Grab bars, or lack of, in bathrooms in European hotels.

”I cannot safely climb in and out of a shower over a bath tub nowadays.”

I think you should be asking for a hotel room with safety bars installed since you do need them. The hotel would probably much rather you do this than possibly mar or damage their walls or tile.

It is pretty clear that you need an accessible room and you shouldn't feel shy in requesting one.

I can see the insurance report now : " the suction on the grab bar worked as advertised. When I slipped, the suction held even after the tile came off the wall."

I won’t stay in a hotel unless it can provide a walk-in shower because tubs without foot traction are too dangerous. If stuck using a tub, I do put a hand towel in the bottom of a tub for traction.
Since I can also hold a yoga tree pose for quite a while, I doubt I’m a candidate for a handicap room.
But I’m with the OP on this one: tubs can be dangerous when getting in and out even with a good knee.

Suction cup bars? You’d have to try them out at home. I’m sceptical.

Thanks.
Not insulted!
I’ve rented more than 45 apartments on trips in all parts of the world, and not one ever had grab/safety bars.
Just that one hotel.

On my recent trip to Ireland I stayed in four hotels, not apartments.
For each I asked in advance for a shower stall, not a bath tub.
Two had climb-up-then-in cabinets….not too safe….and in two I was given their accessible bathrooms.
One of the accessible ones was in a very, very fancy resort/castle hotel for a family wedding.
Talking to my cousins the first morning at breakfast it turned out that every single room had an accessible bathroom….good planning on the hotel’s part.
However…..each walk in shower area was about 9x6 feet in size, but all the grab bars were all at the end with the taps and shower, then you had to navigate 7 feet of marble tile with no other grab bars to get out into the main part of the bathroom.
It turned out that all of us had taken every towel provided to lay a safe walking “trail” to exit the showers!
The joke of the weekend was that if the high price of the stay didn’t get you, the showers would.

If you need an accessible bathroom then ask for one. This is sort of the bathroom version of I can't walk too far because of my knee, but don't want to ask for a wheelchair at the airport because I'm not disabled. It requires a mind shift. On our most recent Europe trip, I was standing in the slick bathtub/shower combo. I didn't even purposely move, yet my feet shifted. It scared me. If I didn't still have great core strength I would have gone down for sure. We are traveling with no slip shower shoes for our upcoming trip. You might want to consider a non slip bath mat.

Also, we used the suction grab bars at home after a surgery this past year, because we aren't in full time grab bar need yet. They work amazing well, but you have to apply a lot of physical strength to secure them; the tile can't really have much texture, so they are persnickity; and early on a few times they became unsuctioned; so we got in the habit of checking them daily. They were secure for a very long time after some trial and error, but I'd be hesitant to use them for travel as there are too many unknowns and if they became loose and you expected them to be secure, not good.

I don't think it's a European thing specifically- I've never seen them in hotels in Asia either. Don't feel bad about asking for an accessible room if that's what you need.

Honestly, it is why I look at photos of the rooms and bathrooms. I hate the ones with a bathtub. I only book rooms with walk-in showers. Might be why I like Motel One so much. If you need shower bars, then go ahead and book the accessable room. If they are booked, then perhaps the hotel will create more of them.

trip…you know the ones that just suction on and are easily removable?

“….easily removable….”. Personally there is no way I would risk a fall by relying on something that is easily removable.

Ask for an equipped room. As an aside I often stay in York, always at the Hampton by Hilton and they always give me an accessible room. I don’t need one, I don’t ask for one. I guess they have a few of them.

As someone who has used them I think suction grab rails are an accident waiting to happen.
They really don’t grip as well as you would like.
I found them slightly useful to push against when getting in and out the bath/shower. They felt more secure than pressing against the flat tile. But no matter how firmly I attached them to the wall they were unreliable and often came away in my hand when pulled.

When I went to the orthopedic store to buy a grab rail for our own shower, they told me do not ever use those suction cup ones. They are very unreliable and unsafe. People have gotten badly hurt from putting their whole weight on it and it released from the wall. Bathtub falls are not fun.
I got one that actually glues/cements to the tile wall and is very secure.
Recommend you not bring one of those suction cup bars with you.

I always ask for a low-step shower and tell them that I don't need a fully accessible room, just a low-step shower. I had a fully accessible room once that I didn't ask for and the bathroom had a shower in one corner with a curtain around it, but nothing to contain the water from getting all over the floor. I tried creating a berm with towels, but it was still a mess.

