Joe and I only live about 3 hours from the Port of Miami. So technically we could have driven to our Virgin Voyages cruise the morning it was leaving the port, since the earliest appointment we could get for Embarkation was 2 pm. Our cruise was Sunday through Friday and the dog was already in “camp” on Saturday. So we decided to drive to Miami on Saturday night, just to play it safe, and to give us a couple more hours of sleep (but not quite as many as we had hoped, because of this).
Anyway, we got a 1-bedroom executive suite and it was very nice. Joe will, undoubtedly, post a review in the coming weeks (because that’s what he does. Hotel or restaurant review? 99% of the time, it’s Joe writing. Bizarre/quirky travel-related human interest crap? Usually me. Because of course it is). But I want to focus on just one aspect of the room – the bathroom. Simply because we have never seen such a bathroom like this before, ever.
The bathroom was nicely sized – probably about 6′ x 10′, which is larger than most typical hotel bathrooms (unless you’re staying here, where the shower is bigger than most people’s bathrooms). The floor tiles looked like they had been replaced in the not-too-distant past. The sink could have done with more storage space on it, but the shower was nice and had really good water pressure.
One of the 2 oddball things though? The toilet was nudged into the corner between the shower and wall, and was at a 45-degree angle to both. On top of that, the toilet tank was tilted back at probably about 30 degrees.
Here’s most of the bathroom, as seen from the doorway:
And the toilet itself:
The toilet WORKED just fine. But I thought its placement and the angular tank were just…weird. I thought may it was because we had a suite? Or a corner room? So I wrote to the General Manager to see if he could explain what was up with that situation and he didn’t really know.
As far as the angled toilet goes, this is a really good question. It is a mystery to me as something I have asked and no one can give me a definitive answer. The position of the toilet is like this in a large percentage of our rooms so it was not just your room.
So yeah…weird room mystery #1.
But wait! There’s MORE!
You’d think one weird aspect of a hotel bathroom would be enough, right? Apparently not.
When you get to a certain age, chances are, regardless of how little you drink before you go to bed, you’re going to have to wake up in the middle of the night because nature will be calling. I’m beyond that certain age, and my waking up in the middle of the night because I have to tinkle is a near-nightly occurrence. (Did I ever tell you that my best friend’s nickname for me, when he was alive, was “Princess Overshare?” Now you know why.) So I purposely keep an LED night light in my travel bag, to plug in the bathroom. It gives off just enough light to guide me, in unfamiliar surroundings, to where the bathroom is, as well as to be able to see where everything in there is, without being bright enough to wake me up. I actually have 2 versions of this light – one with a US plug, and one made for European plugs.
So anyway, this is what happened when I plugged on the night light:
Never mind the top plug being finicky. There was no way to charge anything if the bathroom light was off! Fortunately, I noticed this before I tried to charge my electric toothbrush, for example.
I realize this probably makes the bathroom power outlet safer somehow. But it certainly isn’t a good idea for practical use!
So yeah…one hotel bathroom with 2 quirks I’ve never seen before.
Fortunately, we only stayed there for 1 night.
Feature Photo: Marriott Bonvoy
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2 comments
First, a disclaimer. I am not a plumber nor do I play one on TV. It appears the toilet, if mounted perpendicular to the shower is too large and close to the shower doors and would block the front door and part of the rear door. They tilted the toilet to give more clearance for shower entry and exit. The angle on the tank probably has to do with the length of the line for water to the tank because those are generally on the left side, which due to is now significantly further from the wall. Tilting the tank back most likely shortened that distance. But still, it would make me question all of the construction in that hotel if they would rig a toilet like that.
The second quirk is, simply, pathetic. I’m with you 100%. The first is, while uncommon, not unheard of. When I saw your photograph, I immediately thought of the Springhill Suites in Schaumburg, IL. While the tank is not in a cantilevered position at that property, the 45° angle near the tub/shower is identical. This must have been a design feature (flaw) in official Marriott blueprints for a time.