Garden of the Groves, Lucaya, Freeport Bahama

Never seen flowers in a men's bathroom.

Yes, I know that I live in Houston but as you travel everyone wants clean accommodations. Now Garden of the Groves is a botanical garden and the privy is located outside. I was a little concerned as to the potential cleanliness. To my pleasant surprise both privies were immaculate. In fact in one the staff took the time to put flowers on the counter.

Now my rating is from 1 to 5 with 1 being the lowest score and the 5 the highest score. The scoring is broken down into several areas:

• Cleanliness
• Age of fixtures
• Appearance during heavy use
• Handicap accessibility
• Soap Dispensers Stocked
• Paper towel dispenser stocked or working air dryer
• Graffiti or lack of

Rather large target. How can you miss?

I award the bathroom over all a 4.4 based upon the following:

Cleanliness is awarded a 4.5. The floors were exceptionally clean and the grout lines were not stained or caked with dirt. Remember that the restrooms here are outside. I deducted 0.5 points because of the close proximities of the stall walls. Why some men can't hit that large porcelain target, I just don't know? Not that I saw any missed fired shots but there is the potential. Notice the trash can conveniently located under neath the towel dispenser and the bag liner is tied with a knot so it will not slip down. Again attention to detail just like the flowers on the counter, a nice touch. The restroom did not have a proliferating odor whether it be urine or bleach.

Age of fixtures is awarded a 5. The urinal flush wasn't rusty or loose or shaky. I didn't have to bang on the top to stop the water from flowing. The sink facet did not leak and easily turned on and off.

Appearance during heavy use is awarded a 5. I had the chance to see heavy use. This particular privy is located next to the playground. It got some heavy use as my children played near by. I easily saw a dozen men use the facility over a 45 minute period and there was no attendant keeping up with the facilites. Prior to leaving and one last trip for me and it was still well kept inside.

Handicap accessibility I will award a 3. The sitting stall was not as accommodating for a wheelchair. I happen to have some idea about this after spending six months in a wheelchairs a few years back. They need more maneuverability to get a better rating.

Soap dispensers stocked gets awarded a 5. The dispenser was full and not dripping all over the counter.

Paper towel dispenser stocked or working air dryer gets awarded a 4. Definitely fully stocked but a working air dryer would be better.

Graffiti or lack of is awarded a 5. There was no graffiti or faded limericks.

Final thoughts: I would have been comfortable enough to take my daughter in there had the need arose.