mspguy

I know that we all need to save natural resources as best we can but it seems like the hotels I say in (Hilton Brands) are way to restrictive on water pressure in the shower. Makes me want to carry a wrench so I could remove the water saving restricter in the showerhead!
What do you all think?


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PsychoFreakGoalie

What bugs me more than weak showers (although those are pretty bad too) is a shower where the shower head is roughly shoulder height.

Now, I understand that no matter how high up you put the shower head, there will be some people that are taller than it. However, I'm not particularly tall (6'0" on a good day), and for a shower head to be at my shoulder height, thats just (imho) inexcusable.

Eastbay1K

Its more the water pressure than the shower heads - a restrictive flow showerhead can still give a decent shower IF the water pressure is right. Often, it is not, and even a showerhead that would ordinarly squirt buckets per minute still just has a trickle.

Football Fan

Tell me about it. I am 6'6 or 6'7...when I am in one of these showers (e.g., older hotels in London)...well, you get the picture!

BuddyBird

I have heard Peter Greenberg say that particularly in High-rise hotels, there are "pumping stations" every 5-10 floors to push the water up to the top. The closer you are to that, the better the pressure. I have also heard that you can ask where these pumping floors are at check in and ask to be roomed somewhere close.

I've never had this problem before at hotels. The best shower I ever had was at a hotel, the Westin in Sydney Aus. The hotel is in what used to be the old post office. The ceiling was about 10-12 ft. and the shower head couldn't be reached. It had a "watering can" head that was about 1 foot across, and was like standing under a gentle waterfall... it was truely wonderful... thanks for reminding me... :-)

BB

flowerchild

Sometimes you can unscrew the shower head and remove the flow restrictor, unless it's a part of the pipe.

tangoll

The Jolly Hotel at the top of Via Veneto, Rome, Italy has a shower that is about 8 feet high, in center of bathtub, and water comes straight down. The wash basin is also about 3 feet long and 2 feet wide. Also has bidet for those who like them.

I especially dislike flimsy shower curtains that fly all around and stick to you..ugh.

Redhead

I'm only 5'10" (178cm) and this happens to me all the time

Never had an issue with H2O pressure - prolly 'cos mine at home is rather poor so I don't really notice it at hotels. Often times it's better in hotels. But those low shower heads

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minatonka

This one really brings back memories. Like when using Frommers Europe on $5 a day. Plus, even now when staying at local hotels in Asia, the South Pacific, etc. Some of the water was dropped rather than pressured out of the pipes!!!!

WHBM

Unscrew the shower head and stick chewing gum over half the holes from the inside. You then get only half the needle jets, but at double the pressure.

Depending on your morals, you may care to remove the evidence before you check out.

An old university residences jape!

A more adult option is not to shower at 07.00 when most of the rest of the hotel is doing the same. Can do wonders, especially if your room is at the far end of the corridor from the water supply.

Fraser

Those showers are an absolute pain in the ...! And I am 6ft, no giant

I have had that twice:

1) UCL halls on OXford St, London. OK, so its a Uni halls of residence, but it was at nipple height.

2) Hotel in Nottigham, UK. At shoulder height but still pointless.

Is there any reason for showers at shoulder height?

WHBM

It can actually be due to a design feature of the plumbing system. If the header tank down the corridor which supplies the hot water is not that much higher than the shower heads, the shower heads may have been installed at the highest level to get some pressure from the system. Put them a couple of feet higher and the flow may stop altogether.

The header tank may be up at ceiling level (hotel architects do not like "breaking into" the floor above), and the shower heads need to be below the bottom of the tank. If the rooms have low ceilings you can be stuck with the problem.

There are a variety of fixes (put hot water tanks on floor above; install pump) but they are expensive and hotels may feel they have better things to do with their money.

NickW

What about showers with too MUCH pressure?

A few weeks back I was staying at the Burbank Holiday Inn, on the 12th floor. The water pressure was high enough that it was painful to stand directly under the shower. Pointing the shower head toward the far end of the bath resulted in a nearly-horizontal stream of water fit to strip paint / flesh from bones. Ouch.