Few household purchases make you feel like a real grown-up as your first set of matching towels. Mine were a hastily chosen seafoam green terry that felt soft and silky to the touch, but left my skin a damp, linty mess. Now on my fourth set, I can confidently identify a quality bath towel. But that doesn't mean I can afford one.
Here are our top picks for soft, absorbent, durable towels that feel like a million bucks, but cost a lot less.
Thomas O'Brien Vintage Modern Towels
For the the money, these are some of the most luxurious and absorbent towels on the market. Crafted from 100% extra long staple cotton, the naturally silky fibers create a soft, hefty, and absorbent towel that resists snags and pills even after repeat washings. The double striped trim is understated and holds up well after line drying or in the dryer's delicate cycle. While we prefer the classic hotel white, we also like the masculine Cloak Gray with Fighter Pilot Blue stripe — Available at Target for $24.00/set.
Lands End Combed Cotton/Bamboo Rayon Bath Towel
These towels rated excellent for softness on Consumer Reports. And we can understand why. The bamboo is converted into silky rayon fibers which are then woven with combed cotton to produce an incredibly soft towel that weighs a substantial 700 grams/square meter. Chlorine- and softener-free finishing preserves the purity of the bamboo making it super absorbent in spite of being silky — Towels sold separately from $15.50-$21.50
We also like their Essential Combed Cotton Towels made from Turkish cotton that undergoes a special process to make the fabric more absorbent and less likely to pill. They're also slightly longer and wider than standard towels — Regularly $37.50, currently on sale for $29.50/set
The Company Store Organic Cotton Towel
In the affordable organic market, The Company Store makes a dense 100% organic cotton towel that is naturally soft with deep loops that are highly absorbent. The modern colors are created with low-impact dyes that retain their vibrancy after repeat washings Regularly — Regularly $14-$38, currently on sale for $11-$30
The Company Cotton towel woven from 100% combed Turkish cotton is also plush and absorbent and comes in a huge range of colors. They have a reputation for color-fastness, though we still recommend a vinegar rinse before use with darker colors. Some users report pilling with the patterned towels, but we might risk it for a set of Bromley Towels with matching hexagonal bath mat — Bath towels $14-$22, bath mat $30
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"Mine were a hastily chosen seafoam green terry that felt soft and silky to the touch, but left my skin a damp, linty mess."
Didn't you wash them first?
I second the Thomas O'Brien towels. I've had my set for three years and they're still as soft, fluffy and absorbant as the day I brought them home. They haven't pilled or faded (they're a dark chocolate brown), and have held up through repeated, abusive washings. I can't recommend them enough.
The white Thomas O'Brien towels sound great. I have a set of Pottery Barn "hotel" towels (white with navy blue embroidered band) that are still going strong after at least five years, but they're not plush.
The Thomas O'Brien towels are amazing! My mom decided to "upgrade" from the Tom-O towels to Restoration Hardware's Turkish bath towels when she remodeled the guest bathroom. The RH towels unraveled and snagged after the FIRST WASHING. I wash and dry my Thomas O'Brien towels on the "Heavy Duty" setting and they're still going strong!
here's a little digression--who can point me towards a quality, long-lasting towel that isn't too soft, squishy and "luxurious?" I like a towel that's a little rough, not too thick--all of these incredibly plushy "hotel style" towels seem kind of slimy to me, not that absorbent, and without that pleasantly abrasive quality I'm looking for. Not to mention they're incredibly heavy to wrap around my head! Even the cheaper towels seem to be aiming for this heavy, plushy style and I don't like it! Any ideas, brands?
I recommend getting plush white towels from a store like HomeGoods. I got heavily discounted sets there and they are the most plush and affordable towels I have ever used, especially if you want an all white set they never disappoint
How do you keep them white. I've bought sets and they get dingy well before they are a year old.
Any help without bleach?
We bought our towels at Wal-Mart which, I know, isn't so fancy, but they're the oversized towels I LOVE and they're soft and absorbant. Three years later they're still a pretty vibrant red with no holes or thin spots. And I'm not embarassed to give them to guests which has been my measure of a bad towel in the past. Granted, we're looking into buying some more quality towels in the near future as we've gotten away from the red-and-black color scheme, but these were a surprisingly good investment.
Greengage -- the "hotel-style" towels I have from Pottery Barn are actually not plush at all, which might be why they've held up so well over the years.
I bought mine quite a while ago, so I don't know if they're still made the same way:
http://www.potterybarn.com/products/grand-embroidered-700-gram-weight-bath-towels/?pkey=csolid-bath-towels
I'm a big fan of the restoration hardware towels myself (I have 3 sets), even though they were a big splurge. I've heard complaints from others about them blotching, fading, or unraveling, but i've never had any problems. They get washed separately and gently tumbled dry, and i never wipe cosmetics or lotions on them. They aren't soft and fluffy (yuk), but pleasantly hefty, very absorbent, and a little rough. I love them, and our guests always rave about them when they stay at our house.
Can anyone recommend a good towel from Bed, Bath, and Beyond? That's where we're registered, and I'd love to get a nice set!
@Keisha--
I use Oxyclean on my whites.
And if you believe the commercials, there's a type of Cheer that helps keep whites white...
...but the biggest thing is to wash whites alone: No colors at all.
i bought the Supima towels in white from Land's End more than 3 years ago and they still look and feel wonderful. they are good, honest towels, not the silky kind that just move the water around. it was a big splurge for me, but now i realize that i have saved money on towels by not having to replace them nearly as often. and yes, i do use bleach on them when they need it.
@ clexa.....I got some towels from BBB that were spa luxe allure, or something like that. They've held up well. I would recommend them.
I have the Martha Stewart Collection "Luxury" Towels from Macy's and I love them. Very plush, ultra absorbent, and absolutely no lint. Fantastic. And Macy's has sales all the time so they're very affordable.
@greengage & clexa: you may want to try the Fieldcrest Royal Velvet line of towels, and I think they are still available at BB&B, as well as most traditional department stores. They've been around for a few decades and are a great quality for an affordable price. If you can find the regular ones (not the Big & Soft) they are a nice medium weight and size, not too big, not too plush. To get the slight abrasiveness you're looking for (@ greengage) skip the liquid fabric softener. I've found that too much of it will amp up that slimy-ness you've described. I don't use it at all, and just throw in a dryer sheet--and the towels seem to absorb water instead of sliding it around your body!
The newer Thomas O'Brien towels from Target are not the same as the old Thomas O'Brien towels from Target. The newer ones are made in China, unlike the old ones that were made in India. The new ones pill and pull like crazy. I have the reversible black/brown and brown/turquoise towels.
I've actually spent a lot of money on this throughout the year. I bought some luxury bath towels here but they don't have a very big range. Can anyone recommend another website I can use that has a bigger range.