I’m with Joan Juliet Buck on this one.

I have to agree with the all the comments that said 4 or 5 star hotels.  Wonderful facilities for the ladies.  I do remember as a child some of the wonderful restrooms that were in the plush movie theatres.  I remember one in particular at a United Artists theatre which had red velvet draperies that you pushed aside after entering through high white double doors with door latches, not knobs, and gold leaf engravings.  Once through the draperies, the carpet was a reddish pattern in an oriental motif.  In this room were mirrors surrounded in white wooden frames with more gold leaf and all the vanity stools were covered in dark red velvet.  An attendant was always on duty.  The stalls were located in an adjacent room with pure white tile on the floor and half-way up the wall.  Each stall had a large gold plated lock on the inside of the door.  As a child looking at all the richness I could only think that this is what the inside of Prince Charming’s palace must be ….or the residence of a movie star.  Funny, how I remember all that.  Most of those theatres were torn down years ago.  (There is one in Oakland, the old Paramount Theatre decorated in Egyptian motif that was saved.  The symphony plays there now.)

I am very pleased that the question was not "what is the worst bathroom you have ever been in".  Oh no, there was a community outhouse at the Russian River in Northern California…oh no too awful to mention.

The most unusual bathroom I have ever been in is the one located in the Golden Gate Theatre in San Francisco.  It is not plush but it does occupy three separate floors!  As you enter from the main floor, there is the normal 20 or so stalls …everything utilitarian….except there is a wide circular staircase heading down to the next level.  On that level you will find about 10 more stalls but off to the side is another staircase.  This one is small and winding.  At the bottom level there are two or three stalls and the room is lit by one or two dim lightbulbs

I remember once when we took my Mom to the theatre to see the revival of The King & I when suddenly Mom "had to go".  As we entered the restroom, Mom groaned because there was a line of maybe 15 women waiting.  I told Mom not to worry and we took off down the large circular staircase.  Those stalls were also occupied and Mom was getting desperate and I said, "Mom if we go down to the next level we are going to have climb back up and before I finished Mom was down that little winding staircase….and found wonderful relief as none of the other patrons had ventured that far.

So now we are talking about toilets. How apt for a site that is increasingly going down the drain.

The White House visitor center. Simple, yet unique and very clean!

The ladies room in the lobby of the Waldorf Astoria.  Each "stall" is a bathroom, with its own sink and thick handtowels.  Lots of mirrors and plenty of room to primp outside the stalls too. 

The ladies rooms at Nordstroms or Saks.  When travelling around the world and not sure where to go, I look for a McDonalds.  They almost always have clean bathrooms.  Not luxurious but at least good enough you don’t feel like you are going to catch anything.  There is also a website mizpee.com that attempts to list the cleanest toilets in any city.  The idea is that people put in where they have found clean restrooms and then you can search the site from your phone when you are out and about and need to find a place.  It is slowly getting populated with more info.  Clearly shows a need.  Worst experience…one of the hole toilets in China.  Just a hole in the floor.  No toilet paper.  No flush.  In business clothes and having to go… Where to put the briefcase and purse… (answer: hang the straps around your neck while you gather everything up and squat.  Thank heavens I always have some kleenex in my pocket.)