Creative towel art around the world
A collection of decorative towel origami from around the world.
Cute and quirky folded toweling animals and ornaments that have delighted travelers at their accommodation.
Collaboration with travel bloggers
Towel art has become quite popular in many hotels, resorts and cruise ships around the world.
It is entertaining to return to your room, intrigued by what special touch housekeeping has added to make you feel at home.
Who would have thought that a humble towel with the main purpose of rubbing wet droplets off your skin or patting your hair dry would get so much publicity? One cannot deny that the trend of creative towel art has an appeal to everyone.
What is towel art?
Also known as towel origami, towel art is a creative portrayal of objects or animals such as monkeys, elephants, swans, hearts or flowers by folding towels into these various shapes.
One of our most amusing encounters with imaginative towel art was at Nesima Resort & Diving Center in Dahab, Egypt. After folding the towels, housekeeping selected a few items and dressed up the figures.
We were equally amused at Club Med Kani in the Maldives. They really went out of their way each day to create artistic creatures and treasures.
Not quite towel art, but still beautiful
I thought it would be fun to share this blog and collaborate with other bloggers who have had the pleasure of finding towel art in their rooms while traveling. Each one has their own memorable story and photo about their discoveries.
Contributors:
Brenna from The Great Wide Somewhere says:
Carnival Cruise Line is focused on fun. One way they increase your cruising fun is by creating towel animals for the beds. Housekeeping began leaving towel animals in 1991 and hasn’t stopped yet!
I love coming back to my stateroom and discovering the animal they left. Most of the time, the animals are really well done and so cute! One of my favorites was a frog that was waiting on the bed when we got back. Our steward used felt circles as eyes, which was a fun added touch!
Carnival is very proud of their towel animals. They put on towel animal puppet shows for children and sometimes lead classes to teach you how to make your own towel animals. Coming back to a cute towel animal is a great bonus to having a clean room! I loved this extra fun that Carnival included.
Nancy Williams from Checking it off the List says:
After months of planning a trip to Alaska to celebrate by 50th birthday, I had finally arrived in Anchorage.
It was the first day of a 2-week vacation with 19 friends who were there not only for the adventure but also to help me celebrate.
My traveling group of 4 were a few of the first to arrive at our hotel, Home2 Suites by Hilton, in Midtown Anchorage. When I made the reservations, it came up our group was there to celebrate my birthday.
Walking into our room, what a surprise to have a cute towel art birthday cake along with rose pedals and a nice card. Home2 Suites Anchorage went above and beyond to make our short stay there memorable.
Dominika from Sunday in Wonderland says:
I would like to share with you a story from my parents. Last years, they go through their second youth. One year, they were travelling in Egypt and were staying in one of the popular touristic resorts. Each day they were finding another kind of towel art in their room after coming back from a trip. Hearts, swans, all popular motifs were there. But one of them was exceptional.
They froze when they entered the room but they started to laugh on the next second. The masterpiece on their bed was apparently lying on its belly, with extended legs. It was a bunny with two long ears and ... face made of toilet paper roll with a confusing grimace drawn on it. We called it "the porn bunny" because of its unique pose and the whole funny situation it caused. It was the most hilarious towel masterpiece we ever saw.
Dominika is on INSTAGRAM
Ed and Jennifer of Coleman Concierge say:
Towel Elephants Glamping in Thailand
Towel art is like a little present from the cleaning staff to you. Elephant Hills luxury glamping tours in Thailand takes this to a higher level. That might not be surprising considering how they run the rest of their operation. They run the only chain-free elephant park in the world, and they were the only finalist in Asia for the National Geographic World Legacy Awards for Sustainable Tourism.
Their attention to detail starts with animals in the field and continues with towel animals on your bed. Each morning we found a little something extra waiting for us. Nothing prepares you for an encounter with the happiest elephants in Thailand than finding a towel elephant waiting in bed for you.
Katie from Zen Life and Travel says:
Towel art is always a fun thing to find in your hotel room after a long day of exploring. I especially love it when there is some thought and creativity behind the “sculpture”. That’s why I was so excited about the towel art we saw on Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas! This was some of the most impressive handiwork I’ve seen throughout my travels. Not only were props used, but there were some animals you usually don’t see in towel art --- a flying bat, a monkey hanging from the ceiling, and a bird (?) with sunglasses reading through the cruise itinerary?! What a fun treat to find in our room each night.
Khushboo of Munni of all Trades says:
Towel art is quite popular in high-end hotels in India but we were pleasantly surprised at Holiday Inn Express Hinjewadi, a mid-level hotel, with some delightful towel art.
On our first day, a cute monkey greeted us as we entered the room and on the second day, we met one of the staff members making these two cute swans. On our request, they even demonstrated how they went about making the towel art.
What made the experience interesting for us was that they followed different themes every day which meant every day came with a new surprise.
Since it was a business hotel, they said that a lot of their customers came back after a long, stressful day at work. The towel art would bring smiles on their faces and they received lots of positive response which encouraged them to get more creative. I personally agree with this because the towel art definitely made me happy.
Megan from My Canadian Passport says:
The most amazing towel art I’ve encountered during my travels was while honeymooning at Sandals Royal Plantation in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.
Our butlers, Richard and Sheldon were incredibly talented and went out of their way to surprise us with new towel art every day of our vacation.
We particularly enjoyed Scooby the dog, and a swinging monkey we aptly named George. It was these small touches that made our time in Jamaica so memorable. So memorable in fact that we returned the following year to celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary.
