by the Editors of Condé Nast Traveler
Courtesy Cintas
Now you have an excuse to visit the small town of Minturn, Colorado.
For the past 14 years, the Ohio-based specialized services firm Cintas has conducted the America's Best Restroom Contest to promote the importance of hygiene and salute businesses that strive for restroom excellence in both function and design. This year's winner is actually a set of restrooms in Minturn, CO, that were erected in March 2015. In a nod to the town's mining history, the restrooms, which were created using 3-D printing, resemble the narrow passageway of a cave and serve as a functional piece of public art. The wooden walls are stacked with more than 300 pieces of plywood along a twisting path to create a one-of-a-kind fixture at a reduced cost. While the two restrooms cost about $100,000 to construct, town leaders say the cost is less than that of traditional restrooms.
During the contest, the 1,035-person town pulled out all the stops on promotion: A Facebook page was created for voting, the restrooms were mentioned during televised town meetings, and "Vote for Minturn" posters were plastered throughout the streets on Halloween. The prize for having such an amazing bathroom is a $2,500 credit to spend on Cintas services like restroom cleaning and supplies, Signature Series restroom dispensers, cleaning chemicals or wet mops for the restroom floors. The top three finalists, which also include the Music Hall in Portsmouth, N.H., and Charleston Distilling in Charleston, S.C., get a complimentary deep clean.
The 2015 America's Best Restroom Contest finalists were:
Charleston Distilling - Charleston, SC Cibo Wine Bar - Miami, FL The Fitton Center for the Arts - Hamilton, OH Great American Ball Park - Cincinnati, OH The Music Hall - Portsmouth, NH OB Warehouse - Ocean Beach, CA Perry Lakes Park - Marion, AL The Salty Pig - Boston, MA Strataca - Hutchinson, KS Town of Minturn Public Restrooms - Minturn, CO
So, if you've ever considered planning a road trip itinerary around where the best pit stops are, you can now get to work.
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