Ideas you should absolutely steal from your favourite hotel bathroom

Here’s how to get the luxury look for your own home courtesy of these dreamy hotel bathroom ideas from our favourite hotels and designers.

“The place we stayed was amazing, great location, super comfortable bed and a huge breakfast spread… but the bathroom was a bit of a kip.”

You can have all the amenities you like during a hotel stay, but if the bathroom isn’t up to scratch, it’s impossible to ignore. It’s a necessary caveat whenever you’re giving a friend the inevitable run-through and it may be the deal-breaker on whether you’d go back there.

So why do hotel bathrooms matter so much?

Probably because we’re really bad at investing in our bathrooms at home. They’re functional spaces that you don’t spend any time you don’t have to in like you would a living room or bedroom. You don’t lean against the bathroom sink to read a book. Okay maybe you get into the bath with one, but how often do you actually take a bath? Do you even have a bath?

So the next time you take a peek inside a hotel bathroom you’re absolutely smitten with, take it as an opportunity to see what you could do at home. This doesn’t have to mean spending a fortune either, there are lots of clever ways to give your bathroom a hotel feel on a small budget.

So if you’re overhauling your bathroom or still daydreaming about it, here are a few ways to incorporate some design tricks from the best hotel bathrooms.

The Dark Side

Bellinter House, Co Meath

As hotel rooms generally donate all of the natural light to the bedroom area, the bathroom is generally left without any windows. However, rather than try and brighten the room with pale colours and harsh lights, it’s about embracing it. Dark walls and floors will help the room feel warm, as well as keep it easy to clean. If you’re going for tiles, keep the grout dark so you’re not scrubbing it with bleach every six months.

All The Way

Bathroom in The Green, Dublin

Tile up to the ceiling throughout the whole bathroom. Now that I’ve pointed it out, you’ll notice that nearly every hotel room has tile everywhere. This will not only give the space a uniform feel, but it will also last well as tiles won’t show up any scuffs or watermarks that paint inevitably does.

The Bath

The recently renovated Luttrellstown Castle

If you have space, and maybe you don’t, but if you do, make the bath the centre of attention. Don’t just shove it in the corner with a shower overhead, let it sing as the centrepiece. Now, this will cost you extra as you’ll have to plumb under the floor to it, but don’t you just want to sink into this one in Luttrellstown Castle? We can dream at least.

Keep it simple

Elements of Action B&B, Dublin.

This is another one for those who have the luxury of space, but try not to let your bathroom become a dumping ground for the mop bucket, dirty clothes and cleaning supplies. Strip it all back to the bare essentials, then you won’t be reminded of all the housework you have yet to do, and maybe you’ll enjoy the room a bit more. If that’s just not possible, at least include some adequate storage for all those bits.

Final Touches

Ballynahinch Castle, Co Galway

If there’s anything a hotel bathroom does well, it’s the accessories. Fluffy towels and a delicious-smelling candle may not seem like much but once you’ve wrapped yourself in a super-soft cotton towel and applied some aromatic body lotion, you’ll think twice. Plus, who hasn’t thought about nicking the hotel robe – there’s a reason they all have that sign hanging on them saying “do not remove”.

Feature image by Ballynahinch Castle.