Uniquely Qualified to Judge
I've decided to start reviewing bathrooms around Philadelphia (and probably further afield, if we travel in the next three months), mainly because I've been seeing so many of them lately, and I've noticed that I review them mentally anyway. Since I'm starting a new category for these reviews, and it's conceivable that a new reader could happen upon it without having read any of my other posts, let me explain what makes me uniquely qualified to judge public restrooms in the city I live in: I'm pregnant. I'm nearing the end of the second trimester, and at this point I'm lucky to be able to make it 10 blocks between bathroom visits. I certainly have to go before leaving the house, and again upon reaching my destination (if not en route as well). I imagine that by the ninth month, I'll be down to three blocks at most; my husband and I are already planning our nightly walking routes accordingly. Even before I got pregnant, however, I knew about several of these spots—mainly because I often take long walks around the city.
Before I start reviewing, I want to say that I appreciate that these bathrooms are available to me at all; I've learned over the years how to find a bathroom in New York City when necessary, but it's still much easier to find one here in Philly. My bladder thanks you, providers of public (or semi-public) facilities in the City of Brotherly Love. (Btw, for those who don't yet know how to find a bathroom in New York City, I've got one word for you: Hotels.)
I've got a backlog of bathrooms in my brain (and obviously, a penchant for alliteration, but that's another topic...), but I don't know how many I'll be able to stay awake to review tonight. Possibly only one. :)
Standing O Bar
Location: Corner of Broad & Locust, inside the Doubletree Hotel
Shortest route to restroom: Enter on Locust, walk straight back past the bar; bathrooms are in the hallway.
Ease of access: Good. I've noticed the staff watching me walk back to the bathroom single-mindedly, but no one's ever said a word.
Quality of facilities: Average. The women's room has only two stalls (now that I'm pregnant, I have to use the wheelchair-accessible one because I can barely clear the belly when I shut the door in the other one) in a fairly cramped space, and the cigarette smoke tends to drift in from the bar (either under the door or through the ventilation system, I'm not sure which). However, there's usually soap in at least one dispenser, seat covers in the stalls, actual paper towels (I'm not a fan of dryers), and, most amazingly, two-ply toilet paper. Fairly soft two-ply toilet paper, especially for a commercial establishment.
Sheraton Rittenhouse Square
Location: Corner of 18th & Locust, on the east side of the Square
Shortest route to restroom: Enter on Locust, via the door next to Potcheen (one of the hotel's two restaurants). NB: This door is often locked in the evenings; in this case, enter through the main hotel entrance at the corner of 18th and Locust, pass the reservations desk, and walk straight back until you see a hallway (up two or three steps) to your right. The bathrooms are in this hallway.
Ease of access: Good. I had to ask the location of the restrooms on my first visit, and I was directed pleasantly. Access is very good indeed if you can enter on Locust.
Quality of facilities: Excellent. The women's room is large (at least 6 stalls, maybe more—I'll update this post later with the actual count), with a lovely sink area and comfy chairs if you need a rest or a place to apply a bandage to a blister; the stalls are standard size and have hooks for bags. As for paper products, there are seat covers, facial tissues (aka Kleenex), and a good supply of paper towels. The toilet paper is standard large roll commercial grade.
Philadelphia Marriott Downtown
Location: 1201 Market Street
Shortest route to restroom: From Market Street, enter through revolving door and walk counter-clockwise (i.e., to the right) around the rotunda. Pass the restaurant and lobby cafe, and look for a hallway on your right past the potted palm (it's adjacent to a seating area and across from the reservations desk). From Filbert Street, the hallway is on the left (enter at either end of the seating area across from the reservations desk).
Ease of access: Excellent. This is a busy downtown hotel with lots of natural foot traffic. Despite the posted signs that "restrooms are for hotel patrons only," no one will notice or mind if you use the facilities.
Quality of facilities: Good. I think there are four stalls in the women's room, all of average size. They're not in great shape (some are missing hooks, and the in-stall receptacle shared by two of them has been mangled, but the location and accessibility of this restroom can't be beat (it wins hands down over the lines at the entirely-too-small women's room in the adjacent Reading Terminal Market), so I'm not complaining. The toilet paper is standard small roll commercial grade (each stall has several rolls available), seat covers are provided, and the sink area has a nice granite countertop, soap in at least one dispenser, and thick paper towels as well as a dryer. There's also a full-length mirror in which to make sure your skirt is straight or your belly isn't hanging out as you exit.
Is The Septic System Really That Feeble?
Another bathroom review, as observed on two recent visits to Strawbridge's.
Strawbridge's Department Store
Location: 801 Market Street
Shortest route to restroom: Take the elevator to the 4th floor and turn toward women's shoes. Turn left in the shoe department and follow the aisle to the end. Women's room is on your left.
Ease of access: Good. No one ever looks askance at you for using a department store bathroom, so no need to sneak in. However, the location is a bit tucked away.
Quality of facilities: Weird. There are 80 zillion stalls, far more than will ever be used at one time, especially in a somewhat-past-its-prime department store. The toilet paper is the thinnest I have ever seen in my life—it's literally more transparent than tracing paper—which would be bad enough when it comes to keeping your hands dry, but it's also virtually useless as a substitute for a seat cover (there aren't any here). If it's a warm day, you're bound to be sweating, so in addition to providing no protection from the germs and spritz of your predecessor, the ultrathin tissue is guaranteed to stick to your skin—and be next to impossible to peel off. Expect to be picking bits of toilet paper off you later in the day, or to be squatting as best you can over the seat (PLEASE be neat and wipe up if you spritz!). The water faucets are difficult to work; you have to press down *very* firmly—and hold down—to maintain a flow, which means washing one hand at a time. On the plus side, the flush mechanism for the toilets is designed to be foot operated (no leaning over the bowl), the few soap dispensers that aren't broken usually have soap in them, and there are actual paper towels rather than dryers.
