Olde Mystic Village

Thank goodness for this restroom, but it sure takes a beating! In the summer during the height of tourist season you will stand in a line that snakes out the door and down the sidewalk of this popular tourist attraction. Conveniently located just off Interstate I-95 right next door to Mystic Aquarium and up the street from Mystic Seaport Museum, Olde Mystic Village is a scenic walking mall of diverse and interesting shops including a movie theater that attracts large crowds of people year round. My visits there usually occur during the summer and height of tourist season when the restroom is experiencing its highest volume of traffic. Don't wait till the last minute!

The ladies room is usually crowded and is set up in a way that is efficient in getting people in and out with two facing rows of stalls and the bank of sinks and hand dryers funneling traffic toward the exit. The place is old and not pretty, but I figure the condition is expected considering the constant stream of women and girls from the time the place opens until it closes in the evening. The counters around the sinks are always wet with puddles and dripping soap from the dispensers. Puddles are common on the tile floors from messy patrons in a rush. These are summer inconveniences that all popular tourist establishments probably expect.

However, I was there this weekend and it was quite crowded with families enjoying the Easter egg hunt, but I was disappointed to find that the ladies room was just as messy with puddles around the sinks, a dirty floor and soap foam puddles under the dispensers as it was during the summer. I had on a long coat and found that the stall I entered didn't have a coat hook so I had to drape my coat over the stall door to hang it. There was no way I could sit on the toilet with the coat on without having it hit the dirty damp floor. The water from the tap was freezing when I washed my hands.

Good points were the plumbing worked, it's family friendly with a diaper changing station, I could warm my hands after the cold water with the nice Xelerator hand dryers and best of all, it was there in my time of need!

The Great Garde Arts Center in New London

I say the Great Garde Arts Center not only because the theater is an absolute jewel in the city, hosting wonderful shows, musical acts, ballets, operas, you name it, but they may have one of the best ladies rooms around. The floor and stalls are so clean and bright, they shine. The tile floor is so beautifully polished that it gleams. There are paper toilet seat cover dispensers in every stall and easy-to-use sliding security bolts on the doors. The seat cover dispensers, toilet paper, soap and hand towels are well stocked. The lighting is just right and there are so many stalls that there's not a long wait. In fact, I was there last weekend for George Thorogood and the Destroyers where quite a bit of beer was being consumed and used the ladies room after the opening band finished their set. I expected to have to wait in line, but there was no line at all! From what I observed the crowd was mostly middle-aged men and women so most of the women must have used the ladies room at least once, especially the beer drinkers.

I didn't count the stalls, but I'd estimate there are at least ten. A nice bank of sinks are available near the entrance, set inward so you're not blocking the traffic area while you wash and dry your hands. This is a very inviting and comfortable ladies room.

Digiplex 12: Now Carmike Cinema

I used to really love this ladies room, but conditions had been in decline for some time. One of the Xlerator hand dryers that I had loved so much died. Having only one dryer, even though it was an Xlerator, was kind of inconvenient. Months later, the hand dryer was still out of operation. Also, the soap dispenser on the left of the two sinks was chronically empty and the general cleanliness of the room was disappointing. Like I mentioned in my first review of this ladies room, when one of them is empty you must reach in front of the patron using the other sink to access the dispenser on the right. This also went on for months.

Then I learned that Digiplex was bought by Carmike Cinemas. The dead Xlerator has been replaced with a paper towel dispenser! This helps a lot. It's much better than having to wait your turn for the hand dryer. Apparently, the Xlerators do a fast and thorough job of drying your hands, but the life-span of the machine is pretty short. I've also noticed that the overall cleanliness of the ladies room has improved as well.