18 Best Bath Towels in 2022 That Are Soft, Fluffy, and Absorbent

Ad Blocker Detected

Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker.

Editor’s Note: The Riley Spa Towel is currently out of stock, but you can sign up to be notified once they’re available again. In the meantime, Onsen makes a new plush towel ($40) that’s comparable to the feel of the Spa towel albeit without the built-in hook.

The Best Luxury Towel: Baina St Bathans Bath Towel

Baina St Bathans bath towel

Dreamed up by two fashion industry veterans who poured their energy into becoming towel experts instead, Baina’s quickly overtaken Instagram with its striking textured fabrics. We anointed this dreamy ribbed one with a 2022 Home Award for its streamlined design. It looks like a tennis court for a reason (it was inspired by a post-match exhale), so it’s just the thing for breathing a sigh of relief post hair-raising shower. Sure, it’s $80, but that’s really not a crazy amount to ask for a few years of sumptuous drying. 

More Towels We Like

Tekla Fabrics organic terry bath towel

Tekla has slowly become the cool-kid brand when it comes to pajamas, having collaborated with hot-shot labels like Stüssy and JJJJound, but the brand also makes some excellent towels. It sits on the thinner end of the spectrum, with a weight closer to Onsen’s bath towel minus the waffle texture, but its terry fabric feels closer to something like a beach towel (not a bad thing). The towels come in more fun prints that you’d typically find from a Brooklinen or Boll & Branch, and when folks see the Tekla tag, it’s a true “if you know, you know” moment.

Crane and Canopy classic bath sheet

Now that you’ve learned about the bath sheet, it’s time to expand your horizons. If you’ve ever complained about your bath towel being too small, you’re in for a world of amazement with a massive bath sheet. Crane and Canopy’s bath sheet is plusher than Coyuchi’s air weight bath sheet, and your choice between the two will honestly depend on whether you want something thick or thin. Considering their massive size, we’d lean heavier towards Coyuchi’s bath sheet just because it dries quicker, but it’s hard to pass the cozy comfort of Crane and Canopy’s option.

Pact airy waffle bath towel (2-pack)

Pact’s whole shtick is that it produces organic goods from tees to its bath towels, which are made of GOTS-certified organic cotton. The towels’ waffle weave, similar to that of the Onsen bath towels, isn’t as “waffle-y” and don’t feel as light or dry as quickly as Onsen’s, though we do like its softness and texture. These towels also have a carbon offset of 14.3 pounds, which makes us feel good about recommending them.

Onsen Wovy plush bath towel

The only towel that Onsen offered at first was its waffle towel (aka our pick for the fastest-drying towel). In 2023, it realized that folks might want something plusher, resulting in the Wovy. It’s nice and fluffy, and we recommend these as an alternative to the sold-out Riley Spa towels, but we wish it came in more than the three (very neutral) colors that it’s available in.

Image may contain: Bath Towel, Towel, and Rug

Parachute “Fouta” stripe towel

The Fouta stripe towels are probably the thinnest towels on this list—they’re hardly thicker than the washcloths you use to dry dishes. But if you prefer a super-thin, quick-dry towel—perhaps something that can easily corral your flowing locks—it’s ideal. Plus, its lovely striped design might add a welcome design element to your bare bones bathroom.

Image may contain: Bath Towel, and Towel

West Elm organic luxe fibrosoft bath sheet

This wildly soft bath sheet from West Elm isn’t quite as luxurious as the Coyuchi above, but it’s still solidly plushy and absorbent. The size of a couch throw, West Elm’s organic cotton “fibrosoft” towel dries quickly and has a fluffiness and heft to it that genuinely feels like you’re wrapping up in a blanket post-shower. Despite its generously thick weave, it’s also mighty absorbent so you won’t detect any traces of mildew after getting it soaked. 

