The best places to get hot and steamy
Even if she could not afford to pay the full rent for a serviced apartment at Four Seasons Place, Etsuko Bains said she would still love to rent its bathroom.
Ms Bains, an orientation specialist at Four Seasons, describes the bathrooms as the best she has seen, with superb layouts and separate toilet and shower cubicles keeping the bathroom clean and dry.
'Being Japanese I can call myself a bathroom connoisseur,' said Mrs Bains. 'Our people love taking baths. We spend an average of one hour every day taking baths.' She feels a well designed bathroom should be a space of ambience, convenience, luxury and comfort.
For her, the perfect bathroom would be spacious and aligned with the overall design of the apartment. Most importantly, it should have lighting that creates a serene ambience for relaxation, a shower with good water pressure and temperature control, and a well shaped bathtub that is deep enough for a good soak.
Everything should be perfectly functional, user friendly and fitted with quality amenities.
'It sounds simple, but it is very difficult to find in Hong Kong,' she said. 'Bathroom design is indeed a quest for style. This covers all aspects, from the wall and floor tiles, to the doors and knobs, to the sanitary appliances.'
She said the best bathing experiences for her were at the end of a hectic day, dipping in the bath while watching her favourite television programme on the LCD monitor right above the bathtub, then rinsing off with a hot and powerful rain shower.
The bathrooms at Four Seasons Place have it all. They are spacious with well thought out designs.
Some rooms have sea views. The showers have thermostatic controls, and a 15-inch LCD television is standard.
Gateway Apartments provides the same standards with some of the spacious marble bathrooms offering ocean views.
The finest Kohler cast-iron bathtubs and high-powered Hansgrohe shower massage have been installed. Under-counter basins with marble vanity tops with classic German faucets have been used to enhance every bathroom. The penthouse suites even offer the luxury of a whirlpool.
Dave Siu Wing-koon, assistant general manager of Harbour City Estates, which manages Gateway Apartments, said good ventilation was crucial.
'No bathroom should ever smell. Neither should it become all steamy during hot baths or showers.
'At the end of the day, it is the guests who know how they want their bathrooms to be. We do regular surveys and improve the bathrooms according to their needs,' he said.