Bathroom Review: Ritz Carlton Philadelphia
Last night Al took me to the Rotunda in the Ritz Carlton Philadelphia to partake of its Friday and Saturday night Chocolate Dessert Buffet (a fabulous birthday present, I must say; if you go, be sure to try the bread pudding with the chocolate sauce). Of course, having walked there while 8 months pregnant and having drunk (decaf) coffee white snarfing down yummy desserts, it wasn't long before I had to pee.
I made my way to the bathrooms just off the Rotunda (behind the elevators on the City Hall side of the building), passed the one marked Gentlemen, and continued down the hall to the one marked Women, which was next to The Vault. Nobody else was in there at the time, so I picked the first stall and entered. (There was plenty of room between the toilet and the stall door, so no need to move to the handicap stall—something I've had to do lately in many bathrooms because there's either not enough room to (a) shut the stall door without banging the belly, or (b) lean forward far enough to heave myself off the toilet seat.)
The first thing I noticed in the stall was that the wallpaper on my right was peeling; the second thing I noticed was that there were no toilet seat covers. The toilet paper was of a decent commercial grade, however, so I made do with that. As I sat down to pee, I heard someone else enter the bathroom; while I completed my quiet tinkle, she poured forth like Niagra Falls. Since the Rotunda also houses a bar, in which many elegantly-dressed Philadelphians were downing Cosmopolitans and martinis, I figured that my neighbor had just had a lot to drink and had held her water a bit too long.
I manged to get up off the seat with little trouble (again, nice spacing between the seat and the stall door) and went to wash my hands. I honestly don't remember what the soap or the faucets were like, because as I looked up in the mirror, I saw the back of a man standing in the handicap stall (the door was wide open). I panicked for a second, thinking, "Jesus, did I go into the wrong bathroom?" No, I'd definitely passed the sign marked 'Gentlemen,' so this had to be the women's bathroom. He must be in the wrong spot.
I quickly reached for a (very nice) rolled washcloth with which to dry my hands; I was hoping to get out of there before he emerged, so he wouldn't be embarrassed. Too late—he started out of the stall, saw me, and immediately popped back inside, drawing the stall door partly closed. I was seeing all this out of the corner of my eye, so I don't think he saw me see him. I stifled a giggle as the door to the bathroom opened, and one of the waitresses from the bar walked in.
Unfortunately, she walked straight to the handicap stall and entered... only to gasp, "oh my! I'm sorry!" when she bumped into the poor guy inside. He was like, "oh no! I'm in the wrong one!" which of course he already knew because he'd seen me. She turned around and headed for another stall, looked at me, started shaking with laughter as I smiled and as the guy, cover hopelessly blown now, emerged from the handicap cubicle.
He continued to express his apologies and bewilderment, and exhorted both of us not to tell anybody as he walked out with me; I said no worries, I wouldn't. So OK, call me a promise-breaker, a flip-flopper, whatever—this was just too funny to keep to myself. And I haven't identified the poor man in any way, so hopefully even if he or his friends or family see this, only he will know I'm talking about him. Anyway, I pointed out the men's room to him, and he slipped in there to wash his hands, while I practically ran back to the Rotunda, laughing all the way, to tell Al.
Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia
Location: 10 Avenue of the Arts (Broad Street)
Shortest route to restroom: Enter from the Market Street/City Hall side, through the doorway under the maroon awning. Restrooms are on your right, in the hallway that leads to The Valult (the cigar bar). Please note that the Women's room is the one directly adjacent to The Vault; the Gentlemen's room is at the Rotunda end of the hall.
Ease of access: Very good.
Quality of facilities: Good. The bathroom is clean and elegant if a bit shabby, with washcloths to dry your hands instead of paper towels or blowers. I didn't see any toilet seat covers, but the commercial-grade toilet paper is of sufficient thickness to line the seat.
We're Out!
I managed to get the car out of our snow- and ice-covered alley driveway, so I'm able to send greetings from the Apple Store at the King of Prussia Mall. If you count double strollers as two instead of one, there are more strollers in the mall than people. Is it always like this? I'd never noticed before. Anyway, I can't get anyone to help me at the moment (apparently Macs and iPods are in high, high demand), so I have time for a bathroom review.
Nordstrom
Location: King of Prussia Mall, King of Prussia, PA (2nd Floor)
Shortest route to restroom: Enter from the top of the parking deck, and make a sharp left. From the mall, make a left at the piano and walk toward the glass doors. The restroom is on the right.
Ease of access: Excellent.
Quality of facilities: Excellent. While this isn't the cleanest restroom I've ever been in, Nordstrom is the gold standard in terms of Women's Lounges. There's a Mother's Room complete with a padded changing table, sink, and chairs and couches for nursing. There's also a general lounge area, which is where I sat to nurse Austen (I liked the big brown couch). There are paper towels, seat covers, automatic faucets, and plenty of soap—not to mention the lovely, live piano music that's piped in. (Caveat: When thr piano player takes a break, Nordstrom pipes in the same dorky instrumental music that The Weather Channel plays during Local on the 8s.)