Charmin Restrooms

«They have a huge sign,» I said. «We can’t miss it.»
But even with our iPhone’s GPS tracking our every motion on the map, we did.
Why? Because this place no longer exists.
We looked and we looked. It is either obscured with scaffolding and under construction or is now one of those commercial buildings, like Verizon.
I had wanted to come here, because it is almost impossible to find a bathroom stall in Manhattan that does not reek of death or is decorated with someone’s inconsiderate leavings. With that said, I was quite excited (perhaps unnaturally so) about visiting this place. Where else in NYC will you have bathroom attendants cleaning the bowl with every use? Or at least that is what I’ve read.
A giant throne perfect for a photo-​op, & the half dozen types of tissue paper to choose from — this place seemed like a kooky museum that pint-​sized bladders like mine could appreciate. It’s a shame they’ve closed down, but I imagine that the operating costs overshadowed the purpose of promoting Charmin’s product line.
Bummer. Looks like I’ll have to take my chances with the local eateries and practice holding my breath.

I thought it was a joke, so on a whim, I went to check it out and it’s pretty funny. They have a MC announcing who’s coming and going in the store.
However, if you need a place to go, this is it!!! They clean the bathroom (s) after every use and have several types of toilet paper for you to sample/​feel/​touch/​use.

Awesome place to take a shit and watch people go in after you to clean it up for the next person. Super convenient. Only during the winter promotional months.

Seriously brilliant! Whether you actually need to use a restroom or just want to have fun, this place is worth the visit!
Outside they have someone with a toilet bowl costume on inviting you to go inside — right there i fell in love with this place and of course took a photo with the toilet girl who was very friendly.
Inside, the place was just awesome! They had songs playing about «going,» LCD screens all over the walls with people doing the «potty dance,» a stage where you could be recorded doing your own potty dance with pom-​poms as props and a gigantic toilet bowl, that you could take photos on/​in-​front of both with your own camera and one that they take for you and instantly email off.
Aside from all of the cool gimmicky items, the restrooms are amazing. They are cleaned after each use by Charmin team members and one team member directs you on which bathroom to use — ensuring you get a clean one.
Inside the bathroom they feature all three toilet-​papers so you can try all of them, a sink with a nice handwash and cool décor — my restroom was Route 66 inspired.
Aside from the décor one of the greatest parts were the Charmin team members who were all seriously excited about their job and really nice — they were totally into the whole spirit of the store, which made the experience that much more fun.
This place is awesome and in my opinion, is a must-​see attraction for Times Square tourists!

Holy crap (no pun intended). This place was the s*** (again no pun intended). I’ve never had so much fun going to the restroom. Check out the golden throne and make sure you get your picture taken on it. Great advertising Charmin!

They got toilets. I gotta go. Awww the bears are so cute.
But seriously I just a ton of beer and fried food and gotta go. Thanks for being there for me, Charmin.

Funnest Bafrooms evar. We did the potty dance, took a photo on the john, and tried three types of toilet paper. So much fun!

THE BEST PUBLIC BATHROOM EVER.
people are über friendly, toilets are über clean! and so many toilet paper to choose from!

THIS PLACE IS AMAZING. They have people dancing, people dressed up as toilets, and people to clean toilets after each use to guarantee cleanliness.
It’s so absurd. But so great.

W.O.W. I’ve been here three times and it’s always been such a pleasure. Yes, it’s filled with 15 restrooms which may turn people off, but we all gotta go in life, right?
This place is super clean, for all you germaphobes out there. They clean the bathroom EVERY single time one person uses it. Each stall is filled with lovely decorations-​either of Texas, the Charmin bears, a famous bridge, etc. And, you get six rolls of toilet paper! Two of the hard, sensitive, and super soft brands. You gotta try all three.
The workers here are all super friendly and cheerful, it’s amazing. There’s people dressed up as the Charmin bear and a toilet seat walking outside in the 25 degree cold. There’s a station where you can take a seat on the huge toilet and have the pictures be sent to your email (I’ve had five pictures taken there). Afterwards, you can shimmy on over to the staging area, where you get a 15 second video of you dancing to the theme song… wiggle to the left… wiggle to the right… Charmin…enjoy the go!
Now if you know me you know I’m not very loud about this stuff. But Charmin brings it all out. Oh, and browse through their Macs to check out all the public restrooms (with reviews). What doesn’t this store have? You better hurry, it’s a popup store and I believe it will be gone by the end of the month. That’ll be a tragic day indeed.

