2007’s Best and Worst Public Toilets

From luxury loos to crappy crappers, Where’s the Toilet? reveals its best and worst public toilet experiences of 2007.

Best movies. Best albums. Best dressed celebrities. Best toilets. As each year ends, the media bombards us with pop-culture based lists that look back on the year’s high and low points.

Not wanting to be left out, David and Eyal, founding editors of Where’s the Toilet?, decided it was perfect time to reveal their best and worst toilet-going experiences of 2007.

“We’ve been though a lot this year,” said Dawson. “We’ve experienced some truly golden moments, no pun intended, as well as some horrific experiences. It seemed foolish not to sum them all up for the end of the year.”

The Toilet Awards for best and worst toilet experiences on Where’s the Toilet? is as follows:

The Top 5

These are what David and Eyal found to be the best toilets experienced of 2007 (based on the site’s ratings):

1. Wynn Las Vegas, NV, USA (bathrooms beside Mojito’s)
2. Lumley Castle Hotel, Chester-Le-Street, UK
3. Hotel Jerome, Aspen, CO, USA
4. Sani Fare Toilets, Various Locations, Germany
5. Okada, Wynn Las Vagas, NV, USA

Editor’s Pick (based on experience): Mall at Millenia, Orlando, Florida, USA (food court toilets)

“It didn’t make our top five list, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a high-quality toilet-going experience,” said Dawson. “We have often marveled at how this toilet, which after all is only in a mall, surpasses expectations. Better still, it provides top class hotel quality for the masses at no charge!”

The Bottom 5

The most downright dreadful toilet experiences of 2007 (based on the site’s ratings):

1. Pho Pasteur, Orlando, FL, USA
2. Ghiradelli, San-Francisco, CA, USA
3. BP Services, Chateauvillain, France
4. Ay Jalisco, Sebastian, FL, USA
5. Oriental Supermarket, Orlando, FL, USA.

Editor’s Pick: The Crappiest Crapper of 2007: Ay Jalisco, Sebastian, FL, USA.

“It’s so bad, we couldn’t even include a picture,” said Dawson. “Needless to say, we will not be visiting again.”

Toilets at Small Virgin River Casino in Mesquite Almost on Par with Vegas Brethren

The Virgin River Hotel, Casino & Bingo
100 Pioneer Blvd.
Mesquite, NV USA
www.virginriver.com

Where is it?

From the main casino entrance, head into the building and towards the buffet, following the signs to get there as the layout is a big confusing and you may get lost otherwise.

Once you reach the buffet entrance, turn around, keeping the buffet entrance to your back, and look across and slightly to the left of the slot machine area in front of you. At about the 10 or 11 o'clock position, you'll see a sign hanging from the ceiling, reading "Restrooms."

What's it like?

This casino and hotel is located in the ever-growing Mesquite, NV, which was just a two casino town when I first passed through it some years ago and is now a decently sized small community with a feel that's both homey, new and Vegas-like.

This casino is definitely smaller than what you'd find on the famous Strip, and it's not quite as flashy or filled with attention getting signs and sights, but in all honesty it's not that far from those places either. There are high-end shows here -- Kenny Rogers was coming soon, I believe -- and both a decent buffet and a few other eateries inside, and the casino itself has that same odd-patterned carpet on the floor, the same confusing floor plan, the same decorative molding on the walls and the same array of loud noises from slots and people playing table games. Only difference is that it's more affordable and smaller in scale, which for many -- myself included -- isn't a bad thing.

The bathrooms follow that concept and in many ways they are on par -- at least design-wise -- with what we saw at the Venetian lobby. I was actually expecting much worse from here and was pleasantly surprised by what I was.

This is a wide room that packs in lots of features. The back wall houses about five or six toilet stalls. The front wall feature a five-station vanity and, to the right of that, along a diagonal far wall are four or five urinals. That doesn't leave much room for maneuvering in a full house but it could be worse. The urinals and toilets are both white porcelain models, but because the rest of the room is made up of dark colors, they form a pleasant contrast to the eye (similar to what's done at Sensi, for example, only not as extreme and zen-like). Off-white marble tile covers the floors, a wavy blue-and-grey-patterned marble tile covers the walls.

Most impressive here are the stall doors and urinal dividers, which are made of heavy-grain dark wood which is stained elegantly and features simply yet noble carving designs on them.

Just as impressive is the vanity, which is made up of a marble counter with in-laid porcelain sinks. Standard chrome faucets and soap dispensers are fixed atop the sinks themselves. A dark-wood-framed multi-panel mirror stretches over the back of the vanity.

On the whole, it's much more than what you'd expect from a place this far removed from the Strip. For that, and for the extra steps taken to make the place seem elegant, regal and comfortable, I give it pretty high marks.

