The Bipartisan Restroom At Hotel Palomar

image
Published: 01 Nov, 2012
1 min read
Don't be surprised by the unisex potty at Hotel Palomar.

Don't be surprised by the unisex potty at Hotel Palomar.

A recent guest who had to use the restroom on the second floor of downtown San Diego’s Hotel Palomar, came out of the facility shaking his head.

“I guess I didn’t know San Diego was this hip,” he said, seemingly mildly amused.

Turns out the bathroom is a unisex potty.

It’s a trend more widely spotted in Los Angeles or Las Vegas. At the Hotel Palomar, which is part of the San Francisco-based chain of Kimpton boutique hotels, the sign outside the bathroom simply reads “His & Hers.”

It’s a major architectural feat, first installed when the property was privately built as the one-off Se Hotel. The walls, ceiling and floor of the washroom are covered in rolled granite and inlaid with Lucite.

Gentlemen and ladies share a waterfall sink in the middle of the room.

The bathroom is certainly a conversation piece – even if the conversation starts with, “Where are the stalls?” Turns out the stall doors are flush (if you will) with the granite walls, and not the easiest to discern.

And when you do find your way into some personal space, don’t look for a light switch. The lone source of interior illumination is a single bulb that shines up from the floor.

IVP Donate

The facility serves both the hotel’s Saltbox restaurant and Summersalt Rooftop Bar & Lounge.

Gals and guys who might ordinarily head to the restroom to speak in gender-specific tones would be well advised to save those conversations for another place.

You Might Also Like

Ballrooms, Ballots, and a Three-Way Fight for New York
Ballrooms, Ballots, and a Three-Way Fight for New York
The latest Independent Voter Podcast episode takes listeners through the messy intersections of politics, reform, and public perception. Chad and Cara open with the irony of partisan outrage over trivial issues like a White House ballroom while overlooking the deeper dysfunctions in our democracy. From California to Maine, they unpack how the very words on a ballot can tilt entire elections and how both major parties manipulate language and process to maintain power....
30 Oct, 2025
-
1 min read
California Prop 50 gets an F
Princeton Gerrymandering Project Gives California Prop 50 an 'F'
The special election for California Prop 50 wraps up November 4 and recent polling shows the odds strongly favor its passage. The measure suspends the state’s independent congressional map for a legislative gerrymander that Princeton grades as one of the worst in the nation....
30 Oct, 2025
-
3 min read
bucking party on gerrymandering
5 Politicians Bucking Their Party on Gerrymandering
Across the country, both parties are weighing whether to redraw congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Texas, California, Missouri, North Carolina, Utah, Indiana, Colorado, Illinois, and Virginia are all in various stages of the action. Here are five politicians who have declined to support redistricting efforts promoted by their own parties....
31 Oct, 2025
-
4 min read