a couple days ago i set a new goal for myself — take a shower in every lounge you visit that has one (time permitting). heaven knows i like a nice hot shower, especially after a day out and about or before (or after) a long flight. with that in mind, i thought i should start a new series about (ahem) my shower experiences.
so, the inaugural entry: the TAM Lounge in São Paulo (GRU)
ease of access and location: drop your boarding pass off at the front desk, get a key. the shower is literally a double-wide stall in the men’s bathroom that you use the key to unlock. SO TINY and the door swings inward, meaning you have to do a two-step to get your stuff in the stall and close the door. suggestion: if you have larger items, leave them in the closet at the lounge entrance.
the goods: large (relatively soft) bath towel, foot towel, L’Occitane soap, shampoo, and conditioner. kudos for not having a combined liquid soap/shampoo dispenser unceremoniously stuck on the wall. for some reason the soap smelled a bit funny, but luckily it doesn’t linger post-shower (or i’ve become used to it and i’m stinking up the lounge as i type).
shower: large overhead (plastic) rainfall shower head. the main knob controlled water flow; there’s a mounted knob connected to the shower head that seems to control water temperature — left for cold, right for hot. (at least, this is how i managed to get the water hot). as far as i could tell (this could just be coincidence) the hotter you went, the more the water came out in spurts, so every couple of seconds the pressure would drop to 0 (no water), then come back again for a couple seconds. it’s not as bad as it sounds; i just considered it a semi-massage? or maybe it was indeed a massage control? the icons on the knob were not helpful, ranging from an empty circle to a filled-in circle with quarter-fill stops.
cleanliness and state of facilities: 4 out of 5.
overall rating: 2.5 out of 5 mostly due to size and location. really inconvenient and, frankly, i can imagine quite smelly if someone has lots of kids to drop off at the pool next door. the snazzy toiletries gave it that extra .5.
i will be posting shower reviews of lounges i have already visited if i pass through them again, but since i’ll likely never be at DXB again, at least not in a long time, the International Business Lounge in Terminal 1 Concourse C in Dubai (Priority Pass’d in) is like a gym shower in a room. very very basic, but gets the job done. 2.5 stars.
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