luggage reviews.