Bathroom at Zefferino Las Vegas May Just Be the World's Best -- It's That Good!

Zeffirino Las Vegas
The Venetian
3377 Las Vegas Blvd S, Ste 2095
Las Vegas, NV USA
www.zeffirinolasvegas.com

Where is it?

This restaurant is located in the Canal Shoppes inside the Venetian Hotel and Casino, between the Ann Taylor store and Simayof jewelers.

The first floor is more of a two-tiered lounge area, with a ornate bar, piano, some bar tables and a counter with iced down shellfish and the like. Upstairs is the main dining room, which you can get to either by elevator or stairs.

To go to the bathroom, and if you're taking the stairs, got to the top of the stairs. This will deposit you in a small sitting area covered with framed pictures of famous people who have visited the establishment (either here or at one of its other locations around the world) since 1939, when it first opened in Genova. If taking the elevator: It will drop you off to the left of that sitting area.

In both cases, the main dining room will unfold to your right, so to get to the bathrooms you will need to head leftward -- away from the dining room. (The restaurant's website actually incorporates the establishment's floor plan into its navigation -- a good tool to use before visiting, if you're curious.)

Once going that way, snake back, down a twisting hallway coated with various framed articles about the restaurants and some joyous Medieval mosaics, until you reach the end, at which you'll find the bathroom. The men's is behind a rather dainty door, simply and manly looking. The women's is behind a very ornate door.

What's it like?

This famed Italian restaurant, as stated earlier, started in Genova, Italy in 1939 and one of its original chefs, Gian Paolo Belloni (who's father was Zefferino himself), is credited for making pesto a world-wide phenomenon. The restaurant itself celebrates the reputation of the kitchen, as many of the wall hangings here are framed newspaper and magazine articles from around the world which tout the chef's skill, including more than a few saying that the Gian Paolo has made his famous pesto and pasta for the Pope himself.

The design of the place brings to mind the spirit of a twisted Venetian walkway -- something the Grand Canal Shoppes intimate but don't actualize. The entrance, as stated earlier, is large, grand and old-feeling, with lots of small corridors, twists and turns, and angled rooms, overlooks, dark woods and chandeliers. Upstairs, the dining room literally unfolds before you, starting small and then twisting open around a large rectangular pivot to reveal an extensive stretch of white linen tables that follows the perimeter of the facade (which overlooks the Canal Shoppes) and recedes deep into the belly of the restaurant.

Dark woods and dim lighting dominate the place. The walls are covered with those framed articles and other pieces of Italian or Italian-inspired art -- think de Medici re-visited and you've got it.

The service is uppity and very accommodating but not necessarily warm -- it's very professional, as what you might get overseas. Although I have not eaten here outside of its famed Sunday champagne brunch, I will attest that this brunch is one of the best, if not the best, I've experienced.

It features a sprawling set of tables, each offering a different variety of food. There is both a hot and cold seafood area, including selections like marinated tuna and in-house smoked salmon, as well as a hot bar containing an assortment of chicken, meat and seafood dishes -- not to mention the house's special pesto and pasta, which is indeed divine. There is also a selection of world cheeses, a raw bar containing halved lobsters, shrimp and other shellfish, a carving station, a pasta station and an antipasto area, containing an assortment of fresh and marinated vegetables and cold cuts. Finally, there is a an extensive dessert table, containing a minimum of 20 cakes and petite fours -- all of which are worth trying. It's a very impressive buffet in a land of buffets, if you will. Definitely worth a visit, despite the steep price tag.

On the flip side, the bathrooms here are beyond the notion of impressive. Even beyond the impression of being heavenly. I've been here twice, the first two a few years back, and on that visit the bathroom I encountered a tasteful one-bagger that was comfortable but unspectacular.

In between that visit and this, it was rumored that the restaurant had spent more than $2 million on renovating its bathroom. I must attest that you can see the money spent in every facet of this room. It's a truly regal place in every regard -- something more associated with a Roman Emperor than an Italian place in a Vegas casino mall.

And miles better than any other bathroom found in the Venetian.

In fact, it's so impressive here that I actually believe this bathroom bests any other I've experienced in this town -- or anywhere else, including such wonderful places as Wynn Las Vegas, Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare, Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, Sensi, Okada and the Bellagio. It's even better than our vote for 2008's Best Toilet of the Year -- Mansion at Forsyth Park in Savannah, GA.

This is just an other worldly experience from start to finish.

So what's it like? After passing down the hallway leading to them, and marveling at the intricate mosaic work on the walls, you come to a modest-looking door, which in effect makes you think this will be nothing more than a humble toilet -- like the aforementioned one-bagger.

Step through the door and you're floored: This spacious environment boasts marble floors that look like they've been taken from a palace (I'm thinking the floors found in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, for example, even though the bathrooms there are awful and not at all indicative of the beauty of the rest of the place.) The marble work has beige and white checkerboard pattern, with dark brown and black outlines and highlights. The lower walls have a beige/white marble pattern on the, with black trim, and the upper walls are made of plaster.

Along the far left of the back wall are three urinal stalls. Each has twisted columns at their head, as well as a sweeping red curtain blanketing them. The stalls themselves are deep, with long floor-to-ceiling divider walls. The urinals are small bell-shaped units with automatic flushes.

