A few years ago, I noticed a disturbing trend. New and recently remodeled hotels have moved away from traditional bathroom doors. You know, the kind that close and swing from hinges.
Instead, barn door styles are everywhere – the kind that roll along a track affixed above the door. At first, I was a fan. The look is sleek and stylish, and since they’re installed flush against the wall, they create the illusion of extra space. However, I quickly learned there is a downside to the design. Old-fashioned doors offer privacy. Barn-style doors do not. This is hardly ideal in a space as intimate as a bathroom.
Elegant bathroom featuring a walk-in shower, wooden vanity, and a round mirror.
(Johnce via Getty Images)
Barn-style doors have a gap between the door and the wall to keep them from scraping together. Although the door usually extends beyond the opening to shield you from gazing upon a person doing their business, it doesn’t offer the same privacy as a real door, since the sounds, and I dare say, smells, float through the gap. To make things worse, most modern hotels have simultaneously done away with fans.
If I’m traveling alone, I don’t mind. But if I’m with a companion, I don’t want to hear them in the bathroom, and I certainly don’t want them to hear me. Once, when I was traveling with my boyfriend, I made an excuse and left the room to use the lobby bathroom because, somehow, a public space seemed preferable and more private.
It’s no fun when the toilet is steps away from the bed
(Shutterstock)
Hotels, I want you to know I get it. The barn-style doors you selected look nice! I give them a big thumbs up for aesthetics. I understand why the architect’s renderings made you swoon. But looks aren’t everything. A bathroom door without privacy is no different than a beautiful face without intelligence. It’s all fluff and no substance.
It’s not just me. There are entire Reddit threads dedicated to the barn-style bathroom doors, and guess what? I’m not the only one who hates them. Hotels, I know you mean well, but you’re killing the romance.
I’m pragmatic. I know this isn’t likely to change soon. Hotels, I understand you’ve made a big investment in these barn-style doors, and it probably isn’t in the budget to change them yet. But when you’re ready for a remodel, please bring back the real bathroom doors.
Modern bathroom with toilet bowl and shower room
(baona via Getty Images)
In the meantime, guests will keep improvising, timing showers and flushing strategically, all because your doors can’t do the one job a door is meant to do. Travel is supposed to feel relaxing, not like a negotiation with your own bathroom. Real doors used to guarantee that. They can again.