Doha hotel bathroom: How one trip changed my entire opinion of the Washlet

A toilet with a wash function? At first I thought the same as most Estonians.

In January 2026, my husband and I visited Doha, the capital of Qatar. Upon arriving at the hotel, I couldn't have imagined that for the next few days, we would be talking more about the hotel room's toilet than about the many sights in Doha.

First Encounter with Washlet

The first time I went into the bathroom, a TOTO Washlet greeted me. To be honest, I had previously considered toilets with washing and drying functions more of a Japanese eccentricity than anything one might actually need.

But the very first moment sitting on it changed something. The warm toilet seat immediately created a very pleasant feeling. My spouse said the same thing right away:

“This is really very pleasant.”

The first few days, the warm seat was the only feature we used. The washing and drying functions, to be honest, seemed too foreign and even a little strange to try right away.

Details that started to stand out

After a while I started noticing other details too. For example, how a quiet fan inside the bowl started up when I sat down, directing odours straight through an active carbon filter. Everything felt thought through. Not intrusive technology, just natural everyday comfort.

Summary of Judgment

A few days later, I was the first of us to muster the courage and try out the washing and drying functions. Honestly, the first experience was even a little funny. But at the same time, after using it, I felt very clean and fresh.

Over the next few visits it quickly became natural. And soon enough I found myself no longer caring much for toilet paper when staying at a hotel.

The question that got me thinking

A day later my wife tried the washlet too. The first thing she asked after coming out of the bathroom was:

“Why don’t we have a toilet like this at home?”

That question really made me think. The more I thought about it, the more logical it all seemed. If we wash our hands with water, take showers and consider water the best way to care for our hygiene, why should toilet hygiene be dry paper only? After all, I would not rub dirty feet clean with dry paper.

At some point I realised this was not just another technical gadget. Rather, the solution I had used my whole life started to feel like a habit that time had simply passed by.

Back in Estonia

Once back in Estonia I started researching more and quickly discovered that for millions of people around the world the washlet is already a completely normal part of everyday life. Smart toilets with a wash function have found their place in many homes, and people can no longer imagine going back.

What surprised me most was how little it is talked about in Estonia. While bathrooms are becoming ever more modern, toilet hygiene here has somehow stood still in time.

The more I learned about washlet technology, the more I understood that this is not just a luxury product or a technical gadget. It is a standard of hygiene and comfort that has long existed in the world but is only now being discovered in Estonia.

That is how LUVIA Solutions was born

It was precisely this experience that gave birth to LUVIA Solutions — the wish to bring modern toilet hygiene and washlet culture to more people in Estonia.

Andre, founder of LUVIA Solutions and modern toilet hygiene enthusiast