To their left, in the back right corner, are three toilet stalls. Like the urinals, these are deep chambers, with gray and white marble along the lower halves of their walls and wallpapered walls on the upper. They are white porcelain toilets in their very backs, with storage chambers overhead and bronze toilet paper holders to their side. A heavy wooden door with gold plated latch closes the place off from the rest of the room, creating a very private chamber indeed. Lighting is dim but not overly so. Some toilet paper is stacked atop the toilet itself -- something I find decided European in its charms.

Across from the urinals and toilets is a long vanity area, composed of a single stretch mirror framed in dark wood, three bronze-metal spigot faucets with matching manual knobs and accompanying standalone soap dispensers, and a single-piece, three-unit flat, square marble trough, which doubles as both the vanity and the sink. Quite a spectacle to behold.

To its right is a toiletries station, which features plush paper towels, tissues and a mouthwash dispenser, along with disposable single-use plastic cups. (This was the first time I've seen such an add-on since visiting Orlando's Citrus Club.)

I spent a lot of time here, I must admit, and after leaving it to return to my table I felt disappointed. As decorative and classy as the dining room was, it paled in comparison to the elegance of this bathroom.

Worse still: When I returned, I was told by my dining companion that the women's room was even more regal, with sitting stations, waiting areas, extensive vanities and more. Next time I'm here, I'm venturing inside to see what I'm missing.

Marks out of 10:

12. If I could go higher, I would.

Comments to the Management:

You are worthy of psalms. Could I rent a toilet stall for a week next time I'm in Vegas?

Poetic Bathroom at Picasso Shows Value of Understatement

Picasso
Bellagio Las Vegas
3600 S Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV USA
www.bellagio.com/restaurants/picasso.aspx

Where is it?

This restaurant is located in the middle of the Via Bellagio shopping mall that extends from the north side of the Bellagio Hotel and Casino. Once you find the menu, which is posted in a small glass case in the middle of the shopping stretch, look beyond it, towards the escalators behind it. To get to the restaurant, you must take the escalators downward.

Once there, follow the signs to the entrance of the restaurant, and upon arriving, go through the wooden front doors and enter the dimly lit dining room. The far front end of the restaurant overlooks the Bellagio fountains. The bathrooms are located on the opposite end of the dining room, along the back wall, about two-thirds of the way back.

There, you'll find a small hallway leading to the restrooms.

What's it like?

The Bellagio itself comes packed with fine-dining restaurants, from Circo to Michael Mina, to name but a few. This establishment, headed by world-renown chef Julian Serrano, has been my favorite so far. (I've yet to visit the hotel's take on Le Cirque, it should be said.)

While the shopping plaza above the restaurant has an art nouveau feel to it, with its bevy of high-end stores, the restaurant itself feels miles away from that. A mix of old world and new, you step into this place via a castle-like hallway that's dimly lit and a bit cavernous, like a wine cellar. The main dining room, while also dimly lit, is open and wide, with high ceilings and wooden walls covered in decorative diamond patterns and artwork.

The artwork here, it should be said, is by Picasso himself -- a dozen or so original paintings by the master hang here, and the tables in the dining room, while all properly spaced, allow each person at the table the chance to spend some time gazing at one or more of these pieces, which in itself brings an automatic sense of contemplation to the dining experience.

That sense is further quantified by the magical food Mr. Serrano prepares here. The food here has traditional art nouveau French as its base, but its nuances and modern spirit raise it above the expected. Portions are small but rich and complex enough to satisfy the hungriest of palates -- more than worthy of its two Michelin stars.

We started with a lobster salad in apple-champagne vinaigrette -- a light, delicate starter course that was accentuated, most surprisingly, but the inclusion of two pieces of celery sitting alongside the main dish. Once blended, the celery brought new dimension to the salad.

Up next was a pan seared scallop atop the most buttery mashed potatoes I've ever had; it was topped with a rich jus de veau. It was followed by a steak of foi gras -- itself only a small piece, but it was expertly seared and melt-in-your-mouth succulent, paired with poached pairs and a creme fraiche gastriche.

For the fourth course, I had sauteed turbot matched with corona beans and Serrano ham; the fish was buttery, rich, flaky, the beans meaty and tender. My companion one-upped me by having a fillet of imported Kobe beef -- the real stuff from Japan, not the American-born imitator, wagyu. While I've been told many times by waiters that extra-high-quality steaks don't need a knife to be cut, I've never actually seen a steak before that literally melt like butter beneath a hot knife before -- that's how tender this guy was. Better still, unlike some fillet which can be tender but bland, this one was richer and meatier-tasting than any other steak I've had. It was a dish that rivaled the truffle-covered ravioli had at Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare, it was that good. Just spellbinding.

The meal closed with a selection of stately desserts, my favorite of which was a chai tea foam, which accentuated a chocolate cake. It was unbearably pricey, but the service was impeccable and the experience utterly memorable -- so good I don't mind spending the money again to experience it once more. One of the great dining experiences of my life.

Having said that, the bathrooms were fully in line with the dining experience surrounding it. Though there are no Picasso paintings in the bathroom, or even replicas (a bit disappointing), the environment alone carries the same classiness and austerity found in the dining room.

