‘Gross’ Rotorua hotel feature shocks tourist

'Is this a cultural thing?' The tourist identified the hotel with an unusual room arrangement as Pullman Rotorua. Photo / Reddit, Proudclad

A guest at a New Zealand hotel visiting from overseas was baffled by a strange feature in their room.

After checking into the Pullman Rotorua the traveller noticed in the corner of the room, not far from the bed, was a toilet cubicle.

There, behind frosted glass, was a toilet and shower unit, as well as an open sink stall. Although because the cubicle did not extend to the floor or ceiling, it offered little privacy at all.

The tourist took to social media to ask if they were the only person unimpressed by the bathroom arrangement.

Writing to the New Zealand subreddit the tourist said they didn’t want to cause offence but having ablutions and a wet area just metres from the bed struck him as impractical.

“Is this a cultural thing? It’s my first time visiting and I’m really confused at this architectural choice,” they wrote.

The hotel was not a budget option either, costing $300 per night.

The traveller said it wasn’t the only time they had encountered the odd open bathroom arrangement in New Zealand. So, they were wondering if it was the norm.

“There’s no privacy - the “stall” door doesn’t reach the ceiling, is quite transparent and doesn’t have a lock,” they wrote.

If it wasn’t the end of a three-week holiday, the traveller said they would have changed their booking.

“Am I crazy or is this weird?”

A bunch of Kiwi redditors chimed in to tell the tourist they weren’t the only one to find it weird.

Some said they had recognised the toilet stall from previous stays, calling it “gross and weird” but not the only place they had encountered inconveniently close “in suite” bathrooms.

“I don’t need my wife and kids to hear me taking a s*** in that much detail,” they wrote.

Another visitor said they changed their booking rather than sleep in the same room as the toilet.

“I left because of this and went and stayed down the road. Stuff of nightmares. That, and windows that don’t open.”

A spokesperson for the Accor hospitality group, who operates the Pullman in Rotorua, told the Herald that the hotel is working on a remodelling of the bathrooms for “additional privacy solutions”, which is set to be completed by March this year.

“There are some rooms that will require a different solution and the hotel is working with design and construction team on this,” they said.