Unfortunately, there was a strong odor of urine here and some of the dividers and stalls needed a touch of repair around the hinges, which were starting to look loose instead of strong. Of course, as with the Venetian toilets, these weren't outright noticeable issues; they were only discernible upon closer inspection. Otherwise, the place was pretty clean and looked well-kept.

Marks out of 10:

8. Almost a 9, were it not for the smell and the bits of disrepair.

Comments to the Management:

It's no Wynn, but other than that, it's pretty close, if not on par with a Strip-based casino bathroom. For that you should be commended. Just eliminate the smell and tidy up the loose ends and you'll have a true contender here.

Outhouse Review #1: Red Rocks Canyon -- Yup, It's an Outhouse

Red Rocks Canyon
Las Vegas, NV USA

http://www.redrockcanyonlv.org/

Where is it?

This national conservation area, located on the south end of Las Vegas (about 15 minutes from the Strip, via HW 215), offers visitors a chance to drive through the recreation area on a 15-mile car loop, with many marked stops along the way. The outhouse visited here is at the third stop on that loop.

What's it like?

It's an outhouse, that's what it's like. Did you expect something else?

This is a single-toilet structure, set in the back of a parking lot that leads to walking trails into the rocks behind it. Outside, there are wonderful views of the multi-colored stone and scorched desert, as well as solid vistas of Vegas beyond it. Inside, it's a white room with a compost toilet and a toilet paper holder, nothing more. It's somewhat clean but also somewhat -- it's an outhouse, essentially.

The inside of the place could use another coat of paint, just so it won't look so run down. Also, it would be nice if they included some Purell or something of the like inside to sanitize your hands with after the fact. And it's very stuffy inside, since there's no real ventilation and it's sitting in the middle of a desert (my visit was in late September, and it was hot then, but I imagine it's brutal inside this place in the summer -- hot enough to cook in, at least).

But then, as I said, it's an outhouse -- basic facilities for those in dire need, nothing more -- not a comfort castle in any means, so what can you expect? As an outhouse, it's above average. As a bathroom, it's surprisingly more clean than a number of restaurant and gas station toilets I've visited -- as well as a few homes. It smells a bit off, but it's an outhouse, so I guess it's supposed to. At least the view outside will make you forget any misgivings once you've finished your business, right?

Marks out of 10:

6. Not bad for an outhouse. (Did I mention it's an outhouse?)

Comments to the Management:

Needs another coat of paint and a Purell dispenser. Otherwise, not bad. The second best of the three outhouses visited on this trip -- and loads better than the one I visited in Winter Park on that strange occasion.

Serviceable Jack in the Box Holds Few Surprises

Jack in the Box
330 N Sandhill Blvd
Mesquite, NV USA 89027

www.jackinthebox.com

Where is it?

When facing the order counter, look to your left and you'll see a corridor stretching behind the kitchen and into the back of the place. Head down that hall and you'll find the bathrooms there.

What's it like?

This fast-food chain, popular in the West, offers decent fast food fare like burgers, fries and the lot, with the menu focusing of late on sandwiches put on ciabata bread (apparently it's America's new bread of choice, because it's chewy instead of soft and tasteless, like Wonder Bread). It's not a high-end dining place at all, but it's cheap and decent enough to satiate the hunger pangs while you're on a multi-hour drive to Vegas, like I was at the time of my stop.

This location, in a new strip mall set in the boom town of Mesquite (which just five years ago -- on my last pass through -- consisted of nothing more than two casinos and now consists of a vast array of home developments, shopping malls, golf courses and other entertainment venues) is a bit tricky to get to, because of the way the road winds around the city (feels like a roundabout, and thus you drive through it as thus, but it really is just a windy road). Once inside, you'll find a clean restaurant filled with sparkling tiles, linoleum tables and booths and a stainless steel order counter with light-up menu overhead.

The bathrooms offer more of the same generic-ness: White tiles on the walls, with lime green tile accent lines; white fixtures; off-white/beige stall dividers;, grey floor tiles with black borders. Nothing too creative, mind you, but clean and serviceable enough -- especially in terms of fast food restaurant bathrooms, which at times can be pretty awful. One odd thing of note: The place was missing a mirror over the sink. What's that all about?

If found some little wear and tear on the fixtures, but that's to be expected. Everything was in working order and nothing was installed crookedly or leaking. (It's still a relatively new establishment, I gather, so how bad can it be?). Unfortunately, the noise factor is a little heavy, especially in the way the restaurant's entrance door sensor rings (it chimes every time the door opens or closes) and carries down that hallway leading to the toilets. It was so distracting and invading and continuous that for a while I thought the place was being flooded with customers and that my private time in the bathroom would soon come to an end. Later though, when I exited and went to the counter to order some food, I found out the door wasn't quite shut all the way and the desert wind was actually responsible for blowing it open repeatedly. The place was empty, outside of myself and the employees.