These are elegant one-baggers, but with entrance chambers. So you enter into a wash room and then proceed through another door to enter the water closet properly. (Similar to the set up at Montparnasse 1900, only on a smaller scale.)

Throughout the place, the walls are covered with the same diamond-decorated woodwork that covers the walls of the dining room. The lighting is brighter here though, allowing you the chance to admire the design better. The floor is covered in beige tile with brown accent tiles -- all patterned to mimic the patterns on the walls. The main door is heavy, wooden and covered in a similar diamond patterns; the door dividing the wash chamber with the toilet chamber is similar to the entrance door, only it has a frosted glass pane in it to differentiate one from the other (not exactly the place you want to make such a mistake, if you catch my drift).

Potted fake plants sit in most of the corners, and some generic, stately art hangs on the walls (panel pieces, really -- simple but nothing remarkable). It's an understated environment in every way, really. Because of the beige and browns everywhere, the lighting manages to throw a sort of golden hue over everything, further subduing in the environment.

The sink is white porcelain with gold-plated fixtures, including an automatic faucet and a dark wood-framed mirror overhead. The sink itself is unique in that it has elongated flaps on the side that work both as part of the sink and as a unified counter piece; on it sit a soap dispenser, paper towels and a box of tissues.

The toilet room itself is very roomy for a single-occupancy room. The urinal and toilet, both white porcelain, sit against the same back wall. The handicap support bars, toilet paper dispenser, and toilet seat cover dispenser box are gold plated, adding to the hue. Like the rest of the place, it's impeccably clean, odor-free and stately. Elegant without being showy -- a thinking person's bathroom, if you will.

Marks out of 10:

9.

Comments to the Management:

There's a lot going on here -- and the place does it without much flash and dash. Not the more spellbinding place upon first glace, but spend a few minutes here, contemplating if you will, and it's wonders begin to reveal themselves.

Hard As It Tries, Bathroom at Encore Las Vegas Doesn't Quite Match Grandeur of Bathroom at Neighboring Wynn

Encore Las Vegas
3131 Las Vegas Boulevard S.
Las Vegas, NV USA
www.encorelasvegas.com

Where is it?

This bathroom is just past the Lobby Bar and is off the hotel's main drag. To reach it, enter the hotel through the main entrance, pass the check-in desk and walk onward, towards the hotel's casino. Along the way, you'll see the pool on your left (through windows) and the elevated Lobby Bar (a swanky cafe/bar environment filled with deep reds, plush patterned carpets and intricate glass work) on your right.

Pass the Lobby Bar, continuing in that direction (which leads to the hotel's Atrium). You will cross a pathway on your right that is just beyond the Lobby Bar; it leads to a sundries shop and the hotel's guest room elevators. Just past that is a sign for the restrooms.

At the sign, turn right and go down a hallway, about 50 feet. At the back, you'll find the bathrooms, men's to the right, women's to the left.

What's it like?

Encore Las Vegas looks very much like its sister property, the Wynn Las Vegas: Although not as tall or wide as that establishment, it boasts a similar-looking exterior composed entirely of copper-colored glass. Inside, those thematic similarities continue, especially in the place’s emphasis on curved walls, lengthy esplanades and elegant chandeliers.

But where the Wynn Las Vegas' décor takes a modern approach to art nouveau, Encore’s design takes many cues from Eastern cultures, primarily China and Thailand. Stepping through the place, you stroll under intricately carved ceiling and chandeliers containing hundreds of pieces of sparkling colored glass. You walk over floors covered with plush carpets and mosaics of dragonflies and butterflies. You pass Siamese statues, modern art paintings and found art, which pack the corridors, corners and enclave of the place. Even the staff (dealers included) come dressed in Chinese-inspired uniforms.

Encore Las Vegas itself carries a sense of intimacy that most other Vegas mega-hotels seem to lack. This is best seen in the hotel’s casino. It’s smaller than most of the gambling floors in town (it houses approximately 65 tables and 860 slots) and has been designed with high ceilings, square spaces, straight lines and natural light (let in through windows and skylights) -- a far cry from the typical Strip casino, which usually features a maze-like design, low ceilings, dim lighting and loud noises.

As a result, walking through the casino to get to the hotel’s other hot spots becomes easier and feels less stressful than expected, which in turn lets you admire the design and artwork around you all the more.

Naturally, given that this is the upscale cousin of the already upscale Wynn Las Vegas, I expected to be blown away by the design-based wonders that would no doubt be found here. I mean, Wynn Las Vegas to this point has some of the best bathrooms I've ever stepped foot in.

But while Encore Las Vegas' restrooms do offer much elegance and sophistication, the "wow" factor here falls somewhat short. More than anything, these bathrooms seem like they've channelled Wynn Las Vegas through Caesar's Palace. Pretty damn good in the scope of things, but still not earth shattering, as you might expect. The hotel itself is literally jaw dropping in its over-the-top-yet-elegant decor and design. The bathroom tries to exhibit those excesses to the same degree here, but a few missteps keep it from achieving that goal.

This is a good sized room. You enter, take a quick turn past a ceiling-high framed mirror in an entrance hallway, and find yourself facing the sink stations -- two-person vanities on each side of the room, which is long and rectangular. Think of what was at Amway Arena, scale it down to about 1/3 of the size, and you get the basic set-up of this place.