I’ve gone by and seen the flashy store front. It’s actually on 42^nd street for those of you who want to take a dump in Times Square this year. (2010)
It’s next to the pop tarts store on 42^nd between 6^th and Broadway.
What a nice fun little store. It’s a pretty big store to showcase the different varieties of Charmin toilet paper.
The employees here must be going insane listening to the same jingle over and over again.
This store is what the other Unilocalers have said. Just a bunch of clean bathrooms. Music playing encouraging to shake your bootie while you wipe. Bless those poor employees that must come in each bathroom after someone drops a deuce to make sure that the toilet is clean and it smells fresh.
This year they have more social networking integrated. You can take a photo and have it e-​mailed to you, and you can also do a dance and they will cheer you on and video tape it and mail you a copy as well.
In the store, Charmin advertises an app for iphone and blackberry to find nearby restrooms.
The line may be long, but it’s pretty hit or miss. It was long when we got in, but it was non-​existant when we left.

Yeaaaa… that’s right I’m reviewing a bathroom!!!
I was with a bunch of friends from here and out of town going to see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller and we stopped here along the way. At first I thought it was a big joke… then I realized it was just hilarious!
They have people cheering you on… to poop! LOL They take pictures of you on a Giant toilet (not the real one), survey how good ur «go» was… pretty entertaining to say the least. Even more hilarious if you are with a large group specially when your buddy from Florida gives the «toilet bowl lady» a lap dance LOL
But on a more serious note… HA… They spray and wipe down the toilets after each person, have TVs and ipods inside while u go and let you try every kind of Charmin there is… Its like TOILET HEAVEN! No seriously the cleanest toilets you will find anywhere!

Great marketing!

By far the BEST public restroom experience I’ve had in my entire life. I didn’t know places like this existed! Perhaps it’s a temporary promotional thang? Not sure but check this…
We got there at a good time and the wait was about maybe 2 or 3 minutes. You walk into a fun and interactive environment that makes you wonder why you’re so happy to be at a restroom. First off, each stall is cleaned before each use. You enter one of the stalls and have the option of choosing different types of Charmin toilet paper. If you’d like to get funky while at it, there’s an ipod deck where you can blast some of the cool tunes they have. After that you get to rate your experience, take pictures at their displays, and do other fun Charmin things.
Recommendation: If you’re in Times Square and need to use the restroom, definitely choose this place. Who knew that going to the restroom could be so much fun?!

If you gotta go, you gotta go.
Even if it is in dreaded Times Square and you have to walk past a girl dressed up as a roll of Charmin toilet paper, up a 2-​mile escalator, and proceed to wait on line for about two hours. And when you reach the front of the line, have the dude ask where you’re from and what you plan to do inside the bathroom.
Okay, I made up that last one, but you know what I mean. At least they have iPods inside to soothe the savage beast of standing on-​line for two hours next to a couple on their first trip into the big city, fresh off the bus from Bumblefrack, Michigan — home of the Wolverines.

My husband and I passed by the Charmin Restrooms when we were in Times Square. He had to go so we thought, why not, we’ll wait in line. We had no idea this was an experience, not just a bunch of port-​a-​potties put together.
This was definitely one of those «only in New York» attractions. And yes, the Charmin Restrooms are an attraction. After waiting in line we were led up an escalator to another line, where an emcee cracked jokes about people’s bathroom habits inquiring «who has go number 1?» «How about number 2?» But instead of being merely crude, the whole thing was absolutely hysterical. No one on line could contain themselves from laughing.
There are restrooms set up in a semi-​circle that are cleaned after each use, and someone escorts you to to the room. Inside there are televisions, things to read on the wall, and a toilet paper bar of about 4 different kinds of Charmin. The whole thing is both bizarre and awesome.
After you use the restroom, you are invited to «rate your go» on a computer which is pretty funny. There are couches to hang out on and places where staff will take your picture with pom poms and, my personal favorite, a giant toilet bowl. They’ll then print them out for you at no charge. There are also stations to access Facebook and Twitter, presumably so you can announce to your social networks how fantastic your experience at the Charmin Restrooms was.
The whole thing is a lot of fun, and it’s hard to leave without a smile on your face. When was the last time you left a public restroom and could say that?