Marks out of 10:

7. Almost an eight, were it not for the missing mirrors and that incessant door chiming.

Comments to the Management:

Install some mirrors and fix that door!

Wynn-derful watery wonderland

WYNN LAS VEGAS
3131 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, NV USA 89109

http://www.wynnlasvegas.com/

Where is it?

This elaborate and enormous hotel on the Las Vegas strip has a number of public restrooms throughout. The one visited here was in the hotel's shopping mall, next to a clothing store called Mojito's. Because of the many distractions around me, I'm afraid I'm not sure how I exactly got to this bathroom - perhaps it found me? If you're curious, I suggest following the signs to the shopping area and looking for the bathroom next to Mojito's. You won't be disappointed.

What's it like?

Thanks to my visits to the J.W. Marriott Grand Lakes in Orlando and the Bellagio in Las Vegas, I thought I knew what luxury public bathrooms were. But I was wrong. My visit to these facilities at the Wynn changes every preconceived notion I thought I had about mass-accommodating public restrooms. These may just be the greatest, most luxurious public toilets on the face of the earth.

This stretching room comes filled with marble, from the maroon and off-white checkerboard pattern found on the floor to the single-unit marble slab that make up the line of urinals (and urinal dividing walls) to the dark slabs that make up the trough sinks and vanity. It's a sight to behold, construction-wise and decoration-wise. I almost forgot I had to pee when I got in there, so stunned I was by the beauty of it all.

The sinks are the most attention-getting items here (unless you go for a pee and give yourself a chance to eye the marble work there), since they are what you first see when you walk in. Enormous, ornate, stylish, with automatic soap dispensers and spigot-inspired faucets and sinks that carry away excess water like reverse waterfalls. Above them is a line of towel dispensers (heavy paper, not the cheap stuff) and large mirrors framed in decorative brass. Amazing stuff.

Further inside is that aforementioned mammoth single-unit slab of urinal marble, as well as a half-dozen or so stalls, each divided with the same thick stone and offering a sound barrier (both literally and figuratively) for privacy and comfort -- a literal castle wall that surrounds you while you to do your business.

What raises the bar on this place all the more is that it's an open space. No door separates the bathroom from the bustling shopping area outside and while walking in you wonder just how quiet and private it can be. But step in further and suddenly you're in another world. All that marble, gleaming and super clean, makes all the difference, absorbing the sound and making the place seem isolated and fortified.

Better still, a cleaning attendant, mop and bucket in hand, stands guard at the entrance, patrolling the place 24 hours a day.

Marks out of 10:

12. This is an outstanding achievement in design, management, cleanliness and comfort. Bravo!

Comments to the Management:

I plan to move here during my next trip to Vegas -- please hold the back stall for me, if you will.

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.

Near-Luxurious Luxor

Luxor Las Vegas
3900 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV USA 89119

www.luxor.com

Where is it?

These are harder to find that you might think: In addition to the hotel's already twisted and turned over interior, which has no linearity to it, the casino area itself was undergoing some renovation, which blocked certain pathways and created makeshift ones in their place.

These facilities are found on the north east side of the hotel, in the spaces located between the hallways leading to the north side guest rooms in the pyramid and the edge of the casino. They're near one of the poker rooms -- though which ones exactly, I cannot say, since there are many poker rooms and they all look alike.

What's it like?

These are decent mass market toilets, though they lack the imagination and class of those found in the Bellagio or the Wynn. That doesn't mean they are mediocre -- these are wonderful, roomy, airy environs, are kept impeccably clean and have all their fixtures in proper working order -- they just can't compete with the waterfall-like faucets and Roman-inspired stonework found at those other locations.

Still, there is much to admire here. The floors and most of the walls are covered with thick sandy tile that looks much like the stone used in the Egyptian Pyramids (it' the Luxor, so you don't really expect anything else); the upper walls are covered with wallpaper that contains a design composed of Egyptian figures and such. The vanity area houses sensor-driven faucets, pumps that dispense a nice-smelling soap and a wide stretch mirror for all to share -- a little dated in design compared to its Vegas compatriots, sure, but clean regardless. The toilets and urinals are the standard white porcelain models. They have beige dividers between them and are kept impeccably clean.

The spot is a bit noisy, given that it's located at the edge of a mammoth casino and a busy thoroughfare, so it's scant on the quiet, but it's still large, well-kept, clean and comforting, which will certainly work if you're in need of a longer visit.

Marks out of 10:

8. A fine, albeit unremarkable, public toilet.

Comments to the Management:

Since you're updating the rest of the hotel's interior, you might want to consider updating these a bit too -- some more modern touches would be welcome.

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.

