True West Magazine
Did hotels really have bathtubs upstairs? How did they get filled? More curious, how did they get rid of the used bath water?
Hotels in the West varied widely. Sometimes a man could get a bath at a brothel, but the most common place was the barber shop and for a quarter he could climb into a small tub and a youngster would pour a bucket of hot water from the stove.
For bathrooms, saloons and hotels etc. would have a community head out back. The nicer places would provide chamber pots.
If you booked a room at a better class hotel. It’s likely that it would have an outdoor communal toilet. Same with the bathtub but it would be indoors. Women would be more likely to have a private bathtub. Women required and got a little more privacy. Hotels usually provided a tub where she would take her bath. If it was in some fancy hotel the room might have a large tub. A maid would bring hot water. ‘