Every year this is like one of my favorite things in the whole world.
Basically Charmin goes into times square and they put this amazing little thing in… restrooms…but they make it all nice with my favorite blue… then you go up escalators and you go into a place where there are fireplaces and sleds and flat screen tvs and you can take nice pictures and sample Charmin products. I started using puffs with vicks because I sampled it there… I love the red and blue bears!
when you go to the restroom, charmin has like cheer leaders helping you in and out and when you come out they say YAY YOU DID IT!!! and you feel like you did that first time you did pee pee in the potty and you got it right!
this place is GREAT!!!
References:
Elmo:

this was hilarous. outright hilarous… you go up an escalator and you are instatly transported into the world of a charmin commercials that include the family of bears that use the back of the tree as a toilet. for some reason they choose charmin ultra for their toilet paper needs and so should YOU!
the people who work there were very happy and nice… the two ushers in the front coaxed us in and told me «you’re going to take a billion pictures up there!» and boy was he right.. The first thing you hear is charmin jingles and some guy on a mic who has alot of potty jokes. Mic guy was golden. he was a nice kid who pointed at everyone and said «i know you need to pee!». God bless him! they had a little playground thing with a real working swing ! i really swung on it! and oh, we even got to get a free photo of us on a ‘charmin’ sled. of course it said CHARMIN plastered on it. but that added to the over the top kitschiness. horray!
when we got upstairs we even got to charge our electronic devices. and ride some stationary bikes. NIFTY! there was also a little play area with creepy toys. i mean creepy. there was a chucky looking doll and a tickle me elmo. well i always found tickle me elmo convolsions scary so maybe i am just biased. but hey germs are scray.. would YOU let your children play with toys laying around a HUGE public bathroom at TIMES SQUARE???
charmin i heart you!

Okay. It is an alright place, especially if you are from out of town and need a place to take care of business in times square.
But really, really people, there are some nicer and quieter places in the area – like most of the hotels that you can walk in and use the bathroom and there will NOT BE A LINE! Maybe it is best that I don’t go into detail on those other places so as to avoid ruining it for everyone.
Really the line can move fast and things are clean, but it is too wild that they sell sweat shirts and expensive ‘highschool letter type’ jackets that say ‘Charmin’ – t-​shirts, coffee mugs – who buys this? AND did I mention you often have to wait to use the bathroom here, due to all of those in need – who I am guessing are mostly tourists? I don’t beleive tons of new yorkers go here, and I did have to convince my friends to make the stop to see what it was all about. (To think once this was a cheesy game themed club bar code)
It is Time Square and I know tourists are everywhere and they need to go. So this, the official holiday toilet of Times Square, is often packed as expected, and you do as Bryan says get an earful of a jingle…
Still they do keep the place exceedingly clean (consider the traffic), have great paper (of course) and I, don’t you know, have already used my coupon for the super strong Charmin. Damn you life sucking super smart corporate types and your slot machine-​eqsue coupon dispenser!

First off, let me admit this. I pass by this place every day for work but have not ventured inside. I credit this to an evolved control of my bodily functions vs fear of the unknown but I freely admit how self-​serving that may sound. I also admit a certain spook-​factor to there being cheerleaders downstairs — while I wouldn’t want anyone openly rooting against (private) displays of my regularity, I think having members of society root for it undervalues worthier targets like ending world hunger and professional football teams.
This post is actually an excuse to comment on the picture I just posted from outside this establishment. Yes, outside the establishment (like I said I’ve never gone in.) I think this picture is both a spot-​on example of PG potty humor as well as sage advice that, despite its lovely texture and high fiber content, charmin toilet paper should only be used for its designed purpose and not as an emergency foodstuff.
I also choose to ignore Bryan A’s description of the inside as I prefer to keep it a mystery. An establishment solely dedicated to the bathroom. Makes me wonder — do they have a side room where they provide food and drinks? And would this reversal of our standard restaurant experience not be the preferred design of a dystopian society besieged by dysentery? Please note that I could’ve included dynamite in that previous sentence as a showy display of dy-​namic alliteration but that’s not my style.
I also picture a 30’s style newspaper boy inside yelling «Extra! Extra!» and making a fortune — until, of course, the ruthless proprietor of the establishment prohibits reading material w/​in the stalls as it slows down their volume. I’m not sure if it was a movie device or a reflection of 30’s society but I picture every business owner being a cold-​hearted robber baron like Mr. Potter from It’s a Wonderful Life. And, if this was an accurate reflection, shouldn’t we pride ourselves in how the business leaders of today are much less overt in their selfishness?
Ok, off to lunch…