Kibbutz Rohama, Room 9
Initial Impressions: This is a fine example of one of the most common setups in Israel. In this design, the shower and toilet area form one complete room, with the only demarcation being the Israeli-made, quasi-waterproof curtain. A friend of mine has dubbed this arrangement the “shoilet,” cleverly combining the words shower and toilet. Her defense, which initially seemed reasonable, was that the shoilet was born out of necessity as a way to maximize limited space (Israel is a small country) by not having to waste square footage with a shower door. However, this bathroom is far bigger than my bathroom at home, which is not a shoilet. So she’s wrong. On the one hand, the shoilet requires that you spend at least three minutes after your shower squeegee-ing the entire room sloshing water toward the drain. As water tends to be clear, you can’t see it and will all but certainly leave a good 2-3 liters waiting for the next person who walks in the room. On the other hand, it forces you to weirdly hang clothing and toiletry bags (this is a hotel after all) all over the room, or pile them in the sink. There really is nothing good to say about the shoilet.
The experience: The water pressure was quite good and the heat was adequate. The shower head fit securely in the receptacle and did not oscillate. There was no way to adjust the angle of the shower head which is common in Israel, probably because Israelis are all exactly the same height. The curtain did not extend all the way to the floor, but really, what’s the point? Come to think of it, what’s the point of a curtain at all?
Flooding: The bathroom flooded, as designed.
