For years, we were told the bathtub was dying.
Showers were getting bigger. Bathrooms were shrinking. Life was speeding up.
And yet — the tub never disappeared. It evolved.
🛁 From Fixture to Ritual
A recent piece in the Ottawa Citizen captured something designers have quietly been saying for a while: the bathtub isn’t being eliminated — it’s being used more intentionally. See https://ottawacitizen.com/life/interior-design-bathtub-reboot
The generic tub-shower combo is fading. In its place? Generous spa showers for daily use, and one carefully chosen soaking tub reserved for restoration, ritual, or pure design impact.
Luxury hotels have understood this for years. See https://www.afar.com/hotels/to-understand-hotel-luxury-look-at-the-bathroom
Five-star properties typically dedicate 25–28% of a guest room’s square footage to the bathroom. Some go much further. At The St. Regis Bermuda, that figure reaches 41%. At Nayara Springs in Costa Rica, nearly half of each suite is devoted to indoor-outdoor bathing.
Because the bathroom in truly great hotels isn’t utilitarian. It’s experiential.
🐘 What the World’s Most Immersive Hotels Get Right
At Cheetah Plains in South Africa, soaking tubs overlook the bush — elephants wandering past while you sink into warm water at golden hour. At Eriro, sculptural wooden tubs sit in the bedroom itself, blurring the line between design and sanctuary.
These aren’t amenities. They’re the point.
And clients who’ve experienced them come home and quietly start rethinking their own bathrooms — freestanding tubs, warmer lighting, natural materials, less clutter. Travel shows us how we want to feel. Then we try to bring it home.
✨ The Bigger Trend: Slowing Down on Purpose
The BBC recently spotlighted “star bathing” — a wellness travel experience built around lying beneath vast, unpolluted night skies to quiet an overstimulated mind. No agenda. No screen. Just space. See https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20250324-star-bathing-the-next-big-thing-in-travel
Whether it’s a plunge pool in the Costa Rican rainforest, an outdoor soaking ritual under alpine stars, or an elephant bathing experience in Phuket — water resets us. It always has.
Wellness travel isn’t about doing more. It’s about allowing space.
🌿 What This Means for Your Next Trip
If you’ve been craving a travel experience designed around genuine restoration — alpine retreats, jungle immersion, intentional luxury hotels where the bathroom alone tells a story — let’s design it thoughtfully.
Because true luxury isn’t excess.
It’s space to breathe. ❤️