Shower Power 2

I don't want you to get the impression that I'm a shower snob, but once again, a hotel — actually, a five-star resort — in Phuket has got my dander up with it's lack of shower prowess.

This time, the Evason (a beautiful place with lovely staff) has left the great unwashed just that little bit more unwashed.

My expectations were so high too — I walked into the room to find not one, but two showers in a bathroom big enough to host an Amway party. All my hopes and dreams were dashed the first time I tried to step beneath their cleansing waters.

Not a bathroom for tall people

The first thing you'll notice is the the ceiling is very low — I could place my hand flat on the ceiling. This didn't particularly bother me, but I immediately thought of some taller colleagues who would run into trouble here. I mean, I'd hate to see Craig Dawson trying to shower in here. Well, there are many reasons why I'd hate to see Craig showering in my hotel room (no offense Craig), but that's for a different blog.

The next problem was the lack of pressure produced by the shower head. Instead of the "shower-like spray" you would expect from a shower, five trickling streams fell directly to the floor, like some toothless old man dribbling out of the side of his mouth.

The dribbler setting

I did my best to rinse and lather, but it was like punching some holes in the bottom of a styrofoam cup and using that as a shower. Hopeless.

Luckily for me (or so I thought) there was also a bathtub with a hand-held shower attached to the tap. I'll use it instead. However, I was now back with my former shower problem of shower heads mounted to the wall by people who obviously don't know what showers are for.

This one was mounted directly beside the bath taps, about level with my kneecaps, and pointing out across the bathtub — not down the bathtub lengthwise — and out the bathroom door. This meant that I could either have very clean thighs, or an Atlantis themed room.

I checked out a friend's shower who was also staying at the time (not Craig) and discovered the same design challenges.

While most people come back from a holiday looking forward to their own bed, I slept fitfully on the flight home dreaming of my shower.

Home sweet home!

D.

My Phuket shower experience

This is just a quick post to vent my frustration with the shower in my Phuket hotel room. I'm having trouble enjoying my showers here, and not for any of the reasons you're probably thinking someone might not enjoy a shower in Phuket.

I work in a team called User Experience and Innovation — part of our job is to take care of the little things that some people over-look until they're not there, or they don't work properly.

Like search and booking functions on a website, proper design and layout, and muffins on a Monday morning. You don't notice they ain't there until they ain't.

Well the shower in my room here Phuket — a lovely room by the pool, where they fold your towels into elephant shapes — is neither innovative, nor conducive to a pleasant user experience.

The shower head itself is fine — the general hand-held hose attachment you would use to easily apply water where it's needed. However the bracket that it is supposed to sit in to give you a worry-free and hands-free shower experience, makes the shower head point directly out at your face.

Even if you duck, or stand to one side of the shower head, the water then shoots out past your head, against the back wall of the bathroom, soaking everything that gets in its path.

I haven't yet come up with a solution (no pun intended), besides holding the shower head under my arm, or turning the taps off every time I want to go hands-free.

I'd appreciate any tips from seasoned travellers who may have similar bad user experience in non-innovative showers.

And for those who are disappointed because you were expecting to see photos of me in the shower, these are for you.

D.