Travel Nightmare - Five-Star Hotel Bathroom Fiasco

I never knew what nightmares lurked in resort bathrooms until I stayed at one of the better hotels in New Mexico with a group of friends.

I checked into a beautiful hotel in Taos. The grounds were like a tropical oasis. The walls were lined with art. I couldn't wait to see my room and settle into the luxury this resort was known for. I found the room and opened the door. It was dark inside. The floors were dark slate and I had a hard time finding the first light switch. But finally, after turning on all the lights in this romantic suite, I could see a bit. I enjoyed the lovely patio and then made a big mistake.

Killer Romantic Tub
It was time for a relaxing soak in the huge red rock tub. Again I fumbled for a light switch and turned on a bathroom light. It seemed as though it should be on a dimmer switch. It was dimmer than dim! There was no dimmer switch and I turned on every light in the bathroom.

I could barely see to turn on the bath water, but I did. As the tub filled, I opened the surrounding glass door and found that, in order to enter the tub, I had to climb over a 24 inch wide cut stone ledge. Anticipating the warmth of the steaming bath, i let my fluffy robe slide to the floor and maneuvered naked over the lip of the tub.

At this point I was pleased that I had no romantic partner to laugh at my antics as I got into the tub. As I slipped my left leg over the edge, I felt a rocky point scrape my inner thigh. I just knew I had a nice red scrape. It stung when I sat in the foamy tub.

After a somewhat soothing bath, it was time to dry off and put on make-up for our formal dinner.

Where are My Lips?
I repeated the tub-edge avoiding antics and wrapped myself up in fluffy towels. As I headed for the mirror, I found, much to my horror, that the dim light that was on was all the light I could expect. I realized that my eyesight was not what I had hoped it would be and applied my foundation, blush and eyeliner, praying for it to look good.

Finishing off my look for the evening was no easy task. I tried to use lip-liner and saw that I was missing the edge of my lips as I leaned over the slate counter. You see, I am also near-sighted and could barely see myself in the mirror.

After these attempts at "relaxation" and getting ready for the evening, I headed for the restaurant to meet my friends with a band-aid on my inner thigh and evidence of multiple attempts to correctly apply make-up.

Lights Please!
Next time I will forgo the romantic suite and head for a reliable chain with well-lighted bathrooms and a magnifying make up mirror. Sometimes it's the small comforts that you value while traveling.