Image may contain: Bath Towel, and Towel

RH says its Turkish long-staple ringspun cotton weave makes it dry a bit quicker than other towels of similar thickness. We didn’t really find this to be noticeably true, but it was still a cozy, absorbent towel with plenty of range for expanding the palette of your linen closet: It comes in 15 different shades, which we would absolutely snap up if we were really picky about our towel colors.

Image may contain: Bath Towel, and Towel

Lands’ End Supima bath towel

The centerpiece of Brad Pitt’s October 2019 cover look is actually a very good towel. Like a lot of the stuff from Lands’ End, the towel is an absolute workhorse. It’s not the softest towel we’ve used, but it’s really absorbent and durable. And, you can get it monogrammed with a sweet sailboat. Our only gripe is that we found that the towels didn’t hold up quite as well as others on this list for longevity, and tended to be quite linty over time. But for the price, these are still a great value. 

Image may contain: Bath Towel, and Towel

Frontgate Resort cotton bath towel

This Turkish long-staple cotton bath towel is extremely soft, smooth, and durable. Its thick surface feels lovely against your skin because of a plush, tight pile. And even after several washes, it’ll feel and look just as nice as it did new. For a premium experience, we’d still recommend the Boll & Branch towels, but these are a very solid runner-up.

Image may contain: Bath Towel, Towel, and Rug

Sonoma Goods for Life ultimate bath towel

The cheapest towel on this list is the Sonoma Goods bath towel, which is made by Kohls (so it’s already a win according to your mom) and features a lightweight “hollow cotton” fabrication that’s supposedly extra absorbent. Other towels are thicker and more plush, sure, but if you’re on a budget, this option is remarkably soft and dries quickly. Texture-wise, one side feels smoother and fluffier, with the other slightly coarser like an oversized face cloth. Mercifully, it also stands the test of time. Our tester has owned one for nearly a decade and despite numerous spin cycles over the years, this one has accumulated only a few loose threads over time and virtually no discoloration. 

Image may contain: Bath Towel, and Towel

The first thing you’ll notice about the Havly towel is the extra large corner loop designed for easy hanging on a hook. This loop, in addition to the towels’ relatively thin weave, makes it dry a little bit faster than ones of a similar size. And if your bathroom is heavily trafficked but light on towel bars, those two features alone might make the Havly the best choice for you. The actual towel is a little bit bigger than a standard bath towel, but not quite as big as a bath sheet. It’s a bit rougher in texture than the Coyuchi Air Weight towel, but still softer than a lot of other similarly thin towels we’ve tested.

Image may contain: Rug

Nutrl waffle weave bath towel

The Onsen and Brooklinen waffle bath towels are both solid, but neither comes cheap. We like Nutrl’s because of its price, and it does a fairly good job of drying you—and drying off. Both the Brooklinen and Onsen towels feel more luxe, but the Nutrl is constructed better than you’d expect for the price, and comes with all the super-absorbent, quick-drying benefits you want from a waffle weave.

Image may contain: Bath Towel, Towel, and Rug

Shinto yukine terry bath towel

Shinto’s Yukine towels are incredibly plush, just like the ones from Brooklinen and Riley, but they have a unique, almost squeaky feel. The manufacturer says that’s because of how its towels are refined, a process that takes place after the full towel construction as opposed to before the fibers are woven together. Some may prefer the more natural, fuzzy feeling of Brooklinen or Riley, but if you’re game to try a towel that’s somehow both plush and slick, you’ll dig the Yukine.

Image may contain: Bath Towel, Towel, and Rug

In the “classic towels” category, we also liked the weight and texture of these guys from Aestate, a newer brand that produces its luxury bath towels in Portugal. Each towel is crafted with a blend of airy cotton and tencel that’s of the lightweight medium-thick variety (not too plushy, not too spindly, and plenty soft), so it easily sops up water in between showers. If you’re partial to the preppy monogrammed look, each towel comes with a large “A” woven into them, plus a convenient loop for hanging it up to dry. We’d still recommend the Boll & Branch towels for their overall value, but these ones are a more-than-suitable alternative.