These Outrageously Over-the-Top Hotel Bathtubs Are Nicer Than Most People's Entire House

While guests are out on an evening safari, workers at the tiny five-room lodge bordering the Moremi Game Reserve will rush in and set up “star baths” — complete with environmentally friendly bubbles, lanterns, and zinc tubs that resemble miso soup spoons — on their private decks. Mobile canvas screens are placed to ensure privacy without blocking the view of the verdant Okavango Delta.

The expansive eighth-floor Riverhouse Suite boasts a carved stone tub left raw and unpolished to resemble a giant boulder, which aligns with the urban retreat’s “bring the outdoors in” design aesthetic, as does the floor-to-ceiling window that looks out at the Manhattan skyline and the East River. After bath time, continue to decompress in the corner hammock, which also looks out on the twinkling city lights, with a cocktail from the curated minibar and house recipe book.

This capital city accommodation commissioned artist Mario Dasso, a descendant of the native Mapuche tribe whose chosen material is a tree species endemic to subtropical regions of the South American country, to craft tubs that achieve high marks in both form and function. Each one started as a dead calden and was meticulously shaped into a sumptuous serenity station. The towering 20-foot front doors also started life as something else. They are made from repurposed French oak wine barrels.

After a day touring ruins of the real thing, continue the theme in your own outdoor temple of taking it easy big enough for two at this Riviera Maya resort. Enrich the relaxation ritual by engaging the services of a bath butler. He can ready the water at a specific time with one of four signature salts, light candles, add flower petals, and set out slippers, robes, and towels.

A cave-like nook at the resort’s villa hides a serene surprise: an oversize and heated sunken stunner. It’s made even dreamier thanks to the mosaic tile backdrop, mood lighting, and Santorini-approved blue and white color scheme.

Talk about paradise found. The double-wide wood soaking tub in the three-bedroom Ali’i Suite at the secluded high-end hideaway offers an elevated exfoliation experience that seems equally inspired by ancient Japan and the Craftsman movement. Extend your serene session in the nearby walk-in steam shower with seating for two guests.

The Sultan Suite in the former Ottoman royal residence in Istanbul is one of the only places where tourists can soap up, sip Champagne, and spy two different continents (Europe and Asia) simultaneously. After exiting the high-backed, hand-carved marble Turkish delight, curl up in front of either of the two fireplaces with complimentary minibar snacks.

It is only fitting that this 19th century brewery turned 146-room San Antonio riverfront boutique in the country of 1,100 springs features a series of rooms with bright white cast-iron claw-foot tubs. The walls of the Lone Star State loos are covered in custom watery blue and white glazed tiles that pair perfectly with the coiling brass fixtures and teak-plank shelf.

When in Rome — or near it, anyway — opt for the stone sarcophagus in the Affresco Suite. At this well-preserved 15th century estate in the Tuscan town of Fiesole, art aficionados will flip for the elaborate overhead fresco done by Bruschi in 1886 and the cradle of western-civilization-style carvings on the tub’s side.

Be queen for a stay in the Turret Suite, a romantic bilevel den of antiquity housed within the historic Agassiz Mansion in Newport. The fireplace and plush seating lounge will call your name but instead immediately take the spiral staircase up to this pied-à-terre’s piece de resistance: a crisp, white marble bath chamber centered around a pedestal-based plunge and 320-degree views of the peninsula and Narragansett Bay. Park yourself on the adjacent velvet chaise and contemplate what you’ll wear to the clam bake while the water is filling.

While the hotel itself is a Frank Gehry-designed flashy modern metallic masterpiece nestled among the vines of a renowned winery adjacent to a medieval town, the spa’s vibe is alternatively natural and minimal. This is nowhere more apparent than in the Barrel Bath treatment room, which mimics the feel of a sauna thanks to the all-over wood planking. Unwind in the wide round bowl that has a surround modeled after the aging barrels used at the very vineyard you gaze out on as a bubbly mix of grape pomace works its therapeutic magic.

It’s easy being green at the only Ian Schrager property in Asia thanks to the fact that it installed an eco-friendly line of stand-alone teacups in the lofts and suites. The material created by PG Caststone uses a nontoxic, recyclable mineral filling so you can feel superior while you steep in the middle of the main room, a simple sophisticated space of wood, stone, and gentle lighting on Hainan Island.

