Restroom Ratings » Illinois http://www.restroomratings.com Celebrating the Joy of the Public Restroom Since 2001 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:19:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 The Field Museum http://www.restroomratings.com/28/ http://www.restroomratings.com/28/#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:06:14 +0000 Jon Accommodating in amenities and grand in scale, this khaki wonderland is ready to tackle the roves of field tripping kiddies seen on any given day at this reknowned museum of natural history. Featuring rows of the staple toilets, urinals and sinks as well as state of the art dryers, towel dispensers and changing tables.

]]> http://www.restroomratings.com/28/feed/ 0 Gino’s East http://www.restroomratings.com/36/ http://www.restroomratings.com/36/#comments Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 Jon Gino’s East is reknowned for their open-Sharpie policy of encouraging visitors to write on their walls, tables, ceilings etc. The entire restaurant is covered with years of "Brooks was here" style phrases but makes a point to discourage this openness when it is no longer permitted (for instance, when you leave the restaurant). For some reason, the owners saw fit to declare the area around the urinals a "graffiti free zone" while 5 feet away on the wall of the bathroom stall is a "graffiti zone" — yet NO GRAFFITI EXISTS. Perhaps this can be attributed to the rather difficult canvas of shiny black tile.

Graffiti complaints aside, the restroom was immaculate, well placed, and also featured an interesting plastic faux-curtain framing the mirror.

]]> http://www.restroomratings.com/36/feed/ 0 Pizza Hut http://www.restroomratings.com/89/ http://www.restroomratings.com/89/#comments Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 Jon Even with it being a Pizza Hut restroom, I was hard pressed to find anything bad about this restroom. The room was clean, had friendly colors, was well lit, and was classier than most franchise restrooms.

The only two negative hits were that there was only one soap dispenser for the two sink basins (located off to the side, meaning that you had to reach in front of the person next to you in order to get soap), and they didn’t have air-dryers, rather they opted for tri-fold towel dispensers.

Some of the more glaring positive points were the cleanliness, the ambient temperature, a plunger, a convincing combination real and laminate woods, and a fully-stocked Koala Care changing station (people rarely replenish the bed-liners in these things.)

My wife reported that the women’s restroom was equally as pleasing, and actually marvelled at the feeling of belonging it imparted.

]]> http://www.restroomratings.com/89/feed/ 0 Pancake House http://www.restroomratings.com/94/ http://www.restroomratings.com/94/#comments Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 Jon A pretty typical Perkins-style restroom featuring twin stalls and urinals (no privacy dividers between the urinals however). Towel-only drying facilities, no Koala care changing station (in the men’s room at least), and one side-mounted soap dispenser for the two sinks.

The room’s temperature was ok, and at least the muzak was piped in, lending some rhythm to the experience. Housekeeping wasn’t as on-top of this site as they could have been (TP rolls were on the floor, and some of the covers were ripped off of the dispensers.)

The food was good though.

]]> http://www.restroomratings.com/94/feed/ 0 Bakers Square http://www.restroomratings.com/97/ http://www.restroomratings.com/97/#comments Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 Jon What a nice restroom to walk into. I was already suffering from a bug I caught the night before, and the family needed a place to have breakfast. This was such a bright and inviting restroom, I think it’s actually one of the more comfortable that I’ve been in so far.

It was a small restroom, bearing one urinal and one stall, but the stall was very spacious, clean, and brightly lit (but not with overpowering florescent lighting…oh no, it was a happy mix of florescent and daylight bulbs.) It was well-stocked (and though the towels and the paper sitting on the top-shelf of the vanity may have seemed sloppy to some, they were so well placed and intentional they were more reassuring than anything). The toilet paper was softer than other sites I’ve been in, and you just gotta love places with foam dispensers. They’re just so cool. The only negative features were the lack of Handicapped access and handholds (which I’m not going to dock the restroom for that since there may have been a special restroom for that), and the lack of a Koala-Care Changing Station (which, presumably, only the women’s restroom was equipped with.)

]]> http://www.restroomratings.com/97/feed/ 0 Art Institute of Chicago http://www.restroomratings.com/198/ http://www.restroomratings.com/198/#comments Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 Jon After viewing hundreds of jaw-dropping pieces of art, it’s rather underwhelming when you finally find these restrooms (there are very few for such a large building). The timing on the urinals must have been off because the smell was horrible.

EDITOR’S NOTE: I apologize for the lack of photo, as I was having camera difficulties. If someone would care to submit a photo, it would be greaty appreciated

]]> http://www.restroomratings.com/198/feed/ 0 Hancock Observatory http://www.restroomratings.com/248/ http://www.restroomratings.com/248/#comments Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 Jon Remarkably good for a public bathroom, especially in a place as busy as the Hancock Building. Spacious and clean, though there is only one urinal and one (handicapped-accessible) toilet in the men’s room. Contemplate how what you leave behind makes it’s way to street level from 94 floors up.

]]> http://www.restroomratings.com/248/feed/ 0 Maguire’s http://www.restroomratings.com/378/ http://www.restroomratings.com/378/#comments Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 Jon This facility is one of the worst I’ve seen. What is otherwise a very nice bar establishment is tarnished by the worst of restrooms. It is just one virtually all white room consisting of one urinal and one stool. The room is approximately 10×10 and there is no stall set up around the stool. It is simply a dirty toilet centered on one wall with a urinal two feet from it and a sink about one and a half feet from the urinal. Everything in this restroom is almost always completely wet and it is not uncommon to find broken glass or unflushed items in this restroom. Maintenence seems to be rarely done, as I actually observed water leaking out of the valve coming from the wall to the stool once. Indeed not an attractive facility.

]]> http://www.restroomratings.com/378/feed/ 0