Beyond the sinks, in the main section of the bathroom, on the respective sides of the room, are lines of urinals and toilet stalls, about six or so of each. What's unique here is that the urinal stalls are floor to ceiling in height and as such provide maximum privacy. They, like the floor and walls and stall divider walls, are made of brick-red-colored granite with gold trim and are quite beautiful. A floor-to-ceiling length mirror, like the one in the room's entrance passageway, stands at the far end of the room, a sort of counterpoint to the entrance mirror. The toilets are your standard white porcelain but clean and new-looking. The urinals are also white porcelain but they also have that thick mesh in them to absorb urine and limit unintended splashing and spraying (like what was seen at the beautiful bathrooms at Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare).

The stalls are roomy and secluding, though to a slightly lesser degree than the stalls at the Wynn Las Vegas. Those, set in a very noisy bathroom, made you feel like you had the world to yourself. These, set in a slightly less noisy bathroom, let in a touch of noise that isn't quite disruptive but also isn't quite expected.

The vanity is very nice but not show-stopping like the marble wonder at Wynn Las Vegas. While I liked the copper spigot-like faucets and the dark marble vanity counters, I found that by placing a box of tissues in the vanity itself (for the sake of convenience) made people want to use the tissues as towels instead of tissues, which of course causes them to disintegrate too fast and create a globby mess on the counter itself. The paper towels were located nearby to that, but at the same time the designers need to realize that people will almost always go for the easiest solution before them -- in this case, it's the tissues, not the towels. Sadly, it's one of the bathroom's major missteps -- a small little throwaway detail that seems nice at first but falls flat upon execution (reminded me a lot of the faucet SNAFU at J. Alexander's in Orlando).

The place's other big misstep is in the urinal stalls. While the dividers offer much privacy, the choice to place the automatic flush sensor on a reflective gold-chrome plate pretty much destroys that aspect. Sure it looks nice, but it's also like peeing while looking at a mirror focused entirely on your giblets -- and anyone who's walking behind you at that moment and decides to peek over can, at one angle or another, get a solid look at your goods. (You know this because you will be able to see them in the reflection off the plate.) It's a little uncomfortable, to be honest.

Yes, it's a beautiful bathroom, and very clean, spacious and elegant, but those few hold-ups keep it well short of what was experienced at Wynn Las Vegas. I was expecting a location that might equal, even top, that one, considering the brand positioning of this hotel. Sadly, I left greatly disappointed -- a real hard thing to admit considering how much I've championed Wynn Las Vegas.

Marks out of 10:

8. Missteps and all, it's a beautiful bathroom, but I just can't raise the score much higher than this, given those fallacies.

Comments to the Management:

Outside of putting a little more "WOW" into the design, and even some technology and showstopping design pieces, the least you can do is move the tissues away from the sink and replace those plates behind the toilets with something non-reflective.

Beautiful Bathroom at Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare in Wynn Las Vegas

Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare
3131 S. Las Vegas Blvd.
Wynn Las Vegas
Las Vegas, NV USA
www.wynnlasvegas.com/#dining/bartolotta/

Where is it?

Located in the Wynn Las Vegas shopping mall (which in itself has some outstanding public restrooms of their own), this beautiful restaurant flows over two distinct dining levels. To get to the bathroom, head down the main staircase to the lower-level dining room.

Once at the bottom, resist the urge to go left (towards the waiter stations there) and spin rightward around the staircase and head towards the right side (with your back to the end of the stairs), heading all the time towards the hallway tucked into the corner there. (The set up is very similar to the Daniel Boulud Brasserie, located in the same hotel.)

Go down that hallway, which like Daniel Boulud Brasserie is a bit on the dark side, and you'll come to an enclave containing the entrances to the bathrooms.

What's it like?

This is one of the best fish restaurants I've ever eaten at -- unbelievably good. And the whole experience made for one of the most memorable meals of my life.

The place itself is a decorative wonder. The top level, where you enter, is like an upscale tavern filled with dark woods and a sprawling mahogany bar on the far left. A circular staircase fills the center of the establishment. Taking it downstairs, you find yourself in a roomy, semi-circular main dining room filled with modernist seafaring decor: Shells on monotone painted walls. Elegant chandeliers. Large windows overlooking a man-made pond set in the center of the Wynn Las Vegas, which in itself has outdoor dining cabanas and circular orbs sitting in the water.

In a way, it's all a little overwhelming on the senses, and most people who have never been here before will feel a little disjointed when they sit down at the table. The service style is that of "in the know," as in those who have been here before know how it works and those new to the place must get their feet wet before proceeding. The menu isn't as self-explanatory as one would expect: There is an abundance of service options, from price fixe menus to fish ala carte to traditional pasta and meat dishes to specialty meals created specifically for you by the head waiter and chef. And each of those items can be broken down into sub-segments as well, if needed.

Really, like Las Vegas itself, the idea here is that the customer is in control -- but that the customer doesn't realize it at first. The sooner you come to that conclusion, the sooner your meal can begin.

So naturally, having never been here before, it took nearly 45 minutes for myself and my companion to sort through our options, get advice from our waiter, chef and sommelier, and begin our dining experience. We are glad we took the time, because next time we come here we know how to get things started quicker.