Join a new kind of mile-high club in this sleek and sexy Denver bathroom with a playful electric blue backsplash. The couple-years-old property, and especially the pictured Capital Suite, aims to pair premiere percolating with an admirable contemporary art collection. Custom fish-shaped Gilchrist & Soames soap is a nod to one of the most notable works on display downstairs, Frank Gehry’s "Fish Lamp." Even watching water cascade into the curvy slipper from a wall spout is a video installation in the making.

The palatial powder room in the Elizabeth Taylor Suite and its original pink marble bath — so heavy that the room was recently renovated around it — is drenched in Hollywood lore. While filming Night of the Iguana in Puerto Vallarta, Richard Burton gifted his purple-eyed paramour this house for her 32nd birthday, and she requested a pastel heart-shaped tub be constructed in her room. Unfortunately, a lost-in-translation moment led workers to pattern it after an actual human heart instead of the cuter valentine version.

Fuchsia accessories and balcony furniture make the turquoise Caribbean waters of Seven Mile Beach pop right through the picture window especially in Presidential Suite (pictured). Warning: you will prune after losing track of time mesmerized by passing cotton candy clouds.

This Palm Springs plunge, housed within one of the desert playground’s 10 oldest structures, is a rock-solid entry to the list. Inspired by and built into a mountain that surrounds the historic estate once frequented by Albert Einstein, real boulders burst into the Rock Room’s overhead shower and separate tiled tub.

Most of the 31 rooms at this Sausalito slice of heaven can check all the important boxes for an outstanding trip to the coast, including fireplace, private patio, plush bed, and a deep tub. Once you tire of staring at the San Francisco skyline or the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, dive into your Summer read. No worries if you forgot it on your bedside table at home. The hotel sells a kit with all the accouterments you could need, including Champagne, a Voluspa candle, saltwater taffy, Mother’s Little Helper tea, and a copy of local author Joyce Maynard’s new book based on a true mystery that unraveled nearby.

Get your groove back with a jaunt to Jamaica and some me time in this emerald cast-iron enchanter that is almost the same shade of green as the tropical vegetation that surrounds its outdoor platform. The Oracabessa resort’s Fleming Villa, named after the author who lived and wrote all 14 James Bond novels there, comes with a butler who can add mint-scented bubbles.

Time to ready your best Little Mermaid impression. Because everything is better own where it’s wetter, we present the jetted pedestals of the desert megaresort’s two three-story Underwater Suites. Thanks to window walls that look into the Ambassador Lagoon, it feels like you are bathing under the sea or in a giant aquarium as the water feature’s 65,000 inhabitants swim by and cast reflections into your water and onto the floor. Even the light fixture above looks like a jellyfish.

Here’s one time you will want to find yourself in hot water. Fill your days on this private island paradise with snorkeling, spa treatments, and spectacular sunrises and your nights submerged under the stars in the creamy stand-alone tubs secluded behind the walls of your beachfront bure (a Fijian hut).

The painted steel tubs in this island hotel’s open-concept bathrooms, an original design by Patricia Urquiola, are so unique and cool that they spent time on display at the Museum of Applied Art in Cologne, Germany. A wooden backrest and tray add comfort while a gauzy curtain, peekaboo screen, and fringed red light increase the seduction factor.

The outdoor bush bath amenity at this lavish Barossa Valley boutique is a strong argument that your subsequent sojourn should be to South Australia’s wine country. Head down to a secluded corner of the property near the river to take a private Down Under dip a deux in a painted and footed unit. A basket with bath salts, a bottle of Shiraz, and binoculars for kangaroo and parrot spotting are provided.

This balcony beauty, available in select rooms at Napa Valley’s newest luxury lodge, is a fantastic place to detox and decompress after a long day of wine tasting. They overlook historic vineyards or an oak-tree-surrounded creek. The ambiance on the room’s private deck is heightened thanks to the pairing with cushioned rocking chairs and firepits.

The sunken situation is next level at the Oceanfront Villa at this cliff–top dwelling — there are three steps down to nirvana and a clear view past palm trees to the turquoise Indian Ocean.

This open-air telegenic tubby mimics the famous falls of Shiraito-no-taki, a popular tourist attraction in the area, with a boulder surround, babbling water feature, and cascading rock wall backdrop. Some of the stones are even covered in moss.