I never expected this at Australia’s No. 1 hotel

There are plenty of handy things hiding in hotel bathrooms — but after checking-in to my room at Australia’s number one hotel I never expected to find this.

There are plenty of handy things hiding in hotel bathrooms — cotton buds, hand cream, mirrors that make you appear 5kg lighter — but I wasn’t expecting to find this in my bathroom at Ovolo Woolloomooloo.

The boutique pad, which stretches along one of Sydney’s iconic finger wharves, was recently rated Australia’s number one hotel in TripAdvisor’s Travellers Choice Awards.

But I reckon the real reason comes down to the relief guests experience on level five.

In our busy world, ain’t nobody got time for extended toilet breaks, even when on holidays. Enter a stool to help you with your stools — promising a smooth process and none of the pushy pushy that purportedly plagued Elvis Presley before his spectacular abdication of the throne.

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At first glance everything looks normal.

Sitting proudly next to the toilet in all of Ovolo’s suites, the Proppr stool promises perfect posture for your posterior on the potty. Yep, really.

It’s a shocking feeling to discover you’ve been doing something all wrong, on the daily, but using the Proppr during your stay might just be the push you need to change the way you poop.

Since squat toilets are not de rigueur in the Western world, gastrointestinal experts agree we need to prop so we don’t stop — aka get our knees up higher in moments of struggle, which is where the stool slides in. Its number 1 (and number 2) goal is to ‘unkink’ the colon and help you wipe away all your worries.

It may have taken a B-grade celebrity to stoke the idea fire but when Kelly Osbourne requested a stool for her room during a Sydney sojourn, staff were curious. Instead of pooh-poohing the idea, Ovolo management jumped on board and ordered Propper stools for every suite. A sticker on the stool says, “We found out about the Proppr and just had to share … Go on, give it a go.”

It’s the Proppr way to poop.

The Proppr is an Australian-made adaptation of the Squatty Potty, which has swept the USA with its pooping unicorn ads and spawned countless testimonial videos you probably don’t want to watch over breakfast. Pitched as “the proppr (natural) way to go to the loo”, the stool was brought to life through a crowd-funding campaign in 2015.

In another nod to Ovolo’s sense of humour, 100 per cent recycled toilet paper in all rooms is from social enterprise, Who Gives a Crap — who, as well as having jocular toilet roll wrappers, funnel funds into building toilets in the developing world. A peek inside the INXS suite reveals even more (comic) relief — four books lined up on a shelf next to the loo with titles such as Get Sh*t Done and This Book Will Make You Feel Less Sh*t.

If you’re still having intestinal issues, there’s a yoga mat in every room to unfurl for a little downward dog action. Not that you’re probably going to have many problems if you dine in-house at Alibi — touted as the first plant-based hotel restaurant in Australia. The menu is 100 per cent vegan, clean and fibre-rich. Infused detox water on tap in the all-day bar area will keep you well-hydrated, too.

Everyone feels better after a full ‘elimination’; Ovolo know this. So before you start sh*tting yourself about splashing the cash on a stay at Ovolo Woolloomooloo, rest assured, they’ve got your back(side).

The writer was a guest of Ovolo Hotels.

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Originally published as I never expected this at Australia’s No. 1 hotel