We opted for a price fixe menu consisting partly of menu-suggested items and partly of items created specifically for us. The menu consisted of a first course that was an assortment of grilled shellfish, including scallops, head-on prawns and octopus. The second course was a plate of pillow soft ricotta ravioli covered in seasonal white truffles from Alba. The third was a spaghetti in red sauce with spiny lobster. The fourth was a seafood risotto. The fifth was a whole roasted sea bream covered in a spicy red tomato and garlic sauce. The sixth was a dessert assortment consisting of various house-made chocolates, tarts, ice creams and more. We were very full when we left -- four hours later.

Now, I should say that I'm a major seafood fan and I know that freshness is key to great seafood. The seafood here, according to what we were told, all comes flown in directly from Italy itself, because the executive chef (Paul Bartolotta) insists that great seafood dishes cannot be made from fish from American waters. Not sure if that is true, but given the quality of the dishes served to us and pride in which they were prepared and served, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

The grilled first course was filled with briny goodness, as well as a solid grill flavor, with hints of lemon and garlic to accentuate those flavors. The spiny lobster was soft and succulent -- yet meaty enough to be distinct within the strong tomato base. The risotto was the type I'd heard about all my life but never experienced firsthand -- a risotto where the fish flavor was blended so well into the rice that it captured the essence of its ingredients without the need to show them off; no large chunks of fish and shellfish here because ultimately that would have been cloying. The bream was delicate, soft, supple -- the best fish I've ever tasted.

And the raviolis, filled with a semi-sweet sheep's milk ricotta made in house and covered with an abundance of truffles, was other-worldly. A dish so rich and refined that it left we speechless. After eating it, I could absorb nothing more than the flavors it left lingering on my tongue -- the sort of dish that tells you, "All right, you can stop eating now, there's no reason to try anything else because nothing else will get better than that."

The desserts were outstanding too, I should add, but by the time they arrived I was so full (and drunk from the wonderful wines the sommelier selected to accompany our meal) that I could barely shovel them down. Note to self: Pace yourself better next time.

Given that, you can imagine how wonderful the bathrooms are. And like the meal itself they are tops -- one of the best I've been to.

Once going down that semi-dark hallway leading to them, I thought (as said earlier) that I might be stepping into an environment similar to Daniel Boulud Brasserie. But then once I got in I was reminded of where I was -- in the glorious Wynn Las Vegas, home to some of the best bathroom's I've visited -- and realized that these toilets were more than up to par with the rest of this establishment's fine toilets. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the bathrooms are more the creation of Wynn Las Vegas than Bartolotta.

Like the dining room, these toilets work in a modern tropical feel, one that is both decorative but understated. The room itself is not large but never feels small. After entering, you'll see a two-sink vanity in the far right corner. Opposite them, to the left of the door, are two white porcelain urinals, and opposite them, against the back left wall, are two toilet stalls, both with floor to ceiling full-wall dividers (like what was seen recently at J. Alexander's in Orlando) and full wooden stall doors (a modernist spin on what was seen at Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino).

The floor is covered with tiles of that look like a mix of marble pattern and pool patio surfaces -- and with thin grout lines in between to give the allusion that the entire floor is one surface. The walls have a sheer marble tile on the lower parts and brown-maroon paint on the upper parts. Combined, it gives the place a stately yet homey feel -- like a pool bath if it were in a museum, so to speak.

The urinals are standard but have elegant marble dividers between them and framed mosaics of butterflies overhead (further proof of the Wynn's influence, I think, since the hotel is filled with butterflies). The urinals themselves have a thick mesh within them, that absorbs pee and ensures there's no splatter.

The stalls are reminiscent to the look and feel of the stalls at Wynn Las Vegas and the aforementioned Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, in that they are completely isolating and provide much privacy and good lighting.

The vanity is something special. The sinks are square shaped and short (similar to what was seen at Whole Foods South Orlando) and have automatic spigot-shaped faucets. There are two intricately framed mirrors (with frames made of medium-stained wood and colorful mosaics) hanging over each sink, with some modern metallic box-shaped lanterns in between. Paper towels and soap dispensers sit between the two.

The tile work merits special mention, as it forms both the dividing trim around the perimeter of the bathroom as well as in between the sink stations. It's festive, intricate -- almost like a modern spin on Tiffany glass, if you will. Because much of the tile work around the bathroom is stately and monotonous, the highlights here extend much personality to the place. Classy yet playful -- capturing the spirit of the restaurant outside -- yet because it forms the boundaries of the bathroom it's also functional.

As you can imagine, the place was spotless and odor free. Lighting was soft but also bright -- thanks to the chandelier overhead and those box lights. If I had to quibble about anything, it would be that the trash hole in the vanity was too full -- but I came by later for a second stop before leaving for the evening and that problem was fixed. What a place!

Marks out of 10:

11. Clearly better than perfect.

Comments to the Management:

This is heavenly -- what more can I say than that?

Best and Worst Toilets of 2008

2008 proved to be a landmark year for Where’s the Toilet?

We managed to review more than 150 bathrooms around the world, including some in some faraway and exotic locations as Russia, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Australia and more, and also visited toilets in some famous settings, like the Grand Canyon, the Hermitage Museum, Universal Studios Orlando and Grand Central Station, to name a few. Sadly, despite many requests, we were unable to review the toilet in the Minneapolis airport where Sen. Larry Craig was charged with “disorderly conduct.” Maybe next year...