You’ll find Megan on PINTEREST
Naomi from Probe around the Globe says:
When I visited Jordan for 10-days, I decided to splurge on a fancy hotel for the last couple of nights in Aqaba. After exploring the Red Sea, the pool and the spa for the whole day, I returned to my hotel room and found a bunch of towels on the bed. I've seen swans and origami towel art before, but I had to double check twice to see what was going on here! Two cute bears, holding a rose between them sat at the end of my bed.
Of course I took a picture, but I decided to move them to the desk and use another (smaller) towel, as I didn't want to disturb those two cute towel bears. They sat on the desk for the remainder of my stay as I found them too cute and unique to take them apart.
Rai from A Rai of Light says:
I never realised how interesting or intriguing towel art really is until I walked into my suite during my time in the Maldives and was welcomed by this.
This highly accurate elephant art is created by folding small towels together until the desired shape is achieved. On enquiring how long this took to make, I was surprised to hear that it can be done in just a few minutes following months of practice. Needless to say, I thought of taking this home with me, but unfortunately I had no space in bag to even entertain this thought. However, I did take a lot of photos that will serve as remembrance.
Sarah from Gluten Free Travellers and Travels with Logan says:
Grenada, Sandals Grenada Resort & Spa
I visited Grenada in May 2019 for my honeymoon. Sandals Grenada is an adults-only, all inclusive resort located on Pink Gin Beach. On arriving at our infinity pool suite our bed was decorated with painted lolly sticks spelling ‘honeymoon’, petals and swans and a heart made from towels. One day I left my sunglasses in the room and to my surprise returned to find a towel wearing them!
Antigua. Sandals Grande Antigua
I visited Antigua in April 2019 for my honeymoon. Sandals Antigua has been voted ‘World’s Most Romantic Resort’ and is located on Dickenson Bay. Every day our room was cleaned and a surprise was left for us; champagne on ice, bubble baths, snacks and towel masterpieces! Their favourites were swans and hearts, very honeymoon themed.
Nikki from She Saves She Travels says:
Bangalore, India is a culturally diverse city with many hidden surprises. There's an absolutely gorgeous botanical garden, the Bangalore Palace, and so many more sights to see in Bangalore that will absolutely delight you.
My husband and I took a trip to Bangalore and stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott Bengaluru Outer Ring Road. During our stay the service was top-notch. While there’s a lot to do in Bangalore, the hotel staff made us feel very welcome so we enjoyed staying in, too. It was absolute best service we've received at a hotel…ever!
One of the things we loved were the surprises the hotel staff would leave us each time they cleaned our room. We were greeted with treats and fun towel art almost daily. We were surprised by how crafty they could get with something as simple as towels. One of our favorites was a basket of bunnies.
The people of Bangalore were amongst the kindest I’ve ever met, and I truly appreciated the extra special touch they put on everything they did. Hotel towel art included!
Sophie from Bitten by the Bug says:
Towel art - flowers
As a surprise for our one-year anniversary, my boyfriend organized a weekend getaway from Brussels. After spending a day hiking in the Belgian High Fens and visiting the lovely German village of Monschau, we checked in at our hotel De Lange Man.
It is run by Dutch staff who were very helpful and friendly.
We’d brought a bottle of champagne to celebrate our anniversary, which they were happy to cool in their fridge. When we headed to our room to pop the bottle, we checked out our attic room, with a balcony and a VERY inviting bed.
The towels had been folded into pretty flowers with at their centre a candy matching the colours of our cushions. The chambermaids must have an incredible patience to present the towels like that in every room.
They looked so cute that we regretted to crush this piece of towel art as we jumped in the bed.
Sophie is on INSTAGRAM
Michelle from Moyer Memoirs says:
We have become accustomed to seeing towel art in our elegant cabins during cruises. However, when we went on a private tour of the Amazon in Bolivia and were out in the middle of the jungle in 2 different secluded lodges, we opened each of the lodge doors and were surprised to see the fancy towel art decorating the beds there too.
The towels adorned our little beds in colorful and fancy shapes beneath the mosquito netting. Even the spare rolls of toilet paper served their purpose in the display as a vase for the bright Amazonian flowers that enhanced the masterpiece even more.
It made our little rustic huts in Madidi National Park feel cozy as we listened to the sounds of the animals around us.
I would like to thank everyone who collaborated, for contributing their photos and narratives about towel art.
Have you have any pictures or stories about towel art?
I’d love to hear about them!
Not to be outdone, hubby is of course always up for a challenge. Here’s his version of towel art.
It was his way of saying thank you to the staff for taking the trouble to make our serviced rooms so special.
I bet they chuckled at his amateurish attempt at an emoji and I do believe he needs to practice more, but then maybe I am just being a tad nasty.
For another touch of humour I had to add this one as well. It was sent to me so unfortunately I do not know its original source.
Like it? Click on the Photo and Pin it!
Related Blog posts:
Find me on Socal media
About the Author
ALMA VAN AS | ROAMING FOX
Alma is a South African travel blogger and writer. She hopes to inspire you with facts and fables about her adventures, road trips and international travel.
Step by step instructions on how to leave a comment on my blog:
Type in your comment in the comment box.
Click ‘Post Comment’
Briefly a message should appear saying you are not logged in, then a box with ‘Post a Comment’ will appear for you to complete with your name, email address and website URL (if you have one).
Fill in your first name and email address in the appropriate section. (Your email will not be made public and will not be used for any other purpose than for you to get a notification of a reply to your comment.)
Click ‘Comment as Guest’ and you’re good to go!
To subscribe to my blogs, please fill out the SUBSCRIBE form.
Thank you.
I know it is quite a process, but it helps keep our websites secure. Your email address will not be shared or displayed.
What does travel, adventure and safari have in common? They are all out of the ordinary activities from work or routine. Although not essential qualities, all of these can be unusual and exciting or daring.