Bellagio Bathroom Is Belisimo

Bellagio Las Vegas
3600 Las Vegas Blvd S.
Las Vegas, NV USA 89109

http://www.bellagio.com/

Where is it?

This beautiful hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, known for its elaborate fountain show, has dozens of bathrooms in it. The one visited on this occasion was in the Spa Tower. To get there, do the following: From the front desk, go back towards the Conservatory, sticking to the left of it (go right and you'll end up at the hotel's casino). Continue walking, paste the 21-foot chocolate fountain and the waterfall-themed restaurant, Sensi, and head towards the Spa Tower elevators, which lead to the Spa Tower rooms.

Go past the elevators leading to the Spa Tower rooms, past the sundries store, and then go left at the crossroads in the hallway. This will lead you to a dead end, on the left side of which is the bathrooms. (If you go straight or right, you will end up in the hotel's convention center wings.)

What's it like?

Superb in every way.

The room itself is spacious and stretching but not so much to make you feel like you're in a cavern. Rather, the design here emphasizes privacy, with the sinks sitting just ahead of the urinals and the urinals sitting just ahead of the stalls -- a perfect situation, really, so no one can sneak any peeks.

Two sets of marble tile coat the spaces here. The floors are covered by two-color tile set in a modernist checkerboard pattern. The walls are covered with tile featuring streaks of beige and off-white. It's stately, elegant yet not off-putting -- essentially, you feel like you're in a museum but you don't mind leaving your mark.

The sink area features elegantly framed mirrors above each station, along with automatic faucets that stream warm water and automatic soap dispensers, along with easy-to-reach paper towel (thick ply, of course) at every stop. The toilets are immaculately clean and all automatic flush -- and, thanks to the thick divider walls, you feel isolated inside them and free to go about your business at leisure, even if the place is packed.

Best yet, these bathrooms cater mostly to those entering or leaving the hotel's convention center, so they get little traffic. Also, they are somewhat tucked away and unless your convention hall area is nearby or you feel the need to go after leaving the sundries shop, you will probably never visit this bathroom.

Marks out of 10:

10.

Comments to the Management:

Keep up the good work. This is one of the hotel's true hidden treasures.

Okada Offers Oasis of Opulence

Okada
Wynn Las Vegas
3131 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV USA 89109

http://www.wynnlasvegas.com/

Where is it?

Finding the restaurant is increasingly more difficult than finding the restroom once you are there. To be honest, I have no idea how I stumbled upon this place -- we were just walking through the Wynn to see the sights while waiting for our dinner reservations at Daniel Boulud (reviewed later this week) and roamed into a back corner of the mega-hotel to find this place. Seeing that we had to use the restroom at the time, the discovery couldn't have been more opportune.

So, you may have to ask someone on Wynn's staff how to get there. But once there, and once inside, head down the hallway to the left of the greeting counter and you'll find the bathrooms there.

What's it like?

This is a classy, upscale Japanese place filled with black marble glass, curvaceous tables and lots of shiny wood fixtures. It's also not as expensive as one would assume -- most sushi and Japanese places I passed on the Strip won't let you get out of there without spending at least $20 per California roll. This one was at about half of that (decent for Strip prices, if you think about it) and boasted a pretty varied and impressive menu to boot.

Unfortunately the kitchen wasn't open on my visit so I was unable to sample the food. (I'll definitely be trying to next time I visit Vegas.) However, the people here were kind enough to let me use the bathroom. I am in their debt for this.

The facilities here offer a Zen-like approach, much like the one found at the outstanding Sensi at the Bellagio. But unlike that place, which offers amazing solace for only one person, this bathroom can accommodate more people at once while still providing an environment that feels private, spiritual, sophisticated, clean and practical.

What impresses you first about this place is the decor. The floors are covered with off-white stone tile that resemble the pattern found on a stone path in rural Japan, if you will. The walls alternate between jet single colors of black and light brown, and the fixtures (like in Sensi) stick out from the walls as if they were pieces of modern art. The urinals are small, yet functional and elegant, almost flower-like in design (as if Georgia O'Keefe has created them), and the stalls serve more like private rooms than mere stalls. The fact that everything is spotless (granted, I was here before the place opened) made it all the more amazing.

The centerpiece here is the vanity. Featuring two stations, the area boasts flat glass sinks that drain away water in soft-flowing sheets (like an infinity pool), personalized mirrors behind each sink, and two faucets that look and work like spigots from a water spring (they contain motion sensors to get the water flowing, of course, but still it's pretty neat). Metallic soap dispensers and ring towers of thick paper towels sit in the gaps between each sink station. It's elegant, sleek and functional.

Marks out of 10:

11. Heavenly on all accounts.

Comments to the Management:

Normally, I would suggest adding a divider wall between the urinals, but then that would ruin the decorative perfection of this place..... so I've got nothing......