Now that the year is over, we’ve chosen to post our second annual Best and Worst Toilets of the Year list.

So without further delay....

The Top 5

1. Mansion at Forsyth Park (Savannah, GA)

Easily the best of the year -- nothing else came close, and this was the best restroom we visited since our stop at the Wynn Las Vegas bathrooms (which topped our Best Toilets of 2007 list). As we said in our review of the Mansion, this is "a regal, marble-filled environment filled with amazing architectural frills, top-notch cleanliness and peaceful feelings."

2. Barrier Island Sanctuary Management & Education Center (Melbourne Beach, FL)

The best environmentally conscious (or "green") bathroom we visited this year, with a relaxing beach theme woven into the experience. "This bathroom has a lot of ambition and wants to be both stylish and environmentally friendly, and it pulls it off," we said in our review, "putting other high-profile locations to shame, really."

3. Pan Pacific Hotel (Singapore)

Quality is the name of the game at this luxurious stopping point, which features such high-end flourishes as walnut and veneer toilet stall doors and granite walls. "I could spend plenty of time in this place any time," we said in our review. "I look forward to my next visit."

4. Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino (Las Vegas, NV)

We visited plenty of Las Vegas bathrooms this year, and while none matched the jaw-dropping wonder of the Wynn Las Vegas bathrooms, this one, with its art nouveau decor and European feel, came closest.

5. Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando (Lost Continent Toilets) (Orlando, FL)

The best theme park bathroom we experienced this year. Clean, quiet and practically kid-free -- the fact that it's somewhat tucked away from the park's major attractions certainly helps the quality factor, we thought.

Honorable Mentions:

Pearl Restaurant (Vero Beach, FL) -- A small one-bagger located in a homey restaurant on Florida's Atlantic coast. It takes the elegance of Vegas and brings it down to the everyday level, but doesn't lose the "wow" factor in doing so.

Bicester Outlet Shopping Village (Bicester, UK) -- The best UK bathroom we visited this year. Wood walls, Gilchrist and Soames hand soap, floor-to-ceiling toilet stall doors -- why couldn't the rest of the UK toilets we experienced have been this comfortable?

The Bottom 5

1. Southwest Indian Traders (Cortez, CO)

Not so much a bathroom but a collection of shoddy parts that have been put together without any care. The walls do nothing to protect you from the wind outside (and yes, the wind will catch you where the sun doesn't shine). The visible roof rafters above house dozens of cobwebs. And not all the plumbing works. As we said in our review, "Put an outhouse in the parking lot instead -- it would actually offer more comfort."

2. Kappy’s Submarine Sandwiches (Maitland, FL)

More the setting of a horror movie than a proper bathroom, this place features lights that grow dimmer the longer you stay and a used ketchup bottle containing watery, ineffective hand soap. "This is the stuff of nightmares," we said in our review.

3. Oxford Railway Station (Oxford, England)

The worst English toilet we experienced this year -- and there were some doozies! While it seems clean on the surface, the smell inside was overpowering and nearly every toilet was filled with excrement. Worse still, an attendant stood by the whole time, doing nothing. "Just a disgusting experience," we said in our review. "I wanted to shower after leaving."

4. CVS Pharmacy, HWY 80 (Savannah, GA)

The worst-smelling bathroom we visited all year -- with a smell so foul that you start smelling it from down the hall. A popular store like this should know better.

5. Uncle Bubba’s Oyster House (Savannah, GA)

Part of Paula Deen's restaurant empire and where the Southern food queen films her Paula's Party show. The place specializes in seafood you eat with your hands, like peel-and-eat shrimp and oysters, but the bathroom doesn't have soap to clean your hands with, or towels -- just Purell and a hand drier that doesn't work. As you can imagine, the fish odor here is pretty extreme.

Honorable Mentions:

Homebase (Oxford, England) -- A home repair store where almost everything in the bathroom is out of order and covered in filth. Word to the wise: Don't touch anything!

Waffle House (Walterboro, SC) -- A notch below the typical Waffle House bathroom, with plenty of grime-covered utilities and a not-so-heavenly aroma of trash and mildew in the air.

Tamarisk Restaurant Toilet Features World's Worst Urinal Divider

Tamarisk Restaurant
870 East Main Street
Green River, UT USA

Where is it?

Easy to find. From the front entrance, head inside, towards the dining room. Before entering the dining room, however, you'll see a salad bar on your right. Across from that is a small enclave, where the bathrooms are located.

What's it like?

This homey diner, attached to the Best Western in the small town of Green River, is a pretty straightforward little eatery. The menu consists primarily of standard American diner eats -- fried chicken, burgers, etc. -- along with a few trendier (though now standard) dishes, like grilled chicken Caesar salads and such. Nothing mindblowingly original, of course, but the execution is good and the prices fair, so it's certainly a cut above some of the standard roadside fare you might come across.

The highlight here, of course, are the melons, grown locally and absolutely tremendous in flavor, juiciness and freshness -- some of the best I've ever had. The town even has an annual festival devoted to it -- called Melon Days -- which draws several tens of thousands in visitors, which (after trying these melons) seems worthy of the attention.