I also always pack a pair of non-slip shower shoes. These pack flat and are lightweight. Shower Shoes They aren't sturdy enough to take a walk on the beach, but work fine for what I need. Test the "non-slip" at home first to make sure they are in fact non-slip. I tried some of the mesh top ones. They are surprisingly heavy! And I want to be able to easily slip one foot out to wash. You can also ask the front desk if they have a tub mat.

If the only way to get a safe bathroom for you is a fully accessible room, take it. An unreliable knee is a disability. Been there. Done that.

No way I would trust a "suction cup" grab bar.

I always study photos of accommodations very closely before I book anything.
Those open/wet room showers are a no, as are bath tubs.
This next trip I am staying in apartments, not hotels, so no designated accessible bathrooms.
I am not disabled and I can walk perfectly well with my unreliable knee, it’s the climbing in and out of compartments that is the challenge.

Just had another look at the photos for all the places I have booked for my next trip.
The photos all show walk in showers with no step up.
One even has a wall mounted soap rack….another thing that is often absent in European bathrooms.
Bending down in a 3x3 foot space to keep picking up soap and shampoo from the floor is another thing entirely.🤨

Thanks for all the advice…..stay safe as you stay clean. 🧼 🛁

One of the benefits of having permanent toiletries mounted on the wall is that bending over to retrieve slippery soap is no longer a thing. Progress!

I wonder if you would have better luck finding grab bars in a chain hotel such as Hilton, etc. Obviously, if available at your destination.

We once were assigned a open wet accessible room (last room avail?). After my husband took his shower, I slipped on the floor and narrowly missed hitting my head on the toilet. It was a real scare as I felt my feet going out and the grab bars were not within reach. Believe me, if I can't avoid a room like that, I will be extremely careful...the towel trail sounds like a good idea.

Ditto for us -- walk-in showers only. I vetoed the grab bar for my husband when he raised the issue. Based on my experience with them and my father, it's just not a good idea. Even the best quality one I could find did not stay well attached to the wall when he tugged on it, and he's 99 and hardly Hercules. We travel with a lightweight hand towel to use as a shower mat. We got it in Portugal a few years ago. I wring it out, hang it up and it's dry in an hour.

I have done some research on this as it is also an issue for me. I was shocked in something I looked at to read that Road Scholar, which operates tours for older people, recommends that people concerned about grab bars take their own suction ones.

Also, in looking for hotels with accessible rooms and other accessibility features I also think it is a good idea to look at the big American chains as they have extensive experience with the ADA (and the expectations of Americans familiar with the ADA) and have incorporated many ADA features worldwide. There are a lot of older, charming hotels in Europe that are I think exempt from whatever local rules may exist because of their age and the difficulty of adding such features. (Grab bars shouldn't be that difficult to add but I understand they are considered a turn off for many younger guests, so I suspect some hotels would look to avoid adding them).

SJ, interestingly, I JUST got finished reading an article in the Wall Street Journal about the dangers of bathtubs. The author said that they are the most dangerous rooms in our house.

I'm gifting the article, so if anyone wants to read it, it gives some good advice about what you should do in your own home and tips so you don't kill yourself in there.

It's the Deadliest Room in the House—Especially for Seniors

https://www.wsj.com/style/design/bathroom-safety-seniors-257031c9?st=qJ9Yoa

One hotel room had a beautiful bathtub shower. It had one of those glass shower doors that was less than three feet long and opened in and out with a pinky touch. The tub was long with the shower head way back from the large open access area which came up to the top of my thigh. No grab bars, no mat, very slippery and I was alone in the room. Getting in and out was frightening and a video of how I did so would have been a social media internet sensation with millions of laughing emojis. I was petrified.

Thanks Mardee, for the article.
When we renovated our master bathroom, we had the contractor install the most stable heavy-duty grab bars on the market.
One in the shower stall, and two in the tub area.
They are the absolute best thing in the whole room and worth every $ they cost.
They look like towel rails so also look good.
Perhaps if enough travellers keep asking for them in accommodation they might catch on eventually.

And yes, staying in “American” chains might find you grab bars, but who wants to stay in generic places in small European towns and historic centres?
We just have to be ultra careful when scrubbing up!

A good reason for shower shoes too.