A Guide to Towel Sizes – Bath, Guest, Hand & More

We understand that choosing the right towels can be difficult. When purchasing towels, there are three factors to consider: material, weight and size. To ensure longevity, you must choose the right towels for your hotel, apartment, Airbnb or home. Believe it or not, but the towel sizes play a significant role in making your guests feel clean and comfortable in your accommodation. As a wholesale supplier of high-quality towels, we’re best placed to help you out.

To better understand the different sizes and which wholesale towels make sense for your business, take a look at our handy guide below.

Towel sizes

Bath Towels

130 × 70 cm

The essential, do-it-all bath towel gets used for drying your body or wrapping wet hair after a shower. It is a versatile towel that is ideal for everyday use, whether that be after a shower or for taking to the gym with you.

Bath Sheets

145 × 90 cm

bath sheet is like a bath towel but bigger and is used for drying off after a bath or shower. It is ideal for those who prefer a bit more coverage after a shower or bath as it provides more absorbency than other towels. Being a bit more indulgent than a standard towel, this oversized towel gives substantially more coverage than a bath towel, with which it often gets confused.

Related Reading: How to Find Long Lasting Bath Towels

Guest Towels

50 × 30 cm

This towel is smaller than a hand towel and is used for drying hands in the bathroom. They are ideal for a powder room or a guest bathroom and are typically sold in sets of two. Our guest towels are made from 640gsm fabric with a double twist pile to maximise the surface area, resulting in a luxuriously soft and full towel.

Hand Towels

85 × 50 cm

This everyday towel gets plenty of usage drying hands after hand washing and is found close to the sink in a bathroom. It also makes for a great decorative accent in a bathroom, whether you choose to add a printed towel or a pop of colour.

Face Cloths

30 × 30 cm

Also known as washcloths, these small, square towels are used to wash your body or face. Face cloths are also helpful to pat your face dry after washing to avoid spreading any bacteria from other towels. Most tend to be sold in a set of two.

Bathmat

50 x 80 cm

Not necessarily classified as a towel, a bathmat is an essential piece of bathroom linen. It helps to absorb any water as you step out of the shower or the bath, thus avoiding any mishaps from slipping on wet floor tiles. For a bathmat, the optimum material is 100% cotton as it is highly absorbent and dries fast.

Pairing the bath man with a pedestal mat that wraps around the toilet is a great way to add colour to a bathroom.

Beach Towel

90 x 175 cm

A beach towel is often made of thinner material than other towels to promote faster drying. The main purpose of a beach towel is to provide a soft surface for someone to use to lie down on the beach or on a sun lounger, which is why they tend to be longer than most other towels.

Some people double up their use of a bath sheet by having it serve as a beach towel as well as they are large and are absorbent. Many spas and resorts provide bath sheets instead of beach towels for guests taking a dip in the hot tub or relaxing by the indoor pool.

What about the weight?

In addition to the size, the weight of the towel is a guide to how fluffy and absorbent a towel will be. This is measured in grams per square metre of fabric (gsm). The larger the gsm, the thicker and more absorbent the towel will be, but the longer it can take to dry.

Most everyday towels have 400 to 620 gsm. At Homefords, our towels range from 500 to 640 gsm, giving you the option to choose premium luxury weight towels that are denser and more absorbent, depending on your needs.

What is a towel twist?

Fabric fibres are made into thread or yarn and then twisted together. The direction of the spin is called a twist. The lower the twist in a yard, the more plush, soft and absorbent the towel will be. A higher twist will create a tighter and stronger weave, which will result in a more durable towel. It’s important to strike the right balance between durability and softness so that your towels stay looking and feeling great for as long as possible.

How many towels do I need?

Many hotels, dorms and Airbnbs choose to stock bath sheets or bath towels, hand towels, guest and face towels for their guests to use and enjoy. However, you may decide you only need to provide a bath towel/sheet, hand towel and a face towel.

You may want to choose between either a bath sheet or a bath towel. The main difference between the two is that of size. Both are staples in any bed and bath department, but the bath sheet size is simply larger. The extra square footage makes wrapping up in a bath sheet a bit more of a luxurious experience. However, a bath sheet may not be the right choice for every bathroom space.

Where do you expect to store your towels?

Because bath sheets are larger than standard bath towels, they require a little extra room for storage. If you’re buying towels for a smaller apartment or Airbnb with limited space for linens, you may choose to purchase bath towels instead. It’s a good idea to take a look at the existing space in the bathroom to ensure that the bath towel or sheet can fit comfortably on the hanging racks without scraping the floor or bunching on the rod.

Wholesale towels to suit your needs

At Wllfs we offer a wide range of towels for businesses across the UK. Our team of friendly experts are on hand to help you decide which towel sizes best suit your needs. We are continuing to deliver throughout the COVID-19 pandemic – so get started today to supply your business with top quality wholesale towels.

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