The restaurant's interior looks like a HoJo, which is what it may have been in a previous incarnation: Green motel carpet floor, lots of windows, little decor. Service is friendly and a touch snarky, but efficient and polite. It's clean though not immaculate. A decent road stop if you're in the area, as said earlier.

The homey feel extends to the toilets, though perhaps a bit too much. Allow me to explain: This is a small bathroom, similar in size to the Kolob Canyons Visitors Center toilet or the bathroom at the Red Canyon Information Center. Only, the feel here is more like the toilets experienced at the WhyNot Lounge or Steak n Shake Winter Park -- except those places were much cleaner.

You have one stall in the back, one urinal and one sink. The wall behind the sink are covered in off-white drywall with kind of a textured plastic siding cover; the walls in the rest of the place are covered in gray tile with a blue tile highlight strip, and the floors are covered in darker gray tile.

Toilets and sinks are standard white porcelain. The place smelled some of urine and the air was dank. Clearly, some better ventilation is needed.

The vanity is just a blue patterned fiberboard model, single station -- pretty cheap set up and pretty dinged up. A two-part Plexiglas divider separates the urinal from the sink area -- a strange divider indeed, in that 2/3 of the divider is solid gray and the outer 1/3 is transparent.

The divider itself is a real work of art -- and I mean that with as much sarcasm as I can muster. Because of the closeness of the urinal and sink, and the way the divider is set, the divider already offers little in terms of privacy. If two people were standing side by side there, each one using his own station, the divider would offer them little space for themselves -- similar to what was seen at the Coffee Cup Cafe in Boulder City, NV.

But to make matters worse, the urinal divider here has that transparent part on the end, which does nothing but give the person at the sink a clear shot at the wee wee of his neighbor. Really, if you're at the sink, washing your hands, you're at the same level of the transparent part, so that gives you a clear shot. Unbelievable.

If the transparent part were at the other end, fixed to the wall, then the person at the sink could see nothing (he'd have to crane is head inward to do so) -- that's really the best placement for it, if you think about it. As is, no barrier might just provide as much privacy. Sloppy assembly here.

The rest of the place is put together better but isn't much better, though not as outright noticeable. The toilet stall is roomy (to accommodate both handicap and regular people) but the floors were covered with water and toilet paper. The urinal could use a good scrubbing, as could the stained tile and grout behind it. The sink could do with a good cleaning as well, especially in the corners and against the urinal divider, which (on the sink side) is getting covered with grime and mildew.

Also worth noting: Below the sink was a bag of trash waiting to be thrown out. Why didn't they just put it with the rest of the garbage? Very strange indeed.

Marks out of 10:

5. Comfortable restaurant, uncomfortable bathroom.

Comments to the Management:

Need to improve the ventilation to remove some of the dank air in here. Also, need to scrub the place over very well -- the tile is starting to funk up in several spots here. Also, take out the trash instead of leaving it beneath the sink. And finally -- fix that urinal divider so it at least looks like it can offer some privacy!

Funky, Homespun Beach Decor and Colorful Graffiti Can't Mask Wear and Tear at Coffee Cup's Toilets

World Famous Coffee Cup
512 Nevada Way
Boulder City, NV USA
www.worldfamouscoffeecup.com

Where is it?

A bit tricky to find. From the main entrance, pass through the dining room and towards the back wall of the place, keeping the dining counter/bar on your left.

Once at the back wall, avoid the temptation of passing through the swinging stainless steel door leading to the kitchen and hang a left, passing behind the dining counter and through a little hallway in the back there, which leads to the the rear of the establishment's secondary dining area.

Once through the hallway entrance, take an immediate right and head down a second, longer hallway, which leads to the very back of the place. At the end, look for the words "Banos" painted on the wall, along with an arrow pointing to the left.

Go left, then wrap around a sharp corner and you'll come face to face with the toilets.

What's it like?

This funky little diner was introduced to me via the Food Network show, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives -- which I don't necessarily find to be a great show but it is certainly harmless and it features enough greasy food to make your mouth salivate and actually want to visit such a place if the opportunity arose.

Well, my opportunity to visit such a place came on this western excursion, as a drive from Vegas to the Hoover Dam one morning passed us through Boulder City and the chance to eat breakfast at this self-proclaimed "world famous" locale.

Not really sure what makes it "world famous," though it was pleasant enough for a diner. While it's locked in a comfortable, sub-division-packed town on the shores of the ever-evaporating Lake Powell (about 30 minutes from Vegas proper), the vibe here is decidedly California surfer. The walls are covered with surfer decor, from boards to boating and water skiing photos to paintings of swim trunks (like the ones found on the door to the men's room).

More than anything, the decor of the place reminded me of Hurricane Wings in Orlando -- another land-locked establishment with a heavy beach-goer vibe. Granted, that place has its origins in the seaside town of Ft. Pierce. This place, I'm not so sure about. I guess there's a lot of sea-faring escapades done on Lake Mead, and even Lake Powell, which is about five hours further away by car, but other than that I didn't see much that was actually sea-faring here. Perhaps it's just a hobby of the owners?

Regardless, the decor is funky and homey enough to enjoy a decent breakfast in. And that's what we did.

We ordered omelets, and while one of my party found the Cali Omelet to be a bit bland (it had tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, green peppers, olives and onions in it but needed a bit of extra zing, he thought), my Pork Chili Verde Omelet was top notch -- meaty, spicy and enjoyable stick to your ribs fare.

With a name like the "Coffee Cup," you'd think the coffee would be out of this world, however (and I admit I'm a coffee snob) I didn't think the coffee here was anything out of the ordinary -- standard Maxwell House-style cup. Just wanted to mention that as well.

Service was friendly, as were the people sitting alongside us. It's very obviously a locals place and on early mornings, before work, and on Sundays, I can see the place being packed with all sorts of characters. I guess that's what drew the attention of the TV show, though honestly I never understand why one diner is better than another as long as the food's good. This one's certainly a major step up food-wise from others I've visited, like Steak 'n' Shake Winter Park and the atrocious Waffle House in Walterboro, SC, but as neighborhood joints go I'm not sure I'd take this one over such favorites of mine, like the Town House Restaurant in Oviedo (on which I would say this one, in terms of food, is on similar ground).

Though as with all neighborhood eateries and diners, that's always debatable, depending on where you live and what you like. For pork chili verde omelets, the Coffee Cup certainly takes top score.

However, when it comes down to bathrooms, I have to give the edge to the Town House Restaurant, my diner favorite back in Florida. Bottom line: While far from perfect, that place's toilets are cleaner and better put together.

The Cup's bathrooms are somewhat worn down, and I think that's part of their charm but it's also to their detriment. The lazy, beach-going vibe seems to have been the creative force behind this place's lack of upkeep and -- no doubt -- purposefully shoddy assembly.

The floor is covered with small white tiles and dark black grout -- almost similar to what was seen at Theo's Kitchen, only not as scary. (I think Theo's has better food, by the way, though this place has a better bathroom -- see how this is all relative and debatable?)

The walls are covered with a number of substances. Beige tile, much of it looking like it's about to fall off the wall because of the age of the grout, hangs behind the urinal and vanity. Painted blue particle board is found along the back walls, and what seems to be white-painted cork board makes up some of the side walls. Makeshift, this is -- though it still feels better put together than the bathroom we experienced a while back at Babys R Us.

Of course, given the lazy beach-going vibe here and the mass quantities of wood walls, you'll also find plenty of graffiti here as well. And believe me the walls are covered with it.

Some of the more noteworthy examples include the statement "Live Free or Die" written just below the toilet seat cover dispenser in the one stall found here. Why it was written there? I'm not sure, though in some light I guess you could say the statement offers some encouragement to those who need a little help expelling their pork chili verde omelet.

Also, a picture of a propeller plan with a banner reading "Eat at the Cup!" can be found on a the upper door to that stall (inside it, that is) -- clearly to give people some inspiration about trying the pork chili verde omelet after expelling what was already in their gut beforehand.

And I really liked the flaming mounting drawings that started inside the stall and extended onto the back wall, through the stall opening (when the door was opened). Very creative (and I guess it clearly shows how I spent my time while in here, no?) and a pleasing nice unified vision, if you will.

The room itself is small and packs in a lot of elements -- meaning too much -- for the space alotted. Not as tight as Club Quarters Philadelphia or at Petro Palace lobby or the SkyBar in St. Petersburg, Russia, but really, this is a one-bagger that's been jammed with items and because of that it really beckons a simpler layout or full conversion to a one-bagger. If more than two people were in here at the same time, it could get sticky moving around, and forget about privacy.

More than anything, the setup reminded me of the multi-person toilets at the Copper Rocket in Maitland, which are longer than this but pack in the utilities only in the very back of the place, making everyone who enters pool in the back and such. Both are equally uncomfortable in that respect.

Worse still is that the a lot of the items here seem to be falling apart or coming loose from the walls. The divider between the sink and urinal, for example, waves back and forth freely if you move it some -- that's how loose it is. (Makes the hole in the wall at the Venetian lobby toilet look like a minor blemish, really.) The toilet stall walls are in a similar state of disrepair, though they seem a bit more sturdy.

The urinal and vanity are kind of wedged together in the front of the bathroom, with the corners of the room pressing in around them some. The commodes and urinal are your standard white porcelain models, all in various states of wear and tear. The vanity itself isn't much more than a cheap cabinet and white porcelain sink set on the floor -- cheap and functional, nothing more, like something you'd find at a flea market, install and forget about (reminiscent of the vanity at Country Ham 'n' Eggs, only without the fake wood walls and Grandma's house feel).

There was also a bit of urine stink in the air, though nothing as bad as some other places I've been to (I'm looking at you, horrid CVS Pharmacy bathroom in Savannah, GA -- pew!).

A funky place, yes, though also a bit frightening from a bathroom perspective. Would return for the chili verde omelet, though.

Marks out of 10:

6. Really a 5, but the funky graffiti and the pork chili verde omelet raise the score some.

Comments to the Management:

Lots to be updated here, if you think about it. Decor-wise, you're doing great. But the tile needs replacement, the barriers need to be better secured, some of the fixtures need replacement and the smell needs to be freshened. Ultimately, the place would probably work best as a one-bagger. If you can do that, and still keep the homespun surfer decor, then you've really accomplished something.