Looking for the best bath towels out there? I scoured towel reviews, polled thousands of readers, & tested out several top picks to share my recommendations on the best bath towels with you!
About 8 years ago I wrote a review of several of the top luxury bath towels after doing a ton of research on which bath towels to buy since mine were basically threadbare. I decided an updated post was way past due so today I’m putting together everything I know about the best bath towels to share my recommendations with you!
This post is a combination of personal experience, scouring online towel reviews, and polling over 20,000 people on Instagram about their favorite towels. Whether you’re looking for the overall best bath towels, want towels that are as plush and heavyweight as you can get, or want the best towels you can buy on a budget, I’ve got you covered! (post includes affiliate links – see my full disclosure statement {here})
Features to Look For in the Best Bath Towels
What makes a great bath towel? While everyone differs a bit in which bath towel features are most important to them, most of us are looking for towels that are soft and plush, highly absorbent, and durable yet don’t take forever to dry. You know how people often look at thread count when shopping for sheets? A similar feature with towels is their GSM (grams per square meter) which basically tells you how dense the towel is. Super thin, lightweight towels such as a dish towel might have a GSM as low as 300 whereas luxury towels that are extremely thick may have a GSM in the 600-900 range. The trade-off with towels that have a super high GSM is that they take longer to dry.
Just like with thread count, GSM isn’t the only thing to consider when shopping for the best bath towels. It’s just telling you the weight of the towel, not the quality. Another feature to evaluate is the material the towels are made with. Cotton is the fabric of choice for bath towels because of its superior absorbency and durability. Look for 100% cotton towels rather than towels that are a blend of cotton with other materials such as polyester. Some of the best quality cottons are Egyptian, Turkish, and Supima. You can also find cotton blended with bamboo which is a sustainable fiber with great absorbency.
Also consider how the towels are constructed, as that will determine how soft and durable they are. Towels that are made with “zero twist” cotton use longer and stronger cotton fibers vs. towels that are made with cotton strands that are twisted together to make them long. Having zero twists of yarn makes the towels more plush. Another term you’ll see is “two ply cotton” which means they used double the amount of yarn which increases their durability and absorbency.
You also might want to think about the design of the towels you’re buying – I prefer towels that have no band on them whereas others might prefer having a band that they can monogram. Towel size might be a deciding factor for you too, although most quality towels are fairly similar in size. A typical size for a higher end bath towel is 30″ x 58″. If you love a really large bath towel, size up to a bath sheet.
The Best Overall Luxury Bath Towels
The towels that hit all the marks for what I look for in a luxury bath towel and also received high praise from so many of you are Matouk’s Milagro bath towels available {here}. They’re made from 100% cotton zero-twist yarns and are super soft and plush with the perfect combination of being soft, fluffy, and absorbent. They are 550 GSM towels which means they are the Goldilocks of towels -they have some weight to them but aren’t so heavy that they don’t dry well.
Matouk’s Milagro bath towels are generously sized at 30″ x 60″ and they wear really well. I’ve had other towels that felt as soft and fluffy as the day I bought them but after even the first wash they no longer had that luxurious feel. That’s because many new towels are treated with softening agents to make them feel super soft on the shelf but once they’re washed out the towels lose their softness and don’t absorb well. My Matouk Milagro towels stayed soft and durable over years of use (I’ve been using this brand of towels for about ten years now).
My Matouk Milagro towels
I also have a bit of a funny story to tell that attests to how great these towels are. A few years ago I was in a higher-end home store that sells their own brand of luxury towels and I overheard a customer asking about them. The design associate replied that their towels are good but the brand she’d really recommend as the best is one they didn’t sell – Matouk!
Best Organic Cotton Luxury Bath Towels
Boll & Branch’s Plush Bath Towels which are available {here} are the perfect choice if you want towels made from organic materials (they’re 100% organic cotton). They’re extra thick (weighing in at 700 GSM) and are two-ply cotton, creating a very durable, absorbent, and substantial feeling towel.
Boll & Branch Plush Bath Towels
What if you’re looking for the softest, plushest, most heavyweight towels out there and don’t care about a longer dry time? These are my two picks…
The Best Plush, Heavyweight Luxury Towels
1. Brooklinen’s Super Plush Bath Towels available {here} are extra thick with an impressive 820 GSM weight. Driven by Decor readers who have and love them say they’re incredibly soft, plush, and luxurious! You can buy them individually or save money by buying one of their towel bundles.
Brooklinen Super Plus Bath Towels
2. Restoration Hardware’s 802-Gram Turkish Bath Towels are super soft, heavyweight towels that also get a lot of glowing reviews by Driven by Decor readers. They’re made with long-staple cotton and are extremely dense and absorbent.
Restoration Hardware Bath Towels
I’m a white towel girl but if you love having a large selection of colors to choose from when buying bath towels here’s my pick for…
Luxury Bath Towels With Loads of Color Options
Frontgate Resort Cotton Bath Towels
Best Budget Bath Towels
Amazon’s Pinzon Bath Towels (available {here}) are a great budget friendly towel option! They can be bought as a six piece set with two bath towels, two hand towels, and two wash cloths or as a four piece set of bath towels. They’re a nice mid-weight option with a GSM of 600 and get either 4 or 5 stars from 90% of the 17k reviewers. They come in ten color options including this gorgeous Wedgewood Blue:
If you prefer a towel with a more substantial feel, they also come in an 820 GSM heavyweight option {here}.
As runner-ups, several of you told me that you were impressed by the well-priced Better Homes & Gardens bath towels available at Walmart {here} and others said they’ve had good luck with Costco and Sam’s Club towels too.
Caring for Your Bath Towels
Most things I read with recommendations for how often to replace your bath towels say that they should be replaced every two years. Honestly, I think that’s kind of ridiculous. If you buy quality towels and take good care of them, they should last much longer than that. I had my Matouk Milagro towels for 8 years before I bought a few new sets and it wasn’t because they were falling apart (in fact, they never had as much as a stray thread) but they just weren’t as super soft. Since they were still in great shape, the old sets became my girls’ towels 😊.
Here are a few tips for getting the most wear out of your towels:
- Wash and dry new towels before using them, adding ½c. vinegar to the rinse cycle to remove the softeners and other agents that manufacturers coat new towels with.
- Wash your towels after every 3-4 uses.
- When possible, wash them in a towels-only loads to prevent pilling & snags and extend their life. Also, wash white towels separately from colored towels. Unless they’re visibly dirty, use cold or warm (not hot) water since hot water can damage the cotton fibers. Don’t use too much laundry detergent (for ALL of your laundry you can usually get away with using about half of the “recommended” amount).
- Avoid bleach and instead use a bleach alternative if needed.
- Also avoid liquid fabric softeners and dryer sheets because they decrease the absorbency of towels.
- After washing, give your towels a shake to fluff up the fibers before putting them in the dryer.
- Use wool dryer balls such as {these} to help your towels dry more quickly and keep them fluffy. If you miss the fragrance of fabric softeners, you can add a few drops of essential oils to your dryer balls.
- Use medium heat when drying your towels in the dryer and don’t overdry them because it can damage the cotton fibers.
- If your towels get dingy or smell musty, try adding baking soda to the wash cycle and/or vinegar to the rinse cycle. You can also use {this laundry stripping recipe} on occasion to strip away built-up body oils and other grossness.
- Never throw your wet or damp towels in a hamper or on the floor – allowing them to hang where they get thoroughly dry helps keep them from getting musty.
Thanks as always for stopping by today! If you missed my last post, be sure to check out my 15 small bathroom storage ideas {here} and if you’re remodeling your bathroom anytime soon, my post with 10 bathroom remodel ideas to steal {here} is a must-read. I’ll see you back on the blog next week with the reveal of our newly organized closet using the Container Store’s Elfa system!
XO,
Tina says
I purchased the MyPillow towels and were very impressed with their weight, absorbency, and affordability. They have a nice variety of colors. I ended up purchasing 2 more sets and they have held up beautifully to daily use and frequent washing.
Jayne M. says
Best value are the Charisma towels at Costco, especially when they go on sale. Colors are limited though.
Jennifer says
I purchased my towels at Costco. They are not soft anymore. I followed the washing instructions. Maybe the well water had something to do with it.
Karen B. says
Hi Kris,
This is great and there are some wonderful options. I’m always interested in reviews on towels. I’ll be needing some new towels soon, so this is also timely. Thank you.
Karen
Shannon says
I have the Restoration Hardware towels. They were a bit of a splurge, but I’ve had them more than 10 years now, and they are still in great shape. I wish the colors weren’t so limited, but they are great towels!
Melissa says
Very helpful post! I have to say I was very disappointed with the Brooklinen towels (although I still want to try their sheets). I have both the classic and super plush and the bath mats. The binding on the mats unraveled in the first wash. Their customer service was great to deal with but the replacement mat did the same thing. As for the towels, I haven’t measured, but they seem a smidge smaller than normal and both sets immediately had loose threads (like a cat got ahold of it). The super plush, while they feel amazing, it is absurd how long they take to dry. I usually have to run 3 dryer cycles AND repeatedly empty the lint trap to get these dry. Even after a couple years of use they produce a ton of lint.
Nancy says
Thank you for the recommendations. My husband is extremely picky and always complains about towels not drying him well. I finally found great towels at Costco from a brand named Organicott. They’re super absorbent and wash well.
Albert Benson says
Dear Sales,
We understand that your company manufactures/sells some products that fit our business requirements, and would like to request a quotation on the following items. We would appreciate your sales quotation for the listed topics below before the end of the week for our acquisition consideration.
(1). 27×54 Premium White Bath/Hotel Towel, 17 lb/dz 100% Cotton
Qty:2000 units
Please note that Jacobs Engineering Group Inc would require a Net 30 days payment as payment terms. As we are rushing for a confirmed order, we would appreciate a prompt response from you before the mentioned deadline.
We hope that this can be the start of a long-lasting business relationship.
Yours Sincerely,
Thanks!
Albert Benson
Senior Procurement Manager
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc
1999 Bryan Street Suite 1200
Dallas, TX 75201
Phone.(214) 736-7668
Email:info@jacobsengneeringincorp.com