The Best Bath Towels For Every Budget!

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. These are the features to look for to make sure you get the best bath towels for your needs.

1. Towel Thickness

A towel’s GSM (grams per square meter) basically tells you how thick 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 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.

2. Towel Materials

Another feature to consider is the material the towels are made with. Cotton is the fabric of choice for the best 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.

3. Towel Construction

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.

4. Towel Design

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.

5. Towel Size

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. Definitely the best bath towels out there in my opinion!

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).

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.

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 for the best bath towels that are super plush…

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.

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.

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’s Resort Cotton Bath Towels available {here} come in a whopping 24 color options including some gorgeous shades of blue and green:

They have a 5″ wide border that can be personalized with a monogram too. They weigh in at 700 GSM so are quite heavyweight and get excellent reviews online and by Driven by Decor readers for being some of the best bath towels.

Best Budget Bath Towels

Target’s Performance Plus Bath Towels (available {here}) are a great budget friendly towel option! They come in over ten color options and are described as being super soft and fluffy:

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

A common recommendation is to replace your bath towels every two years. Honestly, I think that’s kind of ridiculous. If you invest in the best bath 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.

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 and if you’re remodeling your bathroom anytime soon, my post with 10 bathroom remodel ideas to steal is